Terrianne,
I am not going to be one of those people to challenge
your claims. I whole heartedly agree with them and I
am a recent grad.
I know that we need to get the word out on what OT is,
etc., etc., the same ol' song and dance. But, I have
quickly realized that I am not responsible for what
others want to learn and listen to. In other words, I
will educate others on what OT is and market OT till I
am blue in the face to people who want to know and to
those who could care less. But, I cannot be
responsible for them retaining what I teach them or
for them even being interested in what I am saying.
Don't get me wrong, I can do my best to make it easy
for them to understand and remember what I say or
present it in an interesting and meaningful way, but
this does not guarantee anything.
All I can do is to keep trying. That is all any of us
should do. If we quit trying them shame on us. If we
keep trying and people don't listen, then shame on
them, but we shouldn't feel responsible for the
ignorance of those that don't care to learn.
Reminds me of that old saying, "you can lead a horse
to water, but you can't make him drink". Just my 2
cents...
Sheila
--- Ron Carson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hello Terrianne:
>
> THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your thought-provoking
> words. You have given
> us (the list) much food for thought.
>
> With your permission, I wish to let my psychosocial
> OT class read your
> message.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ron
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> On 9/10/2001, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
>
> tse> Ok, I am going to take a stab here at what is a
> very complex issue...I myself
> tse> have pondered this very question and have come
> up with the following conclusion.
>
> tse> One: the roots of this profession, as far as
> treatment venues are concerned,
> tse> are with the Army. As with anything closely
> associated with the government
> tse> (until very recent history that is), there
> becomes a sort of complacency about
> tse> having to explain the rationale for why
> something is or why it even exists.
>
> tse> Two: Building upon fact one above, for many
> years the VA and government run
> tse> psychiatric facilities were the largest
> employers of OT's. Same analysis.
>
> tse> Three: Enter Medicare and mandated coverage for
> services. OT is a covered
> tse> service; no questions asked. Hence there is no
> need to explain or even
> tse> differentiate ourselves from PT. OTgets
> reimbursed because it is on the list
> tse> of covered services.
>
> tse> Four: Now the mandated service is extended to
> the public schools. Same
> tse> scenario as above.
>
> tse> Five: enter managed care. and its infiltrating
> influence to the government
> tse> programs, culminating in health care with the
> Balance Budget act of 1997.
> tse> Suddenly everything is being scrutinzed as
> never before.
>
>
> tse> Througout the history of this profession, we
> have privately (in our own little
> tse> professional body) expressed our exasperation
> at the lack of understanding of OT
> tse> to the public and to our colleagues in other
> professions. I am sure there have
> tse> been many efforts by individual practitioners
> or even by subgroups within OT to
> tse> promote the profession. But the bottom line is
> this: we have never been
> tse> collectively challenged to justify our
> existance until very recently. And the
> tse> result is a profession that has gotten
> lazy.....again, I know that there are and
> tse> have been dedicated OT's doing research,
> fighting to make a name for OT etc.,
> tse> and thank God for them! And our founders,
> what a vison they had of what OT
> tse> could be! But something has gone wrong in this
> profession since about the 60's
> tse> on...Until 3 years ago, if you asked your
> average OT on the street how critical
> tse> it is to make OT known, I don't think you would
> have gotten the same response
> tse> you would get today.
>
> tse> Before I rile too many more people up, let me
> add this: I remember in 1992, as
> tse> a FW student, asking my supervisiors why
> something was "OT" or why it
> tse> wasn't....I was at a VA and a community
> hospital psychiatric unit in a major
> tse> metropolitan area known for cranking out OT's.
> I remember vividly the day
> tse> that my Supervisior at the psych hospital said:
> "Just do a good job and make
> tse> sure the clients like OT...don't worry so much
> about what OT is or isn't...we
> tse> are a covered service and they wouldn't know
> what to do with the patients all
> tse> day without us". I remember even as a very
> green young therapist how taken
> tse> aback I was by her response. I was depressed
> to realize that even she didn't
> tse> care to know if what we were doing made any
> difference.
>
> tse> Fast forward one year, 1993 to my job as a
> staff therapist at a large regional
> tse> medical center. Here I am, new graduate,
> looking up to senior therapists as
> tse> mentors. Out of a group of 25 OT's, there were
> 2 that were members of AOTA or
> tse> the state association. Two. If the hospital
> didn't pay for it, then they
> tse> didn't do it. This was a group of well
> compensated (the height of the add on
> tse> bonus era I might add) group of people who had
> no excuse not to support the
> tse> profession. I remember them saying "AOTA
> doesn't do anything for me".
> tse> Continuing ed was seen as a way for the
> hospital to pay for a trip somewhere and
> tse> a few days away for the clinic. I again
> remember the department director saying
> tse> "they love OT at this hospital.. we and PT are
> the bread and butter around
> tse> here. We make money for the hospital".
>
> tse> As time progressed and I became more
> experienced, I wanted to engage in research
> tse> in the clinic. I was shot down. "we don't
> need to do that" I was told again
> tse> and again.
>
> tse> Then the reimbursement started tightening up
> thanks to manged care and suddenly
> tse> the pressure was on. Now the excuse to not
> engage in research was that
> tse> productivity would be an issue. And then turf
> wars really heated up....I could
> tse> go on and on.
>
>
> tse> Let me conclude with this: If you are reading
> this diatribe you are not likely
> tse> part of the problem...you ARE a dedicated OT,
> trying to prove our worth and
> tse> asking the tough questions. It is our
> colleagues who were signed on for the
> tse> good times only (read: many of the graduates
> from the mid eighties until
> tse> 1996...) that were lured into the profession by
> lucrative salaries, etc., who
> tse> are hindering NOT HELPING our cause. And they
> are leaving the profession in
> tse> droves, and I for one am glad. Let a new crop
> of dedicated students who will be
> tse> prepared to engage in research and ask the
> tough questions come into the
> tse> profession knowing full well the challenges
> ahead.
>
> tse> I am now in an academic setting where I feel
> like I can do my part to encourage
> tse> students to support the profession and
> articulate what OT is and what it isn't.
> tse> One area of research I hope to engage in is to
> study the impact on a profession
> tse> when sign on bonuses and inflated salaries are
> major enticements to enter a
> tse> profession. The literature from the business
> sector indicates that ultimately
> tse> the practice backfires and committment to an
> organization (or in our case , a
> tse> profession) are even lower than before all the
> incentives were added on.
>
> tse> Well, let me have it! Prove me wrong every one
> out there! I want to hear it
> tse> loud and clear. Thanks, Terrianne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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