What OT setting do you work in?

[jessjlstar]

Hi all!

I am trying to get a feel for all the various settings that I can work in as an occupational therapist. I just was hoping you'd share with me the setting that you work in (or have done a fieldwork in), a summary of what you do in the setting, and your opinion on the setting.

Thanks!

P.S. "A Day in the Life" would be FANTASTIC.

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[speedyy12]

There are many settings that you can work in. It really depends what your interest is in! I would try and get exposure to your interests to gain a better perspective on what you like and don't like. I'm a 3rd year student so this is something I am really looking into because I am graduating in May.

Personally for me I enjoy Pediatrics the best. The settings you can work in are schools, inpatient/outpatient hospitals/clinics, and private practice more or less. Pediatrics have different focuses in terms of how we look at the child holistically. For example, the occupation of a child is school and play. I enjoy helping children be able to function more independently in a school setting. If you like adults/geriatrics their occupations are different than children. I currently work with children right now so I may have a bias haha.

When I did my level 2 at a SNF, their goals and occupations are different. More or less, I found that for older adults that their goal is to return back to normal function prior to injury. For example, someone has a stroke, OT's focus would be on coming up with compensatory strategies to help them improve function in their daily occupations (such as putting on a shirt) and cognitive functioning as well. You can also go into hand therapy but that is very much more biomechanical based and I find that hand therapists forget to add occupation to therapy (if their background is in occupational therapy). But the hand therapist I work for is great because she adds occupation into her treatment. It depends. I can go on and on but again it depends on what you prefer! I enjoy kids the best!

 

[jessjlstar]

I am very much interested in Pediatrics! I even had the dream of opening up my own clinic. But, for some reason, I think inpatient may also be a great niche! I will be shadowing at an inpatient facility beginning next semester, so I am excited.

 

[c2902]

Hi all!

I am trying to get a feel for all the various settings that I can work in as an occupational therapist. I just was hoping you'd share with me the setting that you work in (or have done a fieldwork in), a summary of what you do in the setting, and your opinion on the setting.

Thanks!

P.S. "A Day in the Life" would be FANTASTIC.

Most of the people who post here are applicants to OT programs, and some of us are current students, though it doesn't seem like there are many of those (people seem to stop posting after they get accepted somewhere). I just started my program, so I am not working in any setting yet, but that is what your observation experiences are for - to get a sense of exactly what you are asking. The more settings you can observe in, the better. I would try to focus on that; that way you can actually see first-hand what goes on and talk to the therapists you shadow. Do your own research to see where OT is used, with what populations and for what purposes. It's very broad in some respects.

 

[brisa2004]

I work in transitional care units (where patients go after being discharged from the hospital and before going home or moving to a safer setting for some seniors) and long term care (nursing homes). I've been working in OT since 2009 and love this field! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[jessjlstar]

I work in transitional care units (where patients go after being discharged from the hospital and before going home or moving to a safer setting for some seniors) and long term care (nursing homes). I've been working in OT since 2009 and love this field! Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for the information! How do you like the setting? I'm having a hard time finding an SNF to shadow at! Do you find working with geriatric patients to be draining? I heard that they can be difficult to deal with and that it takes a lot out of you.

 

[hotpebbles]

that's weird. i love geriatric pop. even after i worked & observed OT's at rehab hospital. i like kids too, but leaning more towards the older ones.

 

[brisa2004]

No, I really don't find geriatrics draining at all. I think if you have a good mixture of different diagnoses then you feel like you're doing more with helping seniors stay in safer dwellings or coordinate with social work and families to provide them with services at home, if possible. I think that you're referring more to the dementia population who are the long term care residents but many of them are very sweet too or "pleasantly confused" as we say at work. I did straight dementia care for about 1.5 years and you have to have a soft place in your heart for them because sometimes they can act out or do infantile things due to a lack of inhibition as a result of disease processes. Ultimately, I decided to go back to more of adult physical disabilities like total hips, back surgery, fractures in addition to long term/dementia care just for some variety because I like spontaneity. So, I'm still working in geriatrics (and adults) and love it, this is my niche. Also, I have two kids at home and for me, I feel like I appreciate being a young mom more because I haven't run after other kids all day. After being around the elderly at work, it's refreshing to be with my kids...plus they're always a great conversation topic with patients!

 

[jessjlstar]

Ah, yes! My mistake, the dementia population was what I was referring to! Thank you for your insight!

I, personally, am really interested in inpatient rehabilitation units in hospitals and school (all grades) settings. I definitely hope to find out more about those two.