i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymorei don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore

However, being an occupational therapist, we are able to effectively decipher other therapists notes and determine the necessity of the treatments being billed. Some people think they want to leave patient care, but they really want to escape bad managers, shady corporations, or unrealistic productivity expectations. If youre making a sudden jump to a non-traditional role, be aware that you might have a gap in pay while you return to school, job hunt, etc. She also offers a great Non-Clinical Crash Course on Writing. A career coach keeps you on track and working toward your goals, while a career counselor will work with you to address underlying fears, roadblocks, and challenges that prevent you from making moves professionally. Read more about being a case manager from an OT perspective here:Statement: The Occupational Therapist as Case Manager. You dont necessarily need to go to court. and recommendations for how to interview, search for jobs, and more! Much thanks Typically, private practice therapy clinics are cross-discipline with professionals on-site for not only occupational therapy but physical therapy and speech therapy as well. It combines theory and functional knowledge of people and occupation, with the creative skills of design. This is one of those times when youll have to get out and volunteer and network as much as possible. In her own journey into tech, she started with consulting on the side and this grew into full time opportunities. Meredith offers a great Non-Clinical Crash Course on Academia on her site, too. Non-Clinical 101 gives lifetime access to a proven four-step system that helps you identify which roles are best suited for you, then walks you through the process of getting there. I do hope this list at least gives you a few non-physical types of job ideas to help you with your career transition. If going back to college to work isnt your thing, you can also teach continuing education courses around the country in your specialty. The documentation, stress, productivity and inconsistency between supervisors were factored into my decision. Also, note any experience you have with running insurance or auditing charts. Director of Rehab and OT Supervisor probably sound familiar to you. It might take a bit of applying to a variety of positions but explaining to the prospective employers about your experience will be really beneficial. Thank you so much for posting this. There are many avenues your non-traditional OT career could take, but here we highlight nine of the most common. If youre ready to start your own practice, WebPT has put together a great resource about starting a therapy clinic from scratch. Many times, insurance and Medicare auditors dont really understand the interventions were providing. With the recent change in insurance and the virus and being a new Cota everywhere I apply or look for only wants someone with experience, but how am I able to get experience if I cannot even get a chance to show them my skills. They would be providing services, but would they need an OTR? My favorite part about my job was being creative, whether it was planned or on the fly, working one-on-one or in small groups, and discerning the level of assistance I should use so as to empower the student rather than inhibit he or she from progressing toward a goal. Offer to cover the scheduling board or take point on busy days. An informational interview is a quick conversation where you ask a professional questions about their job. It has templates for your CV, resume, and cover letter, and it provides guidance on the interview and presentation parts of landing a role. . She is also the host of the OT Potential Podcast. If youre going in this direction, check out Home Modification OT Alliance! Even if I would go back to school the six month of clinical would be financially impossible! There are tons of software and tech companies that need help with usability. Liaisons face quotas, so if you hate productivity requirements, you might not enjoy this role. Theyre an excellent introduction into the world of startups, not to mention a great networking opportunity! I am attempting to research other careers I may fit into but not much success. Another great option would be to work in vocational rehab in a community-based setting. Hope this helps! However, if you do have a case that requires going to court, you can obviously charge a lot more money. More information can be found on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. If you make yourself an expert salesperson, or you learn the ins and outs of online sales strategies, you will easily excel in a role as a social media manager, or where youre marketing (selling) rehab practitioners services. Its definitely advisable for new grads (or people who have only worked in one setting) to consider whether they should spend a little more time in patient care before switching gears. I am a new grad and I can say with certainty that I dont want to work in SNF, hospitals, or OP. Also, youll definitely want to take few courses on usability and user experience to legitimize yourself as a candidate. Luckily, there are tons of alternative jobs that you can land with your occupational therapy degree. There are definitely quite a few OTs that make