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OT is a field with a bit of an identity crisis so as OTs we are quick to dissuade anyone who says \u2013 \u201cDoes OT help people find jobs?\u201d<\/p>\nOT is a field with a bit of an identity crisis so as OTs we are quick to dissuade anyone who says \u2013 \u201cDoes OT help people find jobs?\u201d<\/p>\n
But OT can and should help patients identify jobs, keep current employment or help improve function at work.\u00a0 Work provides identity, purpose and a sense of community for millions each day and the loss of a job or the ability to effectively do a job can be devastating.\u00a0 OT can absolutely help employees and employers identify jobs that fit patient needs and evaluate the conditions and accommodations to support employment or a return to employment.<\/p>\n
Person-Centered Job Exploration<\/strong> Return to Work After Injury or Illness<\/strong> Work Supports for Persons with Disabilities<\/strong> Injury Prevention<\/strong> So the next time someone asks you if OT can help them find a job, don\u2019t be so quick with that hard no!\u00a0 Take some time to give a more nuanced answer and promote the role of OT in the workplace because the role of OT, like in many setting, can be overlooked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OT is a field with a bit of an identity crisis so as OTs we are quick to dissuade anyone who says \u2013 \u201cDoes OT help people find jobs?\u201d But OT can and should help patients identify jobs, keep current employment or help improve function at work.\u00a0 Work provides identity,…<\/p>\n Read more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Jobs-and-OT-FB.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7844,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions\/7844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWork is the center of many patients\u2019 identity and economic self-sufficiency and OT can help identify vocational or volunteer options that fit a person\u2019s goals, interests, skills and abilities.\u00a0 OT will work to address barriers like transportation and can connect people to other community resources and training to make those goals a reality.<\/p>\n
\nWhether the injury happened at work or outside of employment, OT should be a critical component of any return-to-work plan.\u00a0 OT can evaluate the workplace setting and the employee to design supports after illness or injury.\u00a0 OT supports include improving strength, endurance, hand dexterity, standing balance and\/or cognition.\u00a0 OT is key to treating work-related musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel, rotator cuff injury, epicondylitis, trigger finger\/thumb, back pain, or arthritis.\u00a0 Work conditioning and hardening can also be provided by OT and can include job simulation or the use of transitional job duties.<\/p>\n
\nWith unemployment at historic lows, some employers are more open to considering a person who has different abilities than their traditional employee.\u00a0 Organizations that support persons with a disability enter the workforce need OT on the team.\u00a0 OT\u2019s person-centered perspective aligns with new models that create a job search plan around a person\u2019s existing connections in the community \u2013 it turns out old-fashioned networking is important for persons that are differently abled too!\u00a0 In addition, OT is the master of evaluating both the person\u2019s physical or cognitive challenges and modifying the environment to maximize function.<\/p>\n
\nWhether employment is desk-based or on the factory floor, OT can evaluate ergonomic, environmental and psychosocial risk factors in the workplace.\u00a0 From safely handling materials or people, pre-work warm up and stretch programs, or office ergonomics and proper posture and body mechanics, \u00a0OT can help maintain employee health and wellness.\u00a0 This preventative focus is especially crucial for jobs that require repetitive movement or strenuous activity.<\/p>\n