Employment & Professional Networking OT's who practice and are also involved in research?

[Shazzy1228]

Hi everyone! I'm a Neuroscience major in undergrad......and I love it! As part of my program, students are heavily exposed to research. I have gravitated towards research involving neurodegenerative diseases. I have also grown an interest in OT, particularly working with older adults. I haven't encountered many OT's who are conducting research. This seems to be a clinician-focused field. I volunteer for a pediatric hospital and have asked the OT Department manager about this and can't seem to get a straight answer from her. Honestly....the lady seems to have something against research. I am now trying to speak to the research department within the hospital. If it turns out that there is not a lot of research in rehabilitation, could I still be involved in neuro-based research? I wouldn't be doing it full-time( not very wise considering all the cuts in funding). I am thinking maybe 70% of my time would be spent clinically practicing OT while the rest I could conduct research. Should I get a PhD as well?
I really need some answers here guys. Thanks!

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[FutureOT10]

The OT I shadowed was also a researcher and a professor. It is definitely possible to do both, in fact I think research is very important in this field. I would suspect your search is not going well because you are looking around at a hospital. Most research would be done through universities. If your college has a occupational therapy department, I would absolutely search the faculty listings and see who matches up with your interests and then contact them. They would be a great resource! If your university does not have an OT department, reach out to nearby university or ones where you may want to go to OT school. Regarding the PhD, I would probably start out with a Masters first, get some years of experience (very important to your eventual research), and then go back to get your PhD. I may be wrong but i'm pretty sure most PhD degree programs for OT require that you have a couple years of experience in the field.

 

[emmig]

I'm so glad to see this question! I have a research background, and was actually going to go on to a neuroscience PhD program but felt that I wanted to work more directly with people instead of focusing on grants and manuscripts, and OT really fit my interests. However, even though I am currently going for a masters in OT, I absolutely intend to become involved with research in the field, and imagine I could work at a university or health research center. There are many rehabilitation science departments around the country, and research is even used in industry (built environment, ergonomics, etc.). I am familiar with Shriners Hospital I believe in Galveston, TX, and actually attended a seminar by a researcher there who runs an exercise program for pediatric burn victims. It seems like a great place with many opportunities.

 

[Shazzy1228]

I'm so glad to see this question! I have a research background, and was actually going to go on to a neuroscience PhD program but felt that I wanted to work more directly with people instead of focusing on grants and manuscripts, and OT really fit my interests. However, even though I am currently going for a masters in OT, I absolutely intend to become involved with research in the field, and imagine I could work at a university or health research center. There are many rehabilitation science departments around the country, and research is even used in industry (built environment, ergonomics, etc.). I am familiar with Shriners Hospital I believe in Galveston, TX, and actually attended a seminar by a researcher there who runs an exercise program for pediatric burn victims. It seems like a great place with many opportunities.

Omg emmig you are my life! LOL! I actually live close to a Shriners Hospital in Philly. I will start volunteer work with them in about a month. I have been at the wrong facility for volunteer work. Its a for-profit hospital I am at now.....aka we don't much research we need what brings profits now. I heard all the Shriners Hospitals do a good chunk of research. =)

 

[Shazzy1228]

The OT I shadowed was also a researcher and a professor. Tis definitely possible to do both, in fact I think research is very important in this field. I would suspect your search is not going well because you are looking around at a hospital. Most research would be done through universities. If your college has a occupational therapy department, I would absolutely search the faculty listings and see who matches up with your interests and then contact them. They would be a great resource! If your university does not have an OT department, reach out to nearby university or ones where you may want to go to OT school. Regarding the PhD, I would probably start out with a Masters first, get some years of experience (very important to your eventual research), and then go back to get your PhD. I may be wrong but i'm pretty sure most PhD degree programs for OT require that you have a couple years of experience in the field.

Thanks dude! And yes you are right I have been looking at the wrong places! I'm a former pre-med so I thought things worked the same way in OT. My school actually does have an OT program so I will reach out to them. Also the local Shriners Hospital close to me is apparently a good resource. Do you think it would be smart to be continuously active in research while I am completing my undergrad degree? My last two electives can be Independent Study. I miss the lab so much!