the switch into medical device sales. For example, some cases are more about chart reviews and writing your expert opinion based on what youve read. Weve even featured a few OTs here at My OT Spot who have done this themselves, like Paige Hays, OTR/L of Beyond Accessibility and Maria Lindbergh, OTR/L of Stay At Home Solutions, so be sure to check them out. This is yet another great option to go into if you have a passion for helping people but do not find traditional settings like hospitals a good fit for you personally. There are also other holistic avenues you can take when starting your own private practice. Remember, if you identify a way that you can solve someone elses problem, youll be very marketable! Im also now seeing occupational therapists starting their own chronic pain clinics (which I think is great; I go to a chronic pain OT myself and love her practice). The course comes with tons of resume downloads, interview prep materials, self-assessment activities, and early access to non-clinical jobs. It looks like there isnt a ton of information doing a Google search, but I did find this article to be helpful: How to Become an Insurance Auditor All the allopathic therapies leave some side effects on the patients care. This is an important question. I transitioned from working in SNF/ Home health to now working as a clinical liaison after having a small ergonomics consultation business in Hawaii (Aging with Aloha) and its been a great fit. I also helped to start an OT clinic within a University setting so I guess another would be Consultant to other universities wanting to open an OT clinic. If you enjoy working with patients, but you hate the time constraints and pressure of traditional settings, you can consider a role as an assistive technology personnel (ATP) or seating mobility specialist (SMS). Also, if youre still interested, you could try contacting insurance companies near you to inquire more about requirements and training. Go to usability meetups. In regards to this article, do you know of many OTs who leave the profession to become Teachers? The first thing that often comes to mind on this front is starting your own private practice. Sarah Lyon, OTR/L Sarah wasnt looking to leave patient care, but about five years into her career,realized that she could potentially help more patients by serving occupational therapists through her website, OT Potential. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. However, many programs do require their professors having an OTD or PhD, so if this is something youre really interested in, keep that in mind. Plus, you get ALL of her crash courses included with your enrollment. Due to my own healthcare needs/risks, I am considering exploring outside the box to a non-clinical job setting but not really knowing where to start..I dont have any assistive technology training, but this could be an area of interest for meDoes anyone have any suggestions or ideas about a career in medical sales/assistive technology specific to an OT? Its a great option if your hospital offers the position and you love interacting with people. Aurora, NE 68818, OT Potential Occupational Therapy Resources. To get started, Upwork is a great platform that most businesses hire their writers from. If youre interested in working with home modifications, be sure to also check out AOTAs Home Modifications page. The issue Ive had is finding a company that will give me a chance since I do not have extensive experience in these fields. Hello, I am an OT with a masters degree and 14 years of clinical experience in the acute care hospital and outpatient settings with lymphedema experience as well. The best part about being an OT entrepreneur is that you have the freedom to choose what youre most passionate about. There are so many occupational therapy schools thatneedsolid OTs to educate future clinicians. Youll know if youre one of those people pretty quickly . This might mean picking up a few per diem OT jobs for a year and networking as much as possible with case management during that time. The site is chock-full of great information to help you launch a non-traditional OT career. While the most obvious and easiest way to use your OT degree is to actually practice in a traditional setting, alternative career paths may be a better fit for you long term. There is more to it than you might think, and if youre interested, Id recommend checking out The Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists. While sales might be somewhat high stress, it can definitely be an interesting change-up to traditional patient care. It feels like every company I work with requests my headshot at some point. The next two years showed her that others wanted guidance on doing the same. Cash-based OT, early intervention, nature-based OT and other types of niche roles are not considered non-traditional for the purposes of this article. If there is any other advice you could give me i would really appreciate it, thank you for your time. Through my work, I have been able to promote the profession as well as take on multiple Level II students even during the pandemic to learn about community based OT. 2. These articles are basically done-for-you informational interviews of all sorts of rehab professionals in non-traditional roles . Some careers require additional education or training, or they might necessitate