What I wish I knew before becoming an OT
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- Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
- As a student and while job shadowing, it was hard to get a full picture of occupational therapy. In this video, I talk about some of the challenges after working as a new grad OT, how to overcome them, and avoid burnout.
Read the post here:
otfocus.com/becoming-an-occup...
00:00 Intro
00:05 OTs do showers
04:18 OTs do toileting
06:54 OTs work in hospitals
09:46 Wear and tear on your body
12:32 OT burnout
14:40 How to avoid OT burnout
Take my ergonomics course
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Applied for OT in the fall, so excited to get into this career. I see the assisted shower as something i would get used to. Your method of respecting privacy and independence is amazing! surely uncomfortable for the patients too!
That’s great Hayley! I wish you the best. Yeah showers really aren’t that awkward. It gets easy after a while and there’s always a way to make the patient more comfortable.
I disagree with the blanket statement that "OTs do showers" because that's an over simplified view of things. We can assess a shower to analyze the activity initially to identify what aspects are challenging, then base goals on that. If all they need is safety tips for DME and instructions on how to transfer in and out, then that is the only skilled part of the shower that OT does. If the person has weakness or range of motion issues, our skills are best used to directly work on those specific issues outside of the shower where it's easier to focus on the issue at hand such as ROM exercises or simulation training on adaptive equipment options or teaching about energy conservation as it relates to showers. Then, when they have mastered these specifics, you can have them do a test run in a real shower. However, OT should not just be doing showers for the sake of doing showers, especially if they're independent once you get them in there or they have deficits that can't be remediated nor adapted for and require maximal assistance from others. In that case, it doesn't require skilled OT! If it is someone who will always need help, though, you can work on caregiver education. This is similar with toileting or dressing goals, and analyzing the task to figure out what aspects they need our skilled therapy to work on, not just doing it for them. Anyway, that was ranty because I'm tired of our profession getting misrepresented as being an extension of CNAs. We don't "do" things for patients, we teach them or their caregivers how to do for themselves.
I really enjoyed this comment! Really changed my perspective on viewing ADL from the top-down, or as a means to an end. Never thought of them that way!
Thanks for your comment. I completely agree!
The question is things are going out of proportion in hospital settings regarding orthotic surgery, EVErTHING is assessed by OT standardised assessment, after my knee replacement, stayed three weeks in rehab , being independent from day one with my personal care, all I asked the doctor to be able to drive straight away, he said you will be assessed for that, guess what was the assessment, to undress, mobilise to shower, have my shower with the door wide open with no curtains, than get dresses, she was ticking boxes meanwhile. I would say that was the most humiliating assessment ever for me , and don’t tell me about consent as it was worded in a way, if I don’t do as asked, doctor will not approve my request!
You think driving assessment will involve how to enter the car safely, and check reflexes.
I hear the word OT and run miles away now….sorry😮
I appreciate you added this nice comment. Thanks
Exactly what I came here to say. Showers are only used for certain settings depending on the activity we are working on.
If you are just giving a shower for the sake of giving a shower, you are using insurance funds incorrectly as this is a job for a cna.
This was an amazing video. Thank you so much for your transparency and helping me on my journey!
You are so welcome! I wish you the best!
This info has been very informative, and has taught me a lot. I appreciate. Keep up the good work and never get discouraged. Blassings.
You’re so kind. Glad it was helpful!
Thanks very much. This was good!
Thanks Catherine
Thank You for sharing.
My pleasure!
Thank you, much appreciated. Lot more hands on than I thought.... Lots to think about in getting my Master :)
Happy to help!
I think it depends on you, in large part, whether patients want to work with you or not. I was at an acute care hospital for a rotation and rarely struggled to get people to work with me. I noticed my CI struggle sometimes though, but I think it's the way she came across, or at least that's what it seemed like. If you can show genuine care they're likely to work with you.
That is true in most cases
If I wanted to be some sort of therapist for autistic people specifically, would being an OT be a good option? Because I specifically want to have a focus on autism, it’s what inspired me to be here in the first place. Or is there any other specific job where I could work with autistic people?
I would say an OT for autism would be a good direction if you want to provide treatments. A behavioral therapist would also be a good place to start to see if you want to get into the field. It doesn’t require a degree. You could also do research on autism or psychology. Hope that helps!
any advice for new students who feel REALLY awkward/anxious when roleplaying activities/m&h with other students in class? especially with the whole class watching you!!
That’s never a fun feeling. I would just be asking lots of questions. Like are you having any pain, did there any problems you’ve experienced since you’ve been here. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable. Not sure if that helps :)
yeah that's pretty awkward, usually in my program it's 1:1 or a small group of 2-3 people with the professor. I'd recommend to not get lost in the sea of eyes watching you and just look at your most immediate surroundings. I know it's hard at first to do this, but just scan your patient and engage in the conversation you're having while paying attention to the OT concepts in your mind. You know the material and you know the people in the room, even if you mess up - it's okay. regardless of feeling embarrassed by saying the wrong thing or not remembering some of the material, remember that this is the period of your schooling where you're allowed to make the most mistakes. So you'll learn, figure out cool interventions, wanna rip your hair out, laugh a lot with your peers, cry, etc all in the hopes that it works out - and it will. also after a while, you'll either desensitize or never do that and instead learn to self-regulate your thoughts and emotions better
Do you really have to push patients into painful movements? I thought the whole premise was assisting without pain? Is it a time based problem?
After a fall, injury or any surgery it’s always best to start mobility as quickly as possible. The doctors will usually order therapy right away. For example I had a patient who snapped his femur in half. We had him up walking next day. In most settings it’s time based, so you’re usually encouraged to get people up and moving.
male here pivoting my career... wanted some advice or input . I've been looking deeper into going OT have found some great schools but my top choice can get me from BS to dROT , I was looking at a school I wanted to get my BS in Exercise Science with an emphasis on Sports Performance :now I know if I was to transfer- to then put a focus on occupational therapy there will perhaps be more OT requirements but I thought this BS has a good knowledge of Kinesiology , strength and conditioning, physiology, cardiovascular & resistance training, motor control/ learning, corrective exercises etc. I know there's anatomy and phys in OT. I just felt this could be good leverage to have extensive knowledge in other aspects of how the body functions and better help patients on overall health and open other doors with working in growing in the OT field. But could I be doing myself a disservice and prolonging my OT goal or going through that BS in EXS to then still have not have as many credits transfer but still be very much good knowledge to learn for the field? Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated . just trying to get some input from someone in the field . thanks in advance
If you go to OT school you will have to take all their prerequisites and in OT school you will take anatomy and neuro. However most of the schooling is focused on presentations, interventions, and presentations. I guess it really depends on what you want to do. If you want to be an OT try to get into a program. If you want the knowledge you could probably find it in a few books. Hope that helps a little.
Wassup dude. I got my Kin degree here in LA and worked in OT for the last few years. I also have a few friends working their way into OT school, so I know it hasn’t changed much. I say, you’re good to go if that’s the degree you want to do. Idk if you ever decided to go down that route, but psychology is also a good route if you don’t want to do Kin. You’ll just have to take a few classes for pre reqs but that’s not that bad.
What is the difference beetween private clinics and hospitals for exemple. School doesn't really teach us the difference in expected tasks or work load. Your opinion would be valued
It depends where you work. A lot of outpatient clinics will give you too many patients and tend to pay less. Hospitals tend to give you a smaller case load of patients.
Sir after bachelor i n ot pr possible in Australia? Iam from india
I’m not sure 🤔
OT is better than nursing in Australia? Please reply
I wouldn’t say better but I think nursing would be more challenging and stressful. But that’s just my opinion.
Does an OT assistant do the same job? I am thinking about registering for the program.
OT's do the initial evaluation and create a treatment plan while an OT assistant implements the treatment plan. So yes, in some ways they do the same thing.
@@otfocus I just registered for the OTA program. I hope things go well for me.
Thank you,
@@lulutheblessing3560 Congratulations!
You sound like Kurtis Conner!
haha
I'm a COTA and also hope they won't want me there. 😂
Hahaha
OT is not a male-friendly profession. I do not suggest this career for males unless you want to do Peds or hands
I hear you. Sometimes it feels like working as a male nurse or CNA. That’s why I’m always pushing OTs to take different approaches to therapy. Start treating athletes or become an expert at a specialty. This will distinguish you as a therapist rather than labeling you as a male who works as an OT.
@@otfocus ADLa are what most goals are geared towards which includes, bathing, grooming, dressing, hygiene and toileting. Many of the patients we work with are older females. It has nothing to do about if you're a good therapist or not but most females do not want men helping them with those activities. Racism and prejudice is also an issue on top of being a male therapist. These two issues the I (and I'm sure other minority therapists have experienced) makes the whole process of doing the job EXTREMELY exhausting.
Female LMT here.....are you kidding??? Males make far better nurses, massage therapists, waitstaff, physical therapists and hairdressers.....all nurturing roles. Because they are not naturally predispositioned, they must study and try harder to reach the levels of a female so when they succeed they are better. Plus men can compartmentalize better which gives them a leg up (excuse the pun).