Hello John: I've been an OT for over 10 years. Like you, I came to the profession in my mid 30's. In fact, I was the oldest student in my class. I would like to address your concerns.
1) OT is a VERY diverse profession. OT work across the life span and in many different types of settings. Thus, there is almost no accurate description that defines ALL types of OT. Work experience in an acute care pediatric hospital is vastly different than in a mental health hospital. This diversity has advantages and disadvantages for both the profession and the individual practitioner. For example, if changing diapers is not your "cup of tea", then you should not work in a setting where this is a reality. For years, I worked in an acute care rehab hospital. Patient incontinence was a daily event and ALL professions participated in butt wiping and diaper changing. I NEVER liked doing it but I often found it a great tool to help patient motivation, because as much as I didn't like it, they liked it even less! 2) Being an OT is frustrating. In my opinion, we have a major identity crisis, both among ourselves and with other professionals. For years, I have written about this crisis but it just seems to be part of who/what we are. OT is difficult to apply and even more difficult to explain. If you are not comfortable working in a profession that is not well-known, misunderstood and difficult to explain, then OT may not be for you. Of course, you can become an OT with the goal of changing the profession so that we don't have an identity crisis (hint, hint). 3) Burnout is not unique to our profession. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, PT's, etc all suffer from burnout. As an OT you have a LOT of autonomy on who you work for and how you work. At the moment, the job market for OT is outstanding. If you are unhappy with you current setting, it's very easy to find another job. And while there may be more PT jobs offers, don't forget that there are many more PT's looking for those jobs! Seems to me like you have a wonderful start. Also being a male OT is a commodity when it comes to finding employment. Males OT's are definately a minority and our "maleness" is often a valuable assett to employers. In fact, I think I will write an article about the benefits of being a male OT. At one time, there was an organization called MOTA (Male OT Assoc). Ron ----- Original Message ----- From: John Campbell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subj: [OTlist] Conflicted > I'm currently a student completing the prerequisites to pursue a > Master's in OT. This is a career change for me in my early 30s, and I > should be in the program in 2009. I chose OT because it seemed a > stable field (growing demand), and because it focuses on psychological/ > social skills to a high degree, which really appeals to me. > Considering it now requires an MA to practice, I imagine if anything > the demand will increase. And, of course, it is helping people in an > immediate sense, and rewarding beyond it's decent compensation. > I struggled initially with OT vs. PT, and in the end it was the > heightened focus on cognitive areas of OT that trumped PT for me; > psychology and the brain are more interesting to me than physics. At > the same time, there are factors that keep making me second-guess my > choice: > 1) There's generally twice as many PT jobs available than OT, from > what I can tell. So both availability and pay scale seems to be a > little more on the PT side of things. > 2) I keep sensing frustration among OTs and hearing about burnout, > lack of recognition, and being threatened as PT gradually extends its > sphere of learning into OT areas of expertise (although I think it's a > positive thing that the two should learn and develop from each others' > strengths). Will OT and PT be the same position eventually? > 3) A couple of times I've heard of OTs doing nurse activities. Helping > someone learn to transfer themselves into a shower is one thing, but > cleaning their diaper just seems like something I wouldn't expect an > OT to have to do, and certainly something I'd never want to do. Is > this something that all OTs have to do from time to time, or does it > depend on their area of expertise (i.e. someone in hand therapy would > not run into this)? > Am I totally getting the wrong picture of OT here? I'm only going by > impressions, and I'm sure my thoughts will be cleared up to a degree > after I actually get some experience volunteer-working in a rehab > facility with PTs and OTs. > Many of you have the benefit of knowledge of having worked as OTs for > years, and can provide valuable insights. I feel like OT is more my > natural area, but little doubts keep creeping into my mind from what I > hear and see. > Thanks a lot for your thoughts. I just discovered this website and > have been perusing it quite a bit the past couple of days. > John -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
