Calling all OTs (Occupational Therapists)?!


Question:

Calling all OTs (Occupational Therapists)?

Anyone care to tell me what you do on a daily basis, where you work, what type of patients you work for, how flexible your schedule is, do you have a family you are able to see without conflicting w/ work, and I know most people won't answer but how much you make? I am just a high school junoir trying to figure out if I really want to go into OT, because I know I really want to have a large family as well. Anything will help! Thanks!


Answers:

I am currently working in Home care but have worked in hospitals, nursing homes, and private practice.
1. Flexibility depends on what setting you are working in. The most flexible is home care, you make your own schedule and make sure that you see all your patients each week. The most unflexible are hospitals, you clock in at the time clock and have your schedule assigned to you. Middle ground is the nursing homes. You can leave early and stay late the next day, take a day off and make it up on the weekends, etc.

2. As an OTR my job is to train people to reach their prior Independant level that they were at prior to an injury or illness. This varies from person to person with what I work on them with. For a patient that has recently had a stroke I work with neurodevopmental techniques to retrain the body to correctly move again. With a person who has recently had a joint replacement I train them with the use of adaptive equipment to safely be able to complete dressing, toileting, household activities. As an OTR you can work with any age from birth to hospice but there is a large need out there for the geriatric population. We can address physical disabilities as well as mental disabilities but again the need is greater for physical disabilities ever since they closed most of the mental institutions.
3. The starting salary for an OTR also depends on what setting you work in. Typically the starting pay at a hospital is around 40,000 but they have great benefits including (usually) the most paid time off. Nursing homes pay a bit better but (again usually ) don't offer as great of benefits. Home health care pays better as well but I would not recommend it for a new grad, you are on your own with each patient and the paperwork! Each state varies a little in pay so it would depend on where you live.
4. The nice option with being a Therapist ( OT, PT, ST) is that you can work as little or as much as you want! There is always a need for contingent therapists to fill in or complete evaluations, etc. Most of the Therapists that I know without children work at 2 or 3 different companies, one full time and the others contingent. Those that do have children work whatever they need :)




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