 

[Shazzy1228]

The OT I shadowed was also a researcher and a professor. Tis definitely possible to do both, in fact I think research is very important in this field. I would suspect your search is not going well because you are looking around at a hospital. Most research would be done through universities. If your college has a occupational therapy department, I would absolutely search the faculty listings and see who matches up with your interests and then contact them. They would be a great resource! If your university does not have an OT department, reach out to nearby university or ones where you may want to go to OT school. Regarding the PhD, I would probably start out with a Masters first, get some years of experience (very important to your eventual research), and then go back to get your PhD. I may be wrong but i'm pretty sure most PhD degree programs for OT require that you have a couple years of experience in the field.

Lastly,
How exactly did you find this OT you shadowed?

 

[inchbyinch]

Hi everyone! I'm a Neuroscience major in undergrad......and I love it! As part of my program, students are heavily exposed to research. I have gravitated towards research involving neurodegenerative diseases. I have also grown an interest in OT, particularly working with older adults. I haven't encountered many OT's who are conducting research. This seems to be a clinician-focused field. I volunteer for a pediatric hospital and have asked the OT Department manager about this and can't seem to get a straight answer from her. Honestly....the lady seems to have something against research. I am now trying to speak to the research department within the hospital. If it turns out that there is not a lot of research in rehabilitation, could I still be involved in neuro-based research? I wouldn't be doing it full-time( not very wise considering all the cuts in funding). I am thinking maybe 70% of my time would be spent clinically practicing OT while the rest I could conduct research. Should I get a PhD as well?
I really need some answers here guys. Thanks!

I took Neuroscience in my OT program this past semester and I think it's awesome that your undergraduate program is in Neuroscience! Our Neuro class was only 8 weeks and I know that there is so much more we could have learned and our teacher really elaborated on how much is still to be discovered about the brain. There are so many neurological disorders that affect patients OTs work with and SO many of the disorders have unknown causes, and much research could be done regarding OT intervention. I think it is GREAT that you want to integrate research into your future career and I hope to be able to do the same. Our teacher was a neuroscientist but not an OT. He was really knowledgeable and helpful, but I think it would help strengthen the validity of our field if more OTs researched the neurological basis of interventions.

A lot of the OT research I have been exposed to so far has been considered rather weak. It is hard to draw significant results that are backed by the government when subject pools are small and results are less quantitative. Since OT is such a broad and holistic field, qualitative research and reports from practicing OTs have been more common for validating interventions. Unfortunately, this is not the best way to get support from government agencies and insurance companies. OT is an evidence driven field, but has lots of room to grow with generating evidence.

Would you want to pursue a PHD in Neuroscience after becoming an OT? I think that would be a very effective combination in furthering OT research.

 

[Shazzy1228]

I took Neuroscience in my OT program this past semester and I think it's awesome that your undergraduate program is in Neuroscience! Our Neuro class was only 8 weeks and I know that there is so much more we could have learned and our teacher really elaborated on how much is still to be discovered about the brain. There are so many neurological disorders that affect patients OTs work with and SO many of the disorders have unknown causes, and much research could be done regarding OT intervention. I think it is GREAT that you want to integrate research into your future career and I hope to be able to do the same. Our teacher was a neuroscientist but not an OT. He was really knowledgeable and helpful, but I think it would help strengthen the validity of our field if more OTs researched the neurological basis of interventions.

A lot of the OT research I have been exposed to so far has been considered rather weak. It is hard to draw significant results that are backed by the government when subject pools are small and results are less quantitative. Since OT is such a broad and holistic field, qualitative research and reports from practicing OTs have been more common for validating interventions. Unfortunately, this is not the best way to get support from government agencies and insurance companies. OT is an evidence driven field, but has lots of room to grow with generating evidence.

Would you want to pursue a PHD in Neuroscience after becoming an OT? I think that would be a very effective combination in furthering OT research.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices this about OT. I feel like more research would give the field a higer level of objectivity and.....credibility. I am still debating, but it seems like a PhD in Neuroscience with a focus on neurological disorders would be smarter than a PhD in OT. This would be AFTER getting my masters in OT and practicing. It would certainly give me more flexibility as far as what kind of research I can do. Remember, a lot of the people who have contributed to this field HAVE been neuroscientists. Decisions, Decisions......

 

[emmig]

Also remember that OT encompasses more than neurology. While one area of OT research may focus on neurology, another may focus on biomechanics, or psychology, or anthro/sociology, or medicine, or public health. That's what's so great about the field - it's so interdisciplinary! If you want to learn about the research being performed in the field, I would suggest doing a search on Google Scholar or PubMed. NIH also has a clinical care occupational therapy department, which I discovered the other night and would LOVE to work at, maybe even just an internship.