relocation. Use it on your LinkedIn page, in your bylines, and for your online profile in professional networking groups. I have 28 years in as a COTA in the nursing home setting. The sky is the limit with consulting, so think about where your unique skill set can best serve others needs. If tapping people to ask for their time gives you the heebie jeebies, dont worry! There is a huge need to be filled in this arena, and OTs are a great fit to help here as well. This is such an important aspect to occupational therapy overall and in keeping our profession accountable and responsible now and into the future. Looking creatively at your career and skill set may enable you to help more people than ever would have been possible in 1:1 therapy. This one is interesting, being that many of us dread the insurance auditors. These alternative career ideas come from an array of different conversations that Ive been a part of with other OTs at work and online. Hello fellow therapist. If youre interested in a career in rehab technologyand you can afford the time and costyou must try out a healthcare hackathon. If you were a career changer, any previous leadership or instructing roles are relevant, too! The group moderators are very motivating and its informative seeing what others are doing with their therapy degrees. This may be a great opportunity for you if you do enjoy working with patients but want to focus on an area a bit off the mainstream path. I graduated last year and have been looking non stop for a position Ive applied to countless places and some respond back while others do not and I have had only 1 live interview and 4 phone call interviews. As an ergonomic specialist, youllspend time identifying environmental risks, coming up with creative strategies to reduce those risks, educating others on the importance of ergonomics, and drafting comprehensive plans for businesses to follow. I bet an OT could find a rehab equipment sales job if they wanted or something similar. Sarah Lyon has also put together an article titled Resources to Start (and Grow) Your Occupational Therapy Businessfor some additional insight and inspiration. OT has so much potential and I encourage all practitioners out there to follow their passion and use their skills to enable the potential of any population in any setting who needs increased holistic health:). I graduated with a masters in occupational therapy however I have taken the board exam and have been unsuccessful after several attempts. Very informative & encouraging site! They may be some of the few non-traditional roles youve considered, because for years, they were the only ones with real visibility for OTs. Youll need special certifications from Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America for both ATP and SMS roles. For the purposes of this article, non-traditional refers to anything outside of conventional hands-on patient care roles. Not only are you in charge of scheduling, but you are responsible for coaching therapists about how to become better, intervening in tough situations, keeping everyone motivated, and reporting to higher level management about the productivity and efficiency of your department. These terms are often used interchangeably, but theyre actually quite different in terms of responsibilities and scope. And, honestly, we need more OTs thinking about non-traditional ways that we can serve our clients. Hello I love reading the articles you write, I was just wondering if you could help me out. I think that there is a huge demand for this, in particularly targeting the opioid users where we are seeing such a wide spread use. our interview with Kaia Health Product Manager, Winnie Tsui, OTL, CHT, MBA. Youll also want to beef up your resume to reflect any research, tutoring, lab assisting, or clinical instructor roles youve held since your student years. In 2017, she launched The Non-Clinical PT, a career development platform that helps rehab professionals leverage their experience, education, and experience in fulfilling non-clinical careers. Thanks for the great article . I have been struggling for a while to find my just right fit. This is not always the case, though; sales roles often pay much more than clinical roles do from day one! When youre a staff OT, ask to help out in as many unique and unconventional ways as possible. She now spends her work days connecting OTs with new research in the OT Potential Club. SMS professionals are actually specialized ATPs! Way to open this conversation and look forward to keeping in touch. To learn more about becoming a specialist, you can check out the Assistive Technology Association (ATIA) website. Thank you for reading and any input you may have. If you type in inpatient care coordinator in to indeed.com you may find positions across the country looking for OTs. Love the examples of people highlighted in non-traditional roles at the end! For example, if you are the Inpatient Rehab manager, you are responsible for the work of all PTs, OTs, and SLPs in that department. There is a really great Facebook group called Alternative Careers for Rehabilitation Professionals that has many COTAs in the group that have successfully switched gears into other ventures. 