COTA Jobs in Demand, or Not?
Today I thought I would explore the current demand for COTA jobs. There seems to be two different views concerning this topic floating around the rumor mill.
Some say there are plenty of jobs out there for COTA's. Others say there are few or no jobs for a COTA. Is this dependent on the part of the country you live in, or are there other factors involved in these thoughts?
Searching the job boards there appears to be many different jobs listed for a COTA. Most of these jobs are in LTC, but there are a few listed for schools, hospitals, and even out-patient clinics. There are also many jobs posted for travelers, but these would probably be in LTC as well.
As far as finding jobs more plentiful in certain areas of the country, this is something that seems to be definitely true. The larger cities and heavier populated areas do have more jobs listed. However this makes sense, more people to rehab equals more jobs to be had.
Borrowing information from an unofficial study done by another COTA finds a higher percentage of jobs available in southern Texas, southern California, New York, and New Jersey. This makes sense as all of these are highly populated areas. Another COTA from Montana says the closest job available is an hour and a half drive from home. Again, this makes sense due to the limited population in that part of the country.
Comments from a few new grads seem to indicate that jobs are few and far between. Is this due to the fact that a new grad has limited experience with billing under PPS? It seems like the contract companies are now requiring that therapists have a good knowledge base of the billing regulations, which means knowing the ins and outs of PPS. Or are some of these new grads living in a less populated area which would make finding a job harder?
Other comments from current students seem to indicate that there are no jobs available. A few students have even indicated they are having a difficult time finding places for fieldwork. In one class only five out of eighteen students were successful in finding a place to accept them for fieldwork, and all of these required travel outside of their home state. Many students have said that prior to enrolling in the OTA program the information given to them indicated that there are lots of COTA jobs available. So are the schools guilty of using out-dated information just to maintain enrollment?
Comments from experienced COTAs seem to indicate that finding a job today is harder that ever. The LTC jobs demand productivity standards that are difficult to maintain. Hospital jobs are demanding due to the limited amount of time allotted to treat a patient, in addition to the patient staying just a few short days. Out-patient jobs seem to require knowledge in areas that need special study or further training. A traveling job may be easier to find and pay better, but only if you don't mind being away from home for extended periods of time.
So, it does appear that there are COTA job opportunities available out there, but only in the more populated areas of the country. If you live in a rural area, expect to travel or move to find work. At the same time however, it seems like the jobs that are available demand more. More experience, more productivity, and more knowledge of the PPS billing system. It also seems like some schools that still have an OTA program are using out-dated information to lure students into the program.
A few final thoughts; many of the posted COTA jobs I find have been on the list for a considerable amount of time. Some are long ago filled, but not removed from the list possibly to build up a base of future candidates. Jobs that offer a sign on bonus seem to be in SNFs that are in undesirable areas, have a higher than normal percentage of dementia/Alzheimer population, or both. Remember the old saying "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is".
Until next time, hope all your thoughts are good,
Tim