OT Careers – The Road Less Traveled

by Cheryl Hall on January 15th, 2018

Occupational therapists have so many career paths to explore. Whether you are a new grad or are looking for a mid-career change, I thought it would be fun to explore some special OT careers.

I was surprised that my favorite, home health care, only accounts for 6% of all OTs! Here are some of the other less traveled OT career paths.

Enjoy!
Cheryl Hall, OT
Author and Illustrator, Occupational Therapy Toolkit

Home Health Care
Variety and impact makes home health a rewarding choice. By meeting the patient where they live, you have an endless number of variables to consider so you are never going to be bored. There is also no guesswork about the barriers the patient is facing. Your job of finding the right interventions to match the patient’s home environment just got a little easier. With customized interventions, your patients can be safer and more productive. Home health may also provide you with a deeper relationship with caregivers.

Neo Natal Unit
This specialized field pairs OTs with some of the most fragile of patients. OTs help protect these little fighters from excessive sensory environmental factors and assist parents adapt feeding, bonding and other key activities to meet the needs of their baby.

Emergency Room
A face pace and an every changing patient roster define this new role for OTs. Proactive hospitals, working to keep readmissions down and returns to the ER to a minimum, are adding occupation therapists to the ER team with great results. OTs are tasked with identifying functional limitations and safety concerns, as well as helping decide on the best next step for the patient.

Pain Management
With the opioid crisis raging, OTs are a critical asset to the healthcare system. OTs can focus on the power of self-management and provide adaptive ways to overcome barriers to daily living. Other key roles of OT include education, proactive pain control, activity pacing and safe body ergonomics.

Travel Therapists
The tradeoff for a travel OT is greater freedom with a wide range of experiences for less certainty and stability. If you are flexible and would like a schedule that is never the same, try working as a travel therapist. Some find it easier to work with a placement service while others strike out on their own.

Hippotherapy
Do you love horses and recognize the potential benefit for your patients? After completing specialized training, OTs use hippotherapy as one treatment strategy to address limitations and disabilities. The warmth, shape and rhythmic movement of the horse provides patients a unique intervention that can positively impact posture, balance, coordination and strength.

Mental Health
Occupational therapists can assist patients in all stages of recovery and in the management of a behavioral health diagnosis. From identification of goals and development of a recovery action plan to help establishing healthy habits and techniques to monitor their own health, the OT’s holistic approach helps patients obtain a stable, fulfilling life.

Prenatal and Postnatal Care
Becoming a mother can be an overwhelming experience for some women. Specialized OT practices have sprung up to support a woman through the physical, hormonal, and emotional changes that come with pregnancy and then help with the transition to motherhood. Reducing stress and increasing the mother-baby bond are the key goals.

Addiction
A specialized field within behavioral health, the presence of occupational therapists is resurging in addiction treatment. Addicts have often forgot what other occupations gave them pleasure and satisfaction. OTs are uniquely qualified to help patients along the road to recovery with the process of self-discovery and self-determination.

Sleep Therapy
Consistent, restful sleep is critical to a patient’s physical and emotional well-being. Considered a life skill, many OT’s teach patients about healthy sleep habits as a part of their practice. But some have taken it a step further by specializing in sleep therapy including instruction in breathing techniques, establishing good habits and environmental factors like positioning.

Are you in a unique OT career? Write me and tell me about your experience! I would love to hear from you.

  • About Me

    Cheryl Hall
    Occupational Therapist
    Maryland, United States

    Welcome to a site devoted to sharing experience, knowledge and resources to make your job of being a great therapist a lot easier.

    I have been an occupational therapist for more than 30 years. I graduated from San Jose State University with degrees in Occupational Therapy, Gerontology, and Early Child Development. My passion is working with adults and children in home health but I have also worked in rehab, sub-acute rehab, hand therapy, transitional living for TBI, and hospital-based outpatient settings.

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