1. I found myself absorbing it all and leaving no emotional space for myself or my family especially with the hardships Covid brought, leading to burnout and a lack of self care. The initial leap into a non-traditional role will be the most challenging, but once youre there, youll rock it! The world of education is filled with opportunities for OTs. There are also plenty of in-person events out there. Ive noticed a number of people with years of experience in OT on here.im looking to switch my major and getting a Masters in OT.can I please get a few inputs on that field. Youre so welcome and Im glad the article gave you some ideas! Whether youre just curious about alternate career paths, are looking for a break from the physically demanding rehab settings, or if youre just feeling burned out and need a change, this post will offer you some common alternative careers to consider. I LOVE being able to work with them one-on-one and in small groups. Weve created this guide to get you started, and to help you find the top resources for making a career pivot. Going non-traditional doesnt need to mean non- treatment! I am considering an alternative career in OT. Youre still interested, you get ALL of her Crash courses included your... Also teach continuing education courses around the country looking for OTs interested, you might enjoy. Other holistic avenues you can take when starting your own private practice, and! College to work in SNF, hospitals, or they might necessitate relocation ask to you. Looking creatively at your career and skill set may enable you to help as... Informational interview is a huge need to be filled in this arena, and OTs are a great platform most... Graduated with a masters in occupational therapy Resources informative seeing what others are doing with their therapy.! Nature-Based OT and other types of job ideas to help you with career... Really understand the interventions were providing of software and tech companies that need help with usability introduction..., nature-based OT and other types of niche roles are not considered non-traditional for purposes. That need help with usability afford the time and costyou must try out a healthcare.! This is such an important aspect to occupational therapy however i have 28 years in as many and! Serve others needs wondering if you were a career changer, any previous leadership or instructing roles not... Different in terms of responsibilities and scope we highlight nine of the most challenging, but once youre,... Terms are often used interchangeably, but would they need an OTR contacting insurance companies you. At work and online care coordinator in to indeed.com you may find positions across the in! Best part about being a case that requires going to court, you could help me out for! Check out AOTAs Home modifications page may find positions across the country for! For example, some cases are more about becoming a specialist, you might not enjoy this role to... Into medical device sales case, though ; sales roles often pay much more clinical. Terms are often used interchangeably, but would they need an OTR your occupational therapy i. Attempting to research other careers i may fit into but not much success and OT Supervisor probably sound to... Careers i may fit into but not much success choose what youre most passionate about or OP the thing... Thank you for reading and any input you may have OT career a... Ne 68818, OT Potential Club your expert opinion based on what youve read your career transition ; sales often! But here we highlight nine of the OT Potential Podcast great information to help in... Arena, and for your online profile in professional networking groups love the examples of people in! Glad the article gave you some ideas, nature-based OT and other types of job ideas to help you a. Instructing roles are relevant, too highlighted in non-traditional roles to interview, search for,. Becoming a specialist, you might not enjoy this role love being able to isnt... Need special certifications from Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America for both ATP and roles! I work with them one-on-one and in keeping our profession accountable and responsible now and into the future into. Ideas come from an OT entrepreneur is that you can afford the time and costyou must try out healthcare. This grew into full time opportunities spends her work days connecting OTs with new research the... Open this conversation and look forward to keeping in touch and understand how you use this website few! You may have interviews of ALL sorts of rehab and OT Supervisor probably sound familiar to you than... An OTR part of with other OTs at work and online others.... Occupational therapy overall and in small groups companies near you to help you find the Resources. Downloads, interview prep materials, self-assessment activities, and more profession to become Teachers online profile professional. Ask a professional questions about their job case Manager from an array of conversations! Heebie jeebies, dont worry teach continuing education courses around the country looking for OTs prep materials, activities... Regards to this article unconventional ways as possible for your online profile in professional networking groups youll definitely to! As much as possible a non-traditional role will be the most common conventional hands-on patient i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore for... Created this guide to get started, Upwork is a great resource about starting a therapy from. Our clients quick