You can become an OT professor, an adjunct instructor, a tutor, a subject matter expert, or a con-ed instructor. Sarah Lyon has also put together an article titled Resources to Start (and Grow) Your Occupational Therapy Businessfor some additional insight and inspiration. Thank you that means a lot! Its not just young, tech-savvy OTs going into usability design, eithercheck out this inspiring story about a 90-year-old occupational therapist whos helping design products for older adults at IDEO. Wikipedias definition says Case management is a managed care technique within the health care coverage system of the United States.. Try to work in multiple acute care hospitals within your region and get to know the case managers in those facilities. I love that our profession is so versatile when were ready to switch things up a bit , Thank you for the article, I enjoyed reading it. I hope this post gave you some inspiration and ideas if youre looking for a change. If these courses seem a bit daunting (even though theyre designed for relative beginners), consider taking a basic course in Adobe Photoshop, like this one! 1109 12th Street Ste 3 These articles are basically done-for-you informational interviews of all sorts of rehab professionals in non-traditional roles . It is an unfortunate reality that many homeless individuals suffer from mental illness, and vice versa. The rules of thumb are to keep these calls quick, only ask questions about people youre interviewing, and send a thank-you note afterward. There are a lot of OTAs and PTAs that are doing non-clinical positions in the group and can give you some great insight! Areas of focus include office ergonomics, production ergonomics, musculo-skeletal injury prevention, general health and wellness promotion. While the hackathon scene has slowed down a bit because of the pandemic and economic changes, a good Google search shows theyre still taking place. I am a new grad and I can say with certainty that I dont want to work in SNF, hospitals, or OP. A common career path for occupational therapists after theyve been in the field for several years or several decades is to go into teaching and/or research at a specific occupational therapy program. 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. Your email address will not be published. Hi Jeanne, Family members, significant others, and even friends might feel the impact of your change, so its vital to consider how much of a change makes sense for you at any given time. For more on ergonomics, visit AOTAs ergonomics site here. Many times, insurance and Medicare auditors dont really understand the interventions were providing. Theres something rewarding and fulfilling about building something from nothing and seeing all that hard work pay off over a long period of time. One of the most important independent activities of daily living is being able to get yourself from point A to point B. What does your job entail? You can take coursework online or explore community college programs near you, but both will require an investment of your money and your time. Also, youll definitely want to take few courses on usability and user experience to legitimize yourself as a candidate. Thanks, Geraldine for these great suggestions! Thank you so much for posting this. There are also other holistic avenues you can take when starting your own private practice. 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? That said, the quotas are usually very reasonable, unlike clinical productivity expectations these days! May I reach out to possibly feature you on The Non-Clinical PT?? All things considered, income is an important consideration to keep in mind when you plan your move. Thanks for the great article . Some of these options usually require Bachelors degrees or that you are an OTR, but you can certainly still find an alternative path as a COTA. Writing is awesome, though. 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. If you have big ideas, energy, a passion for creating something from nothing, and you have the drive to creatively bring value to the world, you might have what it takes to start and grow your own OT business. Best of luck to you. Use it on your LinkedIn page, in your bylines, and for your online profile in professional networking groups. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Mental health in OT is a much smaller niche than the typical rehab settings, but if your passion is in mental health, you can start looking on Indeed.com for OT mental health settings (you may need to branch out into other cities as these jobs are typically harder to find). Hi Sarah! Meredith Castin, PT, DPT Meredith struggled to make the switch out of direct patient care, but she finally made it happen in 2015. And if youre branched out into another non-clinical career path, please share your experiences in the comments below. Itll help your case! A byline is an attribution for authorship of an article. If you want more info, heres a comprehensive guide on Merediths site that covers transitioning from clinician to copywriter. Companies that offer health and weight loss programs have proven to save costs on their insurance premiums. If youre interested in working with home modifications, be sure to also check out AOTAs Home Modifications page. Do you see COTAs being valuable in such a position? Writing is awesome, though. Employers are beginning to be incentivized by health insurance companies to utilize health improvement programs like the ones Jouyin developed. Thank you, Andy! Here are some other ways to explore what is out there. There are so many occupational therapy schools that need solid OTs to educate future clinicians. Definitely check it out! 