Being an occupational therapist means we need to be knowledgeable with many different medical diseases and conditions. We deal with everything from stroke to Parkinson's to dementia, and more. Through school, hopefully you received plenty of information about resources and agencies that deal with specific afflictions. Passing this knowledge on to ...

I always check out a few different OT forums to keep up with the on-line chatter and views of other OTs around the country. As much as many of these comments are good, there are quite a few negative ones.  Comments such as; ''the work is so hard'', ''productivity stinks'', or ''they have no hope of getting better'' just make me mad to see. It ...

Medicare has some very specific rules that we all have to follow in regards to performing treatments and submitting the billing for time spent with patients. Ever since the advent of PPS there have been many different definitions, or ways people try to read between the lines, to make the rules bend to their liking. One fact that has always been ...

What does the future hold for COTA jobs? Will there be a job for every future COTA?  Will salaries remain stable or will future Medicare reimbursement cuts affect pay rates? I have to admit, the COTA job market is no longer what it was 10-12 years ago. Back then, you could expect a phone call almost daily from a recruiter (head-hunter) ...

Back in February I had posted a blog listing some helpful oral motor sites & articles and Samana Khan had left me a comment asking if I knew of any good oral motor/feeding courses.  I would like to apologize to Samana first for taking so long to respond to her question and I would like to offer a few courses and books here that I ...

Do you ever wonder how other people perceive what you say? A few simple words spoken with the wrong tone of voice can easily be taken the wrong way. On the other hand, a few simple words spoken with compassion can make a big influence in someone's life. Too often though, the other person remains silent so we never know how our words affected them. ...

What can you do when you run into a situation that you can't find a answer for? Everything you try fails? Others who try may have the same failures. Then someone comes up with one off the wall idea that solves the problem. This past week the catch phrase around the clinic was ''Think outside the box''.  After running into a couple of ...

With the initiation of PPS into our field, many COTAs have found themselves working part time hours despite the fact they may be categorized a full time employee. This is mainly due to the fluctuations in caseloads at many facilities and the fact that the company is reimbursed only when we are actually performing therapy. This part time work ...

I see a lot of questions asked about PPS. What is it? How does it figure into the OT world? Many new grads, or OTs who have not worked in Long Term Care (LTC), may have never heard of PPS. However, in LTC it is the second most important thing to know besides the therapy techniques we employ. PPS or Prospective Payment System, is the way ...

As COTAs, many of us are probably employed by a contracting company. These are companies that hire therapists, then market and sign contracts with LTC facilities or other rehab providers to provide the therapy needs of a building. Most contracts are written for one year increments, and are often re-negotiated yearly. There are many contracts that ...