I do hope this list at least gives you a few non-physical types of job ideas to help you with your career transition. I know that this pretty much eliminates most of the jobs available. Hope this helps! That said, you dont need any additional training to write for your next career! I do see the awesome challenge to see where a COTA might fit into some of those roles. There are also plenty of in-person events out there. The world of education is filled with opportunities for OTs. As an ergonomic specialist, youllspend time identifying environmental risks, coming up with creative strategies to reduce those risks, educating others on the importance of ergonomics, and drafting comprehensive plans for businesses to follow. If you develop a skill set that solves a specific problem that people are havingand a problem that you enjoy solvingyou will become extremely marketable. It can be a strange feeling to start to self-identify as something other than an OT. Meredith offers a great Non-Clinical Crash Course on Academia on her site, too. for MSOT admission. These articles are basically done-for-you informational interviews of all sorts of rehab professionals in non-traditional roles . Reach out to companies like MedBridge, OccupationalTherapy.com, and Embodia Academy; if youve got quite a bit of niche clinical experience, you may be able to teach a course with them! One of the biggest challenges of switching to a non-traditional OT job is the feeling that youre a small fish in a big pond. Rock on, OTs!!! As clinicians, we are usually pretty comfortable with our clinical skills, even if we dont know everything. One of the most important independent activities of daily living is being able to get yourself from point A to point B. A common career path for occupational therapists after they've been in the field for several years or several decades is to go into teaching and/or research at a specific occupational therapy program. For example, sales, business development, and clinical/patient trainer jobs often require you to cover a particular territory, which might be far from where you live. There have been a lot of courses on this at AOTA conferences recently. There are so many occupational therapy schools that need solid OTs to educate future clinicians. If youre interested in technology and the advancing future applications, this may be something to think about pursuing long-term as well. Here are several types of OT-related businesses you can create. My only doubts about going the OT route is thinking that I may one day regret not choosing to be a Special Education Teacher and not being smart enough for some of the advanced coursework. Join online forums. I am a COTA/L in NC with over 22 years of experience mainly in pediatrics. There may be some small businesses in your area that focus on this specialty which you may be interested in working for or partnering with. We need therapists delivering therapy through innovative new platformsand we need OTs who are helping to design these platforms. Very informative & encouraging site! Given the number of paths you can take within education, theres really no one set path to get there. Director of Rehab and OT Supervisor probably sound familiar to you. There are many avenues your non-traditional OT career could take, but here we highlight nine of the most common. our interview with Kaia Health Product Manager, Winnie Tsui, OTL, CHT, MBA. If you are not OK with this, you can opt-out if you wish. I regret not going back to school for my OTR, but I have to move forward. A common career path for occupational therapists after theyve been in the field for several years or several decades is to go into teaching and/or research at a specific occupational therapy program. There are many other resources for home modifications OTs, but these will get you started if youre interested in this alternative career path. She has since moved on to academia, but her business helped companiescome up with strategies to coach individuals on setting up their life and environment in a way that is conducive to healthy living. If you were a career changer, any previous leadership or instructing roles are relevant, too! There are people doing it. There is also a website with great information on home modifications related to OT from the Home Modification Occupational Therapy Alliance (HMOTA). Required fields are marked *. 2. There are many avenues your non-traditional OT career could take, but here we highlight nine of the most common. , mentioned above, is open to all rehab professionals and run by The Non-Clinical PT. From my personal experience, being a very emphatic and sensitive person to peoples energy made direct patient care so challenging to balance. The issue Ive had is finding a company that will give me a chance since I do not have extensive experience in these fields. Wikipedias definition says Case management is a managed care technique within the health care coverage system of the United States.. There are so many occupational therapy schools thatneedsolid OTs to educate future clinicians. Do you have a link or resource for finding more info on becoming an insurance auditor? I LOVE being able to work with them one-on-one and in small groups. For other mental health settings to look into, check out this post covering a variety of areas to work in: Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: An Overview of 6 Typical Settings Best of luck in your job search! There are some clinics that focus solely on occupational therapy, and these are typically in the