John, When I first read this thread, my first thought was how fatigued I am with this "chronic dilemma" we share as OTs. I am an OT with 23 years of experience in many different clinical practice areas. While I should have 26 years experience because of when I graduated, I elected to leave the field of OT for 3 years to work in the software industry. While my job was nothing remotely associated to healthcare, I found that daily I used my skills of activity analysis and facilitating human occupation in the job of training adult end-users of proprietary software. Even though I was not working in the healthcare industry, I was still an OT at heart. Where am I going with this? Well, I came back to the field from whence I began as I found the grass was indeed not greener. Burnout, as Ron alluded, is common to all industries where intense challenges are encountered daily. However, the payoff at the end of the day (and sometimes, it is financial too) is also intense. Just yesterday, in fact, I called a patient to schedule a home health visit. The call, which I thought should have been a simple scheduling task, turned into me engaged in a 20-minute long theoretical/philosophical discussion with the patient and family member about "who I am" and "what my role" was. Of course, it was obvious to the patient/family what the PT and nurse on the case were all about. At the end of the conversation, I had the patient and family enthusiastically agreeing to have an OT evaluation. I am proud of that. I see that as a success for our profession just as I see each similar repetition of this scenario day after day a success. It IS very taxing (especially after 23 years) having to explain and justify ourselves. But, with more dedicated people like yourself and those who have replied already to this thread, we'll eventually get there.
But having said that, John, I believe this change won't happen soon. So, if this is a major deal-breaker you may want to do some more investigating, interviewing, on-the-job observation, soul searching, etc. before jumping into the OT ranks. The area of practice you ultimately choose will also matter. For instance, you mentioned hand therapy. In a hand therapy clinic, you most likely will NEVER have to worry about "bathroom duty" or engaging in taxing philosophical/theoretical discussions about your role. However, if I may do as I always do and editorialize freely here, you will also be bored out of your skull in a hand therapy clinic if you are a "right-brained" individual! I have found, many times over, that patients who have a "good OT" will almost always sing their praises over any PT. I say this not to disparage our PT brethren but to say that is is most likely more gratifying for a person to have a purposeful task, such as a beloved hobby, restored vs. "walking 200 feet with a cane vs. a walker", or "improving quadriceps strength 1/2 grade." Having been an OT many years, and experiencing professional life from this frame of reference, and being faced with intense challenges that come from an "evolving" profession, I would still choose OT over PT. As for financial reward if that interests you, it is not uncommon at all these days to have OTs earning salaries equal to PTs depending on clinical practice areas, geographical considerations,etc. And, as an OT, I have enjoyed many years of professional respect of colleagues, patients, physicians, etc. because of what we have to offer. I applaud your diligence in investigating the decision to pursue an OT career. In reading the responses on this list, I'd say you've come to the right place to investigate a little deeper. There have already been a few really insightful replies (Carmen, Ron, and Michael) and I couldn't resist launching my missive for what it's worth. I wish more folks who read this list would share with us some of their invaluable experiences/thoughts from the field. Bill Maloney, OTR www.embracelifewell.com -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
