What OT setting is best?

[@rachelhope7584]