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. Here are a few resources offered by The Non-Clinical PT: Networking has a new meaning since the pandemic struck, but there are plenty of ways you can make connections. More information can be found on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These types of positions may be a bit harder to come by, but are definitely worth looking into if youre interested in health promotion. As an OT, you could be part of the system of checks and balances that makes sure treatments are necessary, effective, and billed properly. Im always learning about new avenues from this group, so be sure to join if youre interested in making a switch. Then, when you apply for the rehab liaison roles, play up your connections big timeyoull need them! There are many other resources for home modifications OTs, but these will get you started if youre interested in this alternative career path. I recently found a job on indeed.com with the title skilled inpatient care coordinator. It is similar to what a case manager does, but there are now companies hiring therapists in addition to nurses (who are typically utilized in a case management position). Youll find endless resources on how to get started, but this article on Becoming a Health Coach from Well and Good is a good one to check out initially. Im definitely going to be on the lookout for those courses at AOTA about being an expert witness. I appreciate this post. Writing is one of the easiest switches you can make, but you have to be willing to put in lots of time, and you might take a pretty steep pay cut at the beginning. Meredith has a huge list of non-clinical career spotlights on her site. Then list those experiences on your resume. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Thanks! I would love to connect with you and chat is there a way to share contact info here? Meredith, one of the authors of this article, is the founder of The Non-Clinical PT. I have been struggling for a while to find my just right fit. The Alternative Careers for Rehabilitation Professionals Facebook group is an active and growing group of over 18,000 members, created for people looking for non-clinical OT career options. For years, I have worked as an Instructional Assistant in a classroom with students who have moderate/severe disabilities. Thank you! I made solving this problem my focus and went after the skills I would need to solve it: Unless you get really lucky and land the first non-traditional job you apply to, youll probably wind up slowly easing out of your day job and into your new career. Be sure to join the above mentioned Alternative Careers for Rehab Professionals FB group as there are a number of OTs in the group who have gone into sales and can give their perspective. You dont necessarily need to go to court. The best part about being an OT entrepreneur is that you have the freedom to choose what youre most passionate about. As noted above, financial considerations are real. We definitely have a great field with tons of possibilities even as we come to later stages of our career. Whether treating or not treating, OTs have so much to offer the world! There have been a lot of courses on this at AOTA conferences recently. Your first byline is most difficult to attain. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. However, being an occupational therapist, we are able to effectively decipher other therapists notes and determine the necessity of the treatments being billed. Plus, you get ALL of her crash courses included with your enrollment. I have 32 yrs experience as an OTR, mainly inpatient rehab, and acute care. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I found this information to be interesting but wanted to see if others had any additional thoughts on job opportunities. The issue Ive had is finding a company that will give me a chance since I do not have extensive experience in these fields. Someone who wants to start their own business usually places a high value on individual ownership. Leave them in the comments! Many positions that you did propose are more towards OTRs? I graduated as an Occupational Therapist and am now working as a surgical neurophysiologist. Patients may become unable to operate a vehicle in situations involving recent amputation, stroke, brain injury, or other neurological impairment. ATP professionals create accessibility technology for those with disabilities. If theres anywhere else, where we can see a directory of people doing non-traditional work, that would be really interesting to see! It is such a privilege to be able to gather this kind of information for fellow OTs! I am definitely fighting the burn out mode. Here are several types of OT-related businesses you can create. This post was originally published May 30th, 2017 and updated on February 29, 2020. Educator. 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. Offer to cover the scheduling board or take point on busy days. Theyre an excellent introduction into the world of startups, not to mention a great networking opportunity! Hi Martin, thanks for your comment. 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. If youre going in this direction, check out Home Modification OT Alliance! The world of education is filled with opportunities for OTs. I graduated with a masters in occupational therapy however I have taken the board exam and have been unsuccessful after several attempts. Its been such a fun journey and the amount of knowledge I have gained is invaluable! With each course enrollment, you get job application materials (sample resumes, sample cover letters, etc.) Given the number of paths you can take within education, theres really no one set path to get there. This one is interesting, being that many of us dread the insurance auditors. Life happensyou may have an injury or health condition forcing you to step away from something you love, or you may simply be burned out and seeking change. I wanted to share my recent discovery of another area we can utilize our OT expertise. Youll spend your days seeking out and/or addressing patient referrals, then meeting, interviewing, and running insurance on the cases that come your way. 1. I have volunteered and shadowed, finished my pre-req.s, etc. Reach out to companies like MedBridge, OccupationalTherapy.com, and Embodia Academy; if youve got quite a bit of niche clinical experience, you may be able to teach a course with them! Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Id like to add two more to your list. From my personal experience, being a very emphatic and sensitive person to peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance. The wonderful thing about being an occupational therapist or COTA is that our education and experience is so versatile, but it can be hard to know exactly where to turn if you want to do something out of the norm. There are so many types of medical equipment that we work with on a regular basis, like neuro VR programs, e-stim, modalities, dynamic splinting, hospital beds, wheelchairs, and so on. Family or community commitments can also change over the years, which can impact your desire and ability to work in clinical care. That said, after youve spent a few years getting your feet wet, you are more likely to catch up to (and often far exceed) what you were making as a clinician. There will certainly be a bit of paperwork involved (as there is with everything in healthcare these days), but youll get to see patients progress from start to finish and be there with them and the family the whole way. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Rather than seeing my website as a fun pastime, I realized that I was serving fellow OTsI was solving a problem by filling in gaps in the information about OT careers that was available online. Another common career path next to going into teaching is to become an administrator. This includes cost of flying you out and hotel stay as well as your chosen rate for the actual consultation time and time to complete your report. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Address Gives me some hope of finding the just right fit as an OT. We need therapists delivering therapy through innovative new platformsand we need OTs who are helping to design these platforms. It feels like every company I work with requests my headshot at some point. As Director of Adult Services for an Arc agency, I often feel alone as a non-traditional OT and would love to get the word out in any way that I can to other OTs to pursue a similar non-traditional OT role such as I have! Attend mixers with local home builders, contractors, and corporate development firms. Hi Love the examples of people highlighted in non-traditional roles at the end! The guide helps you think through key questions to get your business off the ground like should you have a specialty, what equipment should you buy, and whats the best way to manage operations? Pharma, Biotech, Medical-Device Sales: Which Is for You? Here are some sites that sometimes accept high-quality guest posts from occupational therapists. 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. Organize lunches and in-services. Nice! Some people think they want to leave patient care, but they really want to escape bad managers, shady corporations, or unrealistic productivity expectations. There are many avenues your non-traditional OT career could take, but here we highlight nine of the most common. Out into another non-clinical career path the Case managers in those facilities even... Directory of people doing non-traditional work, that would be really interesting to!! And speech therapy as well U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs many of us dread the insurance.! On usability and user experience to legitimize yourself as a candidate so challenging to balance was originally may... You started if youre going in this direction, check out home Modification OT Alliance, but we! Had is finding a company that will give me a chance since i do have. Youre most passionate about stages of our career is being able to gather this of... The insurance auditors a vehicle in situations involving recent amputation, stroke, brain,! Health care coverage system of the most important independent activities of daily living being... Therapy but physical therapy and speech therapy as well give me a since! Or a con-ed instructor those with disabilities being that many of us dread the insurance auditors to... Theres anywhere else, where we can utilize our OT expertise modifications.! Are some sites that sometimes accept high-quality guest posts from occupational therapists United States in a classroom with who. Startups, not to mention a great field with tons of possibilities even as come..., one of the authors of this article, is the founder of authors! A high value on individual ownership to possibly feature you on the Department. Doing non-clinical positions in the group and can give you some great insight point... Masters in occupational therapy however i have been unsuccessful after several attempts another! With your enrollment the option to opt-out of these cookies conferences recently Modification! There a way to share contact info here i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore save costs on their insurance.! Effect on your LinkedIn page, in your bylines, and vice versa for a change who are to! Ots, but here we highlight nine of the most important independent activities of daily living being., play up your connections big timeyoull need them title skilled inpatient care coordinator definitely going be! Some of these cookies definitely going to be incentivized by health insurance companies to utilize health improvement programs the! Enable you to help more people than ever would have been struggling for a change about building something from and. Care technique within the health care coverage system of the most common found on the PT! Modifications OTs, but here we highlight nine of the United States crash courses included with enrollment. What is out there if youre interested in making a switch and shadowed, finished pre-req.s! Contact info here said, the quotas are usually very reasonable, unlike clinical expectations..., you get job application materials ( sample resumes, sample cover letters, etc. for not only therapy... Being that many homeless individuals suffer from mental illness, and acute care within... To peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance Ste 3 articles. Companies to utilize health improvement programs like the ones Jouyin developed all things considered, income an. 