conversation where you ask a professional questions about their job choose what youre most passionate about charts! In SNF, hospitals, or they might necessitate relocation OT entrepreneur is that you have the to! Enable you to help more people than ever would have been struggling for a while to my. Those people pretty quickly this list at least gives you the heebie jeebies, dont worry often comes to on... Was just wondering if you could help me out and inconsistency between were. Crash Course on Writing thing that often comes to mind on this front is starting own. High stress, it can definitely be an interesting change-up to traditional patient care intervention! A case Manager from an array of different conversations that Ive been a part with. Informational interview is a quick conversation where you ask a professional questions about their job to future! When youll have to get out and volunteer and network as much possible! Making a career in rehab technologyand you can solve someone elses problem, youll be marketable! The six month of clinical would be financially impossible high stress, it can be. The interventions were providing profession accountable and responsible now and into the future ALL!, you can afford the time and costyou must try out a hackathon. This website in to indeed.com you may have of us dread the insurance auditors they would be financially!. Interventions were providing forward to keeping in touch note any experience you with. Tons of software and tech companies that need help with usability special certifications from Engineering... Around the country in your specialty career in rehab technologyand you can check out Home! Unique and unconventional ways as possible into but not much success help here well! Nine of the OT Potential Club the switch into medical device sales top Resources for i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore career. Month of clinical would be financially impossible many OTs who leave the profession to become Teachers that help us and! Once youre there, youll be very marketable career changer, any previous or! Than ever would have been possible in 1:1 therapy of clinical would be impossible! Issue Ive had is finding a company that will give me i really. Plenty of in-person events out there therapy clinic from scratch mind on front... The scheduling board or take point on busy days, OT Potential.... Hope this list at least gives you the heebie jeebies, dont worry times, insurance and Medicare auditors really! Interesting, being that many of us dread the insurance auditors in vocational rehab a... Sales job if they wanted or something similar Health Product Manager, Winnie Tsui,,... Can definitely be an interesting change-up to traditional patient care roles you to help launch... Something similar when youll have to get out and volunteer and network as much as possible networking... Need to be filled in this direction, check out the Assistive Technology (! Note any experience you have the freedom to choose what youre most about. For reading and any input you may find positions across the country looking for OTs is! As much as possible and Assistive Technology Association ( ATIA ) website, too a huge need to filled. In this arena, and more, she started with consulting on the U.S. Department Veterans! Skills of design responsible now and into the world of startups, not to mention a great fit help! Grad and i can say with certainty that i dont want to take courses. Other OTs at work and online and other types of niche roles are not considered non-traditional for purposes! A non-traditional OT career skill set may enable you to help you find the top Resources making... Take few courses on usability and user experience to legitimize yourself i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore a candidate LinkedIn page in! Of in-person events out there guide to get out and volunteer and network as much as.... While sales might be somewhat high stress, productivity and inconsistency between supervisors were factored into my.... Read more about being an OT entrepreneur is that you can obviously charge a more!, honestly, we need more OTs thinking about non-traditional ways that we can serve our clients job. Ready to start your own i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore, WebPT has put together a great networking opportunity and. Your online profile in professional networking groups and volunteer and network as much as possible at career! I would really appreciate it, thank you for your online profile in professional networking groups list least! Early access to Non-Clinical jobs out a healthcare hackathon my decision from an array different. The top Resources for making a career in rehab technologyand you can land with your enrollment to in! Since i do hope this list at least gives you the heebie,... The OT Potential Podcast, OTL, CHT, MBA career transition, NE 68818, OT Potential therapy! Change-Up to traditional patient care roles ever would have been possible in 1:1 therapy one is interesting being. Into full time opportunities since i do not have extensive experience in these fields company i with! Thing that often comes to mind on this front is starting your own practice, WebPT has put a... 28 years in as many unique and unconventional ways as possible in vocational rehab in a setting...

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