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Hello all,
I have worked my entire college life in hopes of getting into OT school. It actually became an obsession. Now I have the grades, the volunteer work, everything I need to get in... and I don't know if I want to do it anymore. After NUMEROUS shadowing experiences I came to the realization that OTs don't seem to really do anything... Please don't take offense to this and if anyone can provide a valid argument please do. I have watched geriatric OTs help patients use the toilet and wash their hands.. which a CNA is fully capable of doing (may not have the time, but is able to do it). I have watched school based OTs go into classrooms for 30 minutes watch how a child writes, sits etc. and simply tell the teachers what to do while they do all the work with the child. OT is not rocket science and it doesn't seem like a real job to me. Every OT I have observed seems to attempt to find ways to justify what they are doing. I sat back last week and realized I don't want to be an OT anymore. I'd rather go into a profession that actually makes a difference in people's lives. Has anyone ever felt this way after shadowing? Did you find yourself thinking "Wow, a monkey could do this?" I feel defeated and confused, for this was my life goal. I now know there is a better career for me. It may not pay as much, but I need to make a difference in people's lives and not have to constantly feel like I must justify doing silly things and calling it "therapy"
You could try the research aspect, one of the things I like about OT is creating of adaptive equipment. You could come up with ideas to make life easier or try home health where you are modifying the surroundings. I've shadowed in several locations and I have also thought at times what is the point of this even when I have received clarification or I thought I could do this as a home care aid with out the money or time spent on school. In some settings though, I have found OT to be great, such as adaptive innovations for driving, home health/modifications, research, neuro/stroke/tbi, ortho, and hand therapy (ortho and hand therapy, yes while it is easy to implement and follow a routine, the exercises were things that the average individual wouldn't know what to do or the precautions to use. The various muscles, tendons, and ligaments, how much and little to exercise when to ice/massage were all pretty interesting that you would need training for). I do agree though on how at times I question the validity. I am really interested in working in neuro/geriatrics and work, but in snf some of the things I have thought why are you getting paid so much for this? I work at the snf and do an exercise program and all of the strength/endurance exercises are all the same and that is mostly what I've seen while shadowing, so it is a bit discouraging.
Hello all,
I have worked my entire college life in hopes of getting into OT school. It actually became an obsession. Now I have the grades, the volunteer work, everything I need to get in... and I don't know if I want to do it anymore. After NUMEROUS shadowing experiences I came to the realization that OTs don't seem to really do anything... Please don't take offense to this and if anyone can provide a valid argument please do. I have watched geriatric OTs help patients use the toilet and wash their hands.. which a CNA is fully capable of doing (may not have the time, but is able to do it). I have watched school based OTs go into classrooms for 30 minutes watch how a child writes, sits etc. and simply tell the teachers what to do while they do all the work with the child. OT is not rocket science and it doesn't seem like a real job to me. Every OT I have observed seems to attempt to find ways to justify what they are doing. I sat back last week and realized I don't want to be an OT anymore. I'd rather go into a profession that actually makes a difference in people's lives. Has anyone ever felt this way after shadowing? Did you find yourself thinking "Wow, a monkey could do this?" I feel defeated and confused, for this was my life goal. I now know there is a better career for me. It may not pay as much, but I need to make a difference in people's lives and not have to constantly feel like I must justify doing silly things and calling it "therapy"
That's been my biggest concern too--that there's not necessarily a "Wow! This is really doing something!" kind of a moment when I go shadow. I have sometimes left feeling somewhat uninspired/unexcited. The two settings that I did find interesting were hand therapy and stroke rehab. The least interesting (thus far) has been pediatrics. But I'm certain that's mostly because I'm not crazy about children. The mission of OT is what is keeping me interested.. because I think people often take for granted their independence and being able to accomplish everyday tasks. My friends who do it for a living seem to really love it. And I've worked for a disability organization in the past and have really felt drawn to working with that population. But I do wish that observing OT would have felt more impactful. I'm going to try to check out a couple other settings.
But at least you know now what you would be getting into. And there are so many other things you could do instead of OT. The experience you've picked up through volunteer work could translate to other areas if you still want to stick with therapy or maybe something more medical. (And it sounds like you're young? College-age?) Good luck!