pediatric and hand-therapy disciplines. In our interview with Kaia Health Product Manager, Winnie Tsui, OTL, CHT, MBA, Winnie shares the importance of building (and showcasing) a pathway into tech via stepping stones. Read more about being a case manager from an OT perspective here:Statement: The Occupational Therapist as Case Manager. You are also building something that, if profitable, increases in value and could eventually be sold. This is Merediths flagship course. In 2017, she launched The Non-Clinical PT, a career development platform that helps rehab professionals leverage their experience, education, and experience in fulfilling non-clinical careers. Learn how your comment data is processed. May I reach out to possibly feature you on The Non-Clinical PT?? In her own journey into tech, she started with consulting on the side and this grew into full time opportunities. You can work with job accommodations, computer accessibility, vehicle modifications, architectural modifications, learning modifications, environmental controls, and more. Theyre an excellent introduction into the world of startups, not to mention a great networking opportunity! If you make yourself an expert salesperson, or you learn the ins and outs of online sales strategies, you will easily excel in a role as a social media manager, or where youre marketing (selling) rehab practitioners services. Much thanks Thank you for reading and any input you may have. rehabilitation ) you can also look into being an expert witness. Family members, significant others, and even friends might feel the impact of your change, so its vital to consider how much of a change makes sense for you at any given time. Family or community commitments can also change over the years, which can impact your desire and ability to work in clinical care. On this path, the short term satisfaction of getting a steady paycheck with predictable hours is foregone for the long-term prospect of being the owner of a successful and valuable practice. I also helped to start an OT clinic within a University setting so I guess another would be Consultant to other universities wanting to open an OT clinic. Hi Karen! For the purposes of this article, non-traditional refers to anything outside of conventional hands-on patient care roles. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. I hope this post gave you some inspiration and ideas if youre looking for a change. Definitely check it out! Definitelyequipment sales jobs are perfect for OTs and OTAs! This may be a great opportunity for you if you do enjoy working with patients but want to focus on an area a bit off the mainstream path. Youll find endless resources on how to get started, but this article on Becoming a Health Coach from Well and Good is a good one to check out initially. With driving rehab, you are still working with patients butare much more focused on one specific aspect of their life. If youre ready to start your own practice, WebPT has put together a great resource about starting a therapy clinic from scratch. 1. There are also other holistic avenues you can take when starting your own private practice. So, Meredith decided to put together some resources to make the switch easier for others. Organize lunches and in-services. Almost all medical device and equipment companies have sales representatives that visit hospitals and clinics to market their products to. The best part about being an OT entrepreneur is that you have the freedom to choose what youre most passionate about. Occupational therapy practitioners help people with low vision function at the highest possible level by preventing accidents and injury (e.g., improving lighting), teaching new skills (e.g., eccentric viewing, visual tracking), modifying the task or environment (e.g., recommending magnifiers), and promoting a healthy lifestyle (e.g., ensuring they can participate in their daily activities).. Here are some other ways to explore what is out there. It is such a privilege to be able to gather this kind of information for fellow OTs! Best of luck to you with whatever path you choose! Non-Clinical 101 gives lifetime access to a proven four-step system that helps you identify which roles are best suited for you, then walks you through the process of getting there. We can also move into roles where we consult with practices to help them improve their billing and workflow practices. In regards to this article, do you know of many OTs who leave the profession to become Teachers? Since not turning anything into insurance companies? Here are a few inexpensive courses you can take to kick-start your path to UE/UI roles! For those with a considerable amount of experience in a particular OT area ( ex. I recently heard from someone who originally considered going into UX/UI as an OT, but then changed her mind and pursued an ATP cert instead, as its a great non-clinical path in tech that is more directly related to her OT experience. Of experience mainly in pediatrics OTR, but i have to move forward link or resource for finding more on. That, if profitable, increases in value and could eventually be sold with. Hand-Therapy disciplines feature you on the Non-Clinical PT? and in small.... Future applications, this may be something to think about pursuing long-term as well with your career transition one the., and more back to school for i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore OTR, but these will you! 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i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore