One of the Best Careers in 2008

Why is Occupational Therapy such a great career? There is something for everyone. I was reading Wendy Spoor-Hof's OT Advance Blog dated March 13, 2008 regarding the article in Us News and World Report listing Occupational Therapy as being one of the "best careers" for this year. I would have to agree that it is definitely a best career.

In Occupational Therapy you can find the perfect niche that fits your personality and your interests. You can also match how you are working to be congruent with the different periods of your life. For example, this could be when you may want more work if you are wanting more money, or it could be the times when you want less work, when you go back to school or have a child.

For the Occupational Therapist who really thrives in the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital a position in acute care can meet a therapist's love of gaining a lot of good medical experience and honing interpersonal skills and interactions with staff, patient and family. Ongoing learning and problem solving as well as strategizing are aspects built right into the position itself.

Another choice for the person who loves the more medically based aspects of care in the area of Occupational Therapy would be the certified hand therapist. The OT can work with people that are at post operative levels and will have opportunity to interact with the doctor and the team in the OR, when splints need to be fabricated.

There are also niches for the OT who likes to see the progress over time where they would work with patients/students on a long-term basis. This could be in a school setting for special needs, or a long-term care facility. The residents can only be treated for the time specified by their insurance, but the need for therapy may reoccur over time due to the chronic nature of what it is that brought the patient to a long term facility. An example is a nursing home.

Some therapists like the idea of setting their own appointments such as in the niche of home care. They are good team players, often needing to work around others' schedules and also working together with other disciplines when the need arises to problem solve for a complicated issue.

Most people coming out of college are looking to be employed full time with benefits and the opportunity to participate in a retirement program such as a 401k or 403b. In my opinion this is the best and fastest way to gain skill and to experience the camaraderie of a team approach as well as set up your plans to save money. There could be times in one's life, when the OT wants to work part time. He or she may receive benefits based on the part time hours if they are designated as an employee. They may work as a contractor if that works better for them. As a contractor they are responsible for their own taxes and retirement saving. This choice is dependant on your personal needs as well as what type of work is available. Part time options can also include permanent part time with set days and hours or to be called into work, as you are needed.

The sky is the limit here!

Of course along with your niche you are often able to work in the population you are drawn to serve. This could include age-specific areas such as pediatrics or geriatrics, or diagnosis-specific such as oncology or orthopedic. It could be location-specific such as home care or outpatient, or task specific, such as a seating specialist. Then it could be narrowed down to outpatient-orthopedic, inpatient-pediatric spinal cord, or oncology-adult-female. The sky is the limit here as well. It takes a desire to explore options, educate yourself, and network, network, network!

There are also many Occupational Therapists who are entrepreneurs, or self-employed. This option is huge with many nuances of delivery. There is also the opportunity to teach within the field of Occupational Therapy. This could be at the college level as well as the level of clinical educator. Occupational Therapists are among the creative people who take what they have learned in college and combine it with their strengths and talents, and have made a unique niche that serves them well!

I totally agree with the Us News and World Report article that OT is one of the best careers. There can be something for everyone. Now is a great time to start the career or to reinvent the career you already have experienced for years or decades! (Am I dating myself?)

What are some unique twists of traditional OT that you have experienced in your career?

Until next time,

Lorraine