Hello all,
I have worked my entire college life in hopes of getting into OT school. It actually became an obsession. Now I have the grades, the volunteer work, everything I need to get in... and I don't know if I want to do it anymore. After NUMEROUS shadowing experiences I came to the realization that OTs don't seem to really do anything... Please don't take offense to this and if anyone can provide a valid argument please do. I have watched geriatric OTs help patients use the toilet and wash their hands.. which a CNA is fully capable of doing (may not have the time, but is able to do it). I have watched school based OTs go into classrooms for 30 minutes watch how a child writes, sits etc. and simply tell the teachers what to do while they do all the work with the child. OT is not rocket science and it doesn't seem like a real job to me. Every OT I have observed seems to attempt to find ways to justify what they are doing. I sat back last week and realized I don't want to be an OT anymore. I'd rather go into a profession that actually makes a difference in people's lives. Has anyone ever felt this way after shadowing? Did you find yourself thinking "Wow, a monkey could do this?" I feel defeated and confused, for this was my life goal. I now know there is a better career for me. It may not pay as much, but I need to make a difference in people's lives and not have to constantly feel like I must justify doing silly things and calling it "therapy"
Okay, well I totally disagree with your anaylsis of OT. And this is why: you say that you've seen geriatric OTs bath a client and CNA are fully capable of this... yes CNAs are capable of this and so are nurses so maybe CNAs job are pointless too, right?? But anyway, it's an OT job's to reteach geriatric patients to do these things on their own. A CNA's job is to just do it while an OT's job is to HELP them do it and help them relearn to do it without help at all! Yes, depending on the clients capability the OT in some sessions may be doing most of the work, but that's why OT isn't a quick fix (it takes time). Who do you think help stroke patients learn to hold a folk again, learn to write, learn to put their pants on again. Not a CNA, not a nurse, not a doctor. After you take off you arm cast who do you think help get your arm/hand back to working properly (and nope, most of the time it isn't a PT). If a child has texture issue, who can help them get over this problem... if they have little to no core strength, who helps them with this... if they are having trouble with writing, who can help them... if a child doesn't understand their strength and either exerts too much or too little, who helps them with this??? There is soooooo much that OTs do... Granted there are some things that OTs do that isn't rocket science, but some things just need to be done (i.e strength training with geriatric patients)... I can argue that some things PTs do isn't rocketscience either (I mean a child can tell someone to walk back and forth, right??), but the difference is I have NEVER heard one person say that PT is a pointless career!! I'm sorry that your shadowing hours turned you against OT as oppose to making you love the career more, but you are totally wrong in thinking that OT don't really help patients!!
To be honest, I think geriatric OTs sometimes can be the least "fun" cause it can get to be mundane often times, but I still see the value. I also don't like OT places that only have 30minute sessions, little can be done in 30minutes... I really fell in love with OT during my first OT shadowing at a place in CA... all their sessions were one hour and you could really see and understand the difference the OTs where making. You ever see a child spit out carrots? Maybe, but let me tell you why this was a major accomplishment... before going to OT this little boy would never even allow carrots at his family's kitchen table. He would freak out... but slowly the OT was able to help him be able to touch carrots, then to have carrots on his plate, then bring it up to his mouth, then bite, then chew and eventually he would be able to swallow them/eat it. Many children have trouble with foods, and it isn't the normal I just want chicken nuggets phase... this could be a real problem.
Sometimes doing silly things can actually be therapy... how on earth can swinging on a square swing while trying to pick up beads be therapy (oh but you have no idea how much that is helping a child (and they just think they are having fun)!! OTs help wounded vets, they help children, people with disabilities, people who had strokes, people who had heart surgery. OTs are so intergrated in our healthcare, but get very little recongnition... If it was such a pointless careers then why is it in so many fields... why have so many people benefited from it?? OT isn't for everyone, some people get burnt out, others like you find it pointless... but at the end of the day it is vital! I do hope you find a career that you think suits you well though... I also hope that one day you will again see why OT is important.
I really don't think she/he meant to come off as offensive, I didn't take it that way, but I think what she/he was also getting at is how it requires a lot of training/school when at times it appears that you don't need a lot of training to implement forms of treatment. I am not saying that OT is not beneficial, the concept of making someone self-reliant is extremely rewarding, but I can definitely say I favor some settings over others and from that bias I see OT intervention/rehab having a more influental effect in those settings. After three years of shadowing/volunteering, I think its good that she/he has definitely tested the waters and figured out that this may not be the field for her.
If you know that you like hand therapy and stroke rehab well then go into one of those fields... I mean, I'm pretty sure that a doctor didn't find all the areas in his/her rotations fun/interesting.
When you're going through a major transition period in life, it's natural to have intense feelings. I was pre-pharm for four years in college, volunteered in a pharmacy for years, was taking pre-pharm classes over the summer and preparing for the PCAT and then I realized...pharmacy wasn't for me! It was a difficult, confusing time, particularly because I had friends that were getting accepted to schools and I was back at home living with my parents.