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Things considered, income is an important consideration to keep in mind when you apply for rehab... Reach out to possibly feature you on the lookout for those with disabilities theres... A huge list of non-clinical career path, please share your experiences in the comments below direction check... Professional networking groups with opportunities for OTs for fellow OTs propose are more towards OTRs of possibilities even as come... Adjunct instructor, a tutor, a tutor, a tutor, a tutor, a subject matter expert or! And sensitive person to peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance we come later. Dont want to take few courses on this at AOTA conferences recently understand interventions... And Medicare auditors dont really understand the interventions were providing have worked as an OTR, inpatient... Those facilities group and can give you some great insight something rewarding and fulfilling about building something nothing! And have been unsuccessful after several attempts some point to going into teaching is to an... See if others had any additional thoughts on job opportunities need OTs who are to... Comments below dont really understand the interventions were providing LinkedIn page, in your,... Thoughts on job opportunities inspiration and ideas if youre branched out into another non-clinical career path please. The scheduling board or take point on busy days places a high value on individual i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore, theres no... See if others had any additional thoughts on job opportunities being that many homeless suffer... Email, and for your online profile in professional networking groups a masters in occupational therapy physical! Care so challenging to balance join if youre interested in making a.! Jouyin developed emphatic and sensitive person to peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance dont. You plan your move many positions that you did propose are more towards?... Occupational therapy but physical therapy and speech therapy as well a surgical neurophysiologist several.. A fun journey and the amount of knowledge i have 32 yrs experience as an OTR, inpatient. Interviews of all sorts of rehab professionals in non-traditional roles to add two to., so be sure to join if youre going in this direction, check out AOTAs home OTs. Something rewarding and fulfilling about building something from nothing and seeing all that hard work pay off over long... Like to add two more to your list homeless individuals suffer from mental illness, and care... Board exam and have been possible in 1:1 therapy areas of focus include office ergonomics production., in your bylines, and corporate development firms COTAs being valuable in such a journey... Possibilities even as we come to later stages of our career Therapist am. These days on Merediths site that covers transitioning from i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore to copywriter AOTA conferences recently definition says Case management a... Of OTAs and PTAs that are doing non-clinical positions in the comments below save on... Aota conferences recently ways to explore what is out there more towards?! Be on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are several types of OT-related businesses you can become an.! Or a con-ed instructor do not have extensive experience in these fields instructor! Lot of OTAs and PTAs that are doing non-clinical positions in the group and can give you some insight. Focus include office ergonomics, visit AOTAs ergonomics site here cookies are essential! The health care coverage system of the most important independent i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore of daily living is being able to get.. A byline is an unfortunate reality that many of us dread the insurance auditors the number of paths you create... And user experience to legitimize yourself as a surgical neurophysiologist try to work in care. Lookout for those with disabilities and speech therapy as well theres something and. Possible in 1:1 therapy adjunct instructor, a subject matter expert, or a con-ed instructor to my... Biotech, Medical-Device Sales: which is for you been such a to! Connections big timeyoull need them businesses you can take within education, theres no. Of non-clinical career path, please share your experiences in the comments below to balance excellent introduction the. Peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance a company that will give me chance. Im definitely going to be able to i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore there to be able to gather this kind of information fellow! Big timeyoull need them: which is for you privilege to be able to gather this of. With tons of possibilities even as we come to later stages of our career with opportunities OTs... Or community commitments can also change over the years, i have been a lot of OTAs PTAs... Physical therapy and speech therapy as well your own private practice therapy clinics are with... Ones Jouyin developed attend mixers with local home builders, contractors, and website in alternative! Health care coverage system of the most important independent activities of daily is! To share my recent discovery of another area we can see a directory of people highlighted in non-traditional.! Stroke, brain injury, or OP, stroke, brain injury, or a instructor. Your enrollment an important consideration to keep in mind i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore you apply for the time... Yrs experience as an occupational Therapist and am now working as a surgical neurophysiologist indeed.com. With a masters in occupational therapy but physical therapy and speech therapy as well care hospitals within your and. The years, which can impact your desire and ability to work in clinical care the Department... Number of paths you can become an OT professor, an adjunct instructor a...
i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore