r/OccupationalTherapy

Over the last several months, we’ve had a good number of very inappropriate posts from post-op or otherwise injured patients. While it’s understandable that people will be anxious, the reality is that every person’s course of healing is going to be very different. And a lot of the things that are needed to know what course someone can safely take are not ever assessable over the internet. In short, internet advice has the potential to be extremely harmful for these patients, and it puts them at risk of ruining their procedure. And this sub has no interest in being a part of the reason something like that happens.

Patients, if you had a hand injury, please talk to your doctor or therapist in real life with your specific questions. Even other people with the same injury may be okay doing something that is very unsafe in your case. If you are anxious waiting for therapy, please do not look for exercises or things to do to speed things up on the internet. Your safety is a big priority and your doctor is the only person that knows the entire picture. We can’t ever. So if you look for that information here, you are putting yourself at great personal risk. Not everyone here is an appropriately qualified hand therapist.

Therapists, I know it’s in our nature to help. But we have to stop being willing to provide detailed advice to hand injury patients. I know many of you are confident in your ability to give good quality advice, and while it could be, you don’t have the whole story. And I have seen it where people on here get even more anxious, confused, or cannot apply advice given correctly. You’re not there to have an active conversation with them so you can’t immediately rectify things if needed. So we take the line of the PT sub and say “no asking for specific advice, and nobody should be giving it.” In addition, not everyone on here is a qualified hand therapist and unfortunately, I have seen bad advice from people who aren’t in the past. For everyone’s sake, including liability issues, it’s better these questions are directed to their real-life care team

I don’t want it to become to the point where penalties have to be given out for giving people specific advice, but if it’s a continual trend, the PT sub approach where they give escalating penalties may have to come into consideration. So instead, I ask that these posts are reported when they pop up, and no specific advice is given.

This does not apply to very generic advice like answering“what are some generalities I can expect from OT? How do I find a hand therapist? Will therapy hurt?”, it’s more about diagnosis specific information. A rule of thumb, if a lay person has to give a detailed medical history about it, it doesn’t belong on this sub.

Hiya, what kind of things do people write in a sensory profile 2 report where every domain is more than others or much more than others for home and school? Really struggling with this one.

I just started my first OT FT job in outpatient rehab. So far so good. Starting salary is close to $92K with decent benefits.

However, I saw a telehealth OT job post recently and applied since it was PRN, I was thinking side hustle. it’s a small company and the pay isn’t too bad ($50-$60/hr). After talking to the DOR, he said it can grow into full time pay but part time hours.

The other job is peds home health but private pay/cash based. New company but slowly growing. Pay can vary between $50-$180 (duration of treatment or if it’s an eval or screening) documentation time is paid and they’re very flexible. Meaning they won’t force you to drive far if you don’t want to. Also, theres an opportunity to teach classes to toddlers/kiddos as a group (more on the fun side, not so much OT treatment)

just wanted some input since I’m starting to see a trend of practitioners getting so burnt out early and are looking for PRN jobs or niche areas.

deciding if I keep my FT and do one of the PRN ones or switch to PT then one or the PRN or do both PRN, leave FT

trying weigh it out, work life balance since I have a family but also earn enough to make a living

let me know your thoughts and what you would do. :)d

Hi everyone, I’m on my second placement (I’m Canadian and in a Canadian school, not sure what the equivalent is in US). It’s 10 weeks and I’m in an in patient setting. I don’t want to include too many details to the point it’s identifiable.

I’m on my fourth week and we have seen two clients total. My preceptor seems to be going through some outside personal things which is completely understandable, life happens. We just haven’t got any consults or anything either. My preceptor has been placing me with other OTs and clinicians for shadowing but a lot of this isn’t OT related, and most of the time when they ask me questions I have no idea what they are talking about and feel so stupid. It is exhausting learning a new role and trying to grasp what that is in this setting and then not seeing the clinician again and repeating this with a new person. My preceptor has also given me things to research (conditions, treatments etc) which has been helpful but some days it is all I do. Somedays I get the impression that I am kind of just an annoyance to my preceptor but this could also be my anxiety lol.

I just feel lost. I’m worried for my midterm evaluation in a week because I don’t even know what will be discussed there. My preceptor has stated they feel terrible about my experience so far but I don’t know how to approach this or if there is anything I can even do. Another student in my cohort is at the same location with another OT and they are busy, and this student even asked “are you even with your preceptor at all”. So that was a bit disheartening lol. My first placement was amazing and my preceptor had a plethora of things for me to do and learn, so maybe I am just not used to this setting and this is the norm?

I have asked for things I can do etc but that has not changed the situation.

Any advice or insight would be appreciated on this.

I made $42/hr at a SNF 10y ago entry level 1st job...

I am loyal to the BOT assessment. It’s easy to use, straightforward, quick, relevant. The only thing is it’s four and up. I absolutely despise the Peabody but that’s what we have for the little ones at our school. Is there an assessment tool similar to the BOT for under four years old in terms of tasks and administration?

Hi! I am a 22F new grad and work in a SNF for about 2 months now. I am already feeling the burn and pressure of productivity for $26 an hour in a rural-ish city. I have found not any other jobs within an hour radius that are full time. I am considering moving after around a year, so we can save up and fix some things on our home before we sell.

I was wondering if anyone had moved states/cities to be closer to job openings/ prospects?

I don’t want to be stuck in SNF for the duration of my career. It is very draining and insurance/money hungry.

I’ve recently been introduced to CFT (Craniosacral Fascial Therapy) & Primitive Reflex Integration as a couple of certifications/trainings that we as OT’s can get that actually can make us some extra money in addition to our full time jobs. Are there any others that you guys have or have heard of that are also beneficial?

By extra money I mean seeing patients on the side or starting a business offering services. I know most jobs won’t pay us extra based off additional certifications or qualifications unfortunately.

I know a mid gpa isnt good enough for canada--so where do you apply? any schools in buffalo or new york or the uk? where's cheap or convenient?

I know uAlberta gives you a shot with 3.4 sub-gpa if you fall under a number of like equity requirements or something but im out of province so idk my chances. its tough cuz u need a stellar sub-gpa here, but schools abroad always look at cgpa it seems. are there any lowkey ot schools in canada that i might not have heard of? Anyone know admission stats for USask. im from ontario btw

Hey first time posting here.  Found out I have a fifth metacarpal base transverse fracture.   Extra articular and minimally displaced. Sorry I don't have any images of the x-rays to share but it's a pretty clean break just a simple line straight through the bone near the base. I got it from falling off an ebike.   When I google that I get a ton of information about all the different types of metacarpal fractures but each one is so specific that looking up the exact one that I have doesn't yield any helpful results.   I'm wondering if anyone's had this specific type of fracture before and what their recovery was like.  I know they're saying between 3 and 6 weeks  in a splint give or take with other factors to consider but this whole thing has been giving me a lot of anxiety and I haven't gotten a lot of answers about this specific one.   No surgery will be required and I'll be in a splint for at least a little bit.  So just looking for some advice/wisdom about the whole thing from people who maybe experienced the same or a similar injury. I started feeling worried today about how much this could affect any plans I have for the summer. Early 30s male too if that's relevant.   I'm a week out from the initial injury and things are still swollen but that's not too bothersome.  And swelling is good anyway.   But yeah any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Hello everyone!

Recently I got accepted into both an SLP and OT program in Ontario. I’ve shadowed both careers, and I find both equally interesting and rewarding in their own ways.

Has anyone else shared the same experience of choosing between the two, and what helped to drive a decision?

Any insights would be appreciated!

Hello! Advice needed please for those who’ve worked in the field longer than I have.

When working with a kiddo who throws things (wooden blocks, etc) and you try to reduce access to items and they shove into you/hit/throw themselves to the ground even if unsafe- what would you recommend doing to support yourself and them? I was working with a kiddo who was just going for it and when I tried reduce access to the item they threw themselves back and I could only reach their arms (I quickly moved to trunk) to try and prevent them from falling onto the very many blocks (the kiddos balance and coordination is not good at all). There was a struggle but I couldn’t really get them stable without just outright dropping them. I sat them on the table and just blocked the hits and verbalized “we do not hit” and offered moving to quiet space or mo where they re regulated and sat on my lap. I feel discouraged because I feel like I restrained/did something wrong but I did my best in the moment. Idk- any constructive advice would be appreciated.

I’m a peds OT feeling kind of disappointed in the CEUs I’ve taken because they are all theory and not much about what you can actually do in sessions. For example I did one on sensory strategies you can use, and 75% was just explaining the sensory systems and OTs role in sensory processing. Then there will be like 1-2 case studies of OTs giving sensory strategies in a perfect world where the child is attentive and parents are receptive.

I take most of my CEUs from Aspire OT and Sensational Brain and this has been a theme with both places.

Anyone have peds CEU courses or website that actually give you intervention strategies and don’t spend the whole time just explaining concepts you already learned in school? I am looking for practical ideas that I can bring straight into a session and try.

Thanks all!

Hey everyone! Im looking for more telehealth based OT jobs and was wondering if anybody had connections and was willing to help me out? Really trying to expand my experience and of course eventually thinking about switching into corporate entirely so I can use my skillset to a whole other level. if anybody knows of any such jobs please reach out.

Hello! As the title of this post says I am a US based OT and would love to work for a Canadian company especially in the telehealth realm. Does anybody know how I would go about this process? How would I get licensed in Canada and do I have to retake the boards? Eventually in the future I want to be living 6 months there and even 6 months here but that's wayy down the road. I would be happy if I could find a remote role here practicing as an OT i would be so delighted! Any insight especially about having to retake the boards would be greatly appareciated!

ok I’m a bit lost and desperate. my daughter just finished her first year in her pre-ot program at a school where she is direct admit. She still wants to be an OT but isn’t sure her school is a great fit. By no means will I force her to stay if she’s unhappy but we (her and I) are trying to consider all angles.

How competitive are masters programs WITHOUT direct admit? It feels hopeless lol her current school has a low rate without direct admit. Her current top interest school offers “competitive admit” for transfers but no acceptance rate

If the school doesn’t offer pre-OT is there a preferred major or is it just anything in the realm such as kinesiology?

Is it worth it to become an OTA first? I just saw starting pay for that is average $20?!?! She’s making that now so this seems insane

Honestly I’m open to any advice to help her decide next steps. I work in health care in a licensed masters required field so I’m not sure why OT is so confusing to me.

I also can’t tell if her current crisis is tied to her housing not going as planned and seeing some of her friends and boyfriend go into full time jobs while she’s broke. Anyone who has gone through year one of school and it didn’t go how you thought and you stayed, or has a kid who did please let me know.

im not making her decision for her but want to get her the most insight possible. If you’re still reading this, thank you :)

Hi! I’ve done a lot of research and asked questions on this Reddit page, and I’ve been hearing from many people in the OT field that taking on over $100k in tuition debt for an OT doctorate may not be worth it compared to the salary afterward. I’m currently feeling really stuck and unsure what to do. I live in Hawai‘i and unfortunately can’t relocate out of state for school, and my state only has one OT program, which is a private doctoral program with very high tuition. I’m also almost finished with my bachelor’s in pre-OT and only have about a year left, so it feels scary to change directions now after already investing so much time and money. Growing up, I always dreamed of working with children and helping teach/support them in a way similar to teachers, which is what originally drew me to OT. When I first discovered OT, it honestly felt like the perfect fit because it combined so many things I love. But now, after hearing so many professionals talk about the debt to income ratio and the financial stress from loans, I’m starting to question whether pursuing OT is the smartest decision financially long term. I’m just looking for honest advice from people who have been in similar situations. If you were close to finishing ur degree but felt uncertain about taking on large loans for OT school, what would you do? Are there related career paths you explored, or do you still feel OT was worth it despite the debt?