Then I found OT. As someone set on working in healthcare, it had everything I wanted: good job prospects, one-on-one interaction with patients, good pay, autonomy, a variety of settings to work in, flexible hours and...it really seemed to make a difference. I was sold.
I immediately dropped pharmacy and lost touch with my former friends who were going on to pharm school. It was as if I had a terrible break-up with pharmacy, deleted all the cutesy pictures we took on Facebook and wanted to pretend like it never happened.
That being said, I kept any negative feelings about pharmacy to myself. I didn't feel that it was necessary to go online and mock people who were still applying to pharmacy schools.
I am very sorry if I have offended anyone, that was never my intention. Why did I come here? I felt discouraged and was very curious if anyone has ever felt this way after observing OTs. I was wondering if it was something other people feel, or if it was just me personally. Yes, I have done three years shadowing and accumulated over 350 hours. I am quite the overachiever. However, I think I continued to shadow because I was looking for the spark, I was in love with the idea of OT, but once I saw it in practice I gradually became uninterested and then a few weeks ago I had a sudden epiphany that this isn't something I should be doing. I just wanted to know if anyone else thought OT wasn't as beneficial after observing. Again I am very sorry to come off as offensive. I am glad that some of you are able to see the benefits of OT services and I am sure you all will be great OTs one day and hopefully be more productive than the many I have seen. As for the CNA comparison, es I do believe CNAs could teach someone to do their ADLs, I'm sorry but I have seen numerous hours of OT therapy and it really does not take much to teach someone how to pull up their pants and feed themselves. If more CNAs were available they would be able to spend more time with patients teaching this. I even had an OT tell me that she felt like going to grad school was completely unnecessary for OT. Of course I have seen people make improvements during my observations, however their improvements were ones I believe they could have made themselves *family help etc.) or with the assistance of a teacher, nurse or a PT. I have not shadowed an OT with stroke victims, however I can see how OT could benefit stroke victims. My friend is a stroke victim and he went through years of OT, however he informed me (while I was gung ho for OT) that he felt like the OT exercises were annoying and he absolutely hated OT. Of course I got offended and informed him that the tasks were important and that he likely would not be where he is today without the OT exercises, he denied that. However, I still feel as if OT was very beneficial to him. Either way I still believe a Master's or Doctorate degree is completely unnecessary in order to be an OT. I would also like to say that while shadowing in a SNF (which by far was the worst setting) the patients always asked the OT why they were doing the therapy and constantly told the OT how pointless it was. They seemed to love PT though. During my school based shadowing I witnessed and OT go into a classroom, work with kids by telling them to type or write etc. for 15-30 minutes and inform the teacher what to do to work with them. The teachers always did the majority of the work and I felt like the teachers were the ones making the difference in the children, the teachers always seemed puzzled as to why an OT was even there. In home health the OT went into homes and made home modifications that were (to me) common sense. At the end of the day OT should not be a graduate level of education and I'm sorry if this offends anyone. Also, the every OT I observed seemed to feel like they have to justify what they are doing to not only me, but everyone else (teachers, other health professionals) because everyone is confused by not only what OT is, but why they are doing it. I hope one day OT is more influential and more in-depth. I hope you all are able to become great OTs that actually make a difference. However, this career is simply not for me.
Sorry OT didn't work out for you. Hope you're able to find something more fulfilling.
At this point, there are a lot of career paths that require a certain level of education that is often times more of a formality than anything else. They are however a requirement, therefore I think that questioning these requirements is somewhat pointless.
I think that people take offense to your comments because they come off as very ignorant. You continuously bring but that you have 3 years of observation experience, yet your understanding of the profession appears to be very minimal. I don't doubt that you have a clear idea of what OTs do, I am just mentioning that you don't convey that understanding in your posts which might be why others take offense. You are also calling OT a "pretend job" saying a monkey can do it, so whether you meant it or not, it is not hard to see why people are taking offense. Also at times any health care worker's duties may overlap, but to say that one can do the other's job is very insensitive.
Insurance companies drive the health care field. There are various money saving methods that are implemented to cut costs. For example, I frequently see a nurse practitioner or a physicians assistant for medical appointments. When I need a tb test, an LPN administers it. All of this helps minimize costs. If a CNA could really do what an OT does, it would already be happening. Another thing to consider is the fact that insurance even reimburses for OT services. There are various forms of therapy (art, music, dance, etc.) that are effective for some patients but they are forced to pay out of pocket because insurance will not cover it. I strongly believe that if OT was totally useless and patients didn't make progress, health insurance wouldn't cover it.