10 things I wish I knew before I started becoming an Occupational Therapist

[@misscindy_diaries]

I’m back with some tea 🍵 about what I wish I knew before becoming an OT 👀 If you can relate give the video a like and let me know what you wish you knew👇💛

[@trevorross8204]

I had that problem where I was working but I had to be the better or bigger person. Good to know when you can see it

[@Nice-sz4ee]

Hi there wanted to ask a quick question if you don't mind! I've been looking at some forums and it seems like a lot of OTs have voiced how it's a pretty physically demanding job due to the patient transfers. I wanted to know what was your experience? Is this dependent on the settings?

[@misscindy_diaries]

Hi thank you for asking! To be honest, there are parts to the job that is physical demanding depending on the setting, for example, paediatrics, hospital setting, and aged care. I think the less demanding will be telehealth, equipment prescription, home modification, and occ rehab. Hope that helps!

[@Nice-sz4ee]

@@misscindy_diaries Sorry for the late reply! Thank you for your insight :)) It'll really help me be mentally prepared moving forward. How do you think the prospects are for the future? Are there senior roles that might require less physical demanding tasks that you can move towards in the field ie being a supervisor or head of management of some sorts?

[@misscindy_diaries]

@@Nice-sz4ee You're welcome :) There's such a high demand for OTs everywhere. Yes, definitely there are senior roles where you can do less clinical work. I know of some OT managers who don't even see clients and just do HR or meetings all day. So it really depends on what you are looking for. Good luck!

[@Nice-sz4ee]

@@misscindy_diaries Awesome, thanks again Cindy! Love your content

[@misscindy_diaries]

@@Nice-sz4ee that means a lot 🥰

[@itgoesmyway]

Hi~ I was wondering can you not work 4 days a week but keep to the same 9-5 hours? (you mentioned you're working 4 days but longer hours)

[@misscindy_diaries]

Hi :) Yes, if you do choose to do that you will be working part-time hours as opposed to full-time. There are jobs out there that are happy to provide the schedule you want.

[@itgoesmyway]

@@misscindy_diaries okk thank you ^^ I heard there can be quite some paperwork to do as an OT, wondering how big of a problem that was for you? >< And I'm also concerned about the physical demands of OT work, do you think that's gonna be a problem as I age or it's still generally tolerable?

[@misscindy_diaries]

@@itgoesmyway To be honest, my job does have a lot of paperwork to do since I work in a private pediatric clinic. However, I know of friends who work in different settings like outpatient or acute rehab hospitals and they don't do any paperwork (e.g. reports). I recommend finding out which area of OT best suits your needs. Some aspects of OT are physically demanding but I also believe that as we get more experience we can choose to transition into more of a supervisor role and do less clinical work to reduce the physical demand of the job. There are also OT roles that aren't physically taxing like ergonomics, occupational rehab, etc. I think the most physically demanding is pediatrics and aged care. If you have any questions I am happy to help :)

[@itgoesmyway]

@@misscindy_diaries thank you cindy! I am particularly interested in the mental health space for OT work. I knew you had a short stint in mental health, wondering what you liked or disliked about it? (:

[@misscindy_diaries]

​@@itgoesmyway Glad to be helping! I worked specifically with adolescents and young adults with psychosis or at risk of developing FEP. I personally liked how I got to learn about the different approaches to mental health like CBT and DBT. As well as, getting to focus less on numbers and more on rapport building. It is slower-paced than any other setting I have been in. The least favorite thing is the high-risk factor. Sometimes I felt unsafe doing home visits or I didn't feel like adequate to help someone who was mentally unstable because my background was primarily in pediatrics and I didn't get trained much in mental health in uni or as a new grad. If you are interested in mental health, I would highly recommend you connect with other mental health OTs via LinkedIn or Facebook groups. Having a supportive supervisor and team lead is crucial since mental health OT is still an emerging field. So currently there isn't a lot of them around, therefore we often feel like the minority. I also think that a friendly and well-structured organization/company/ workplace is essential. This was lacking in my mental health job. I hope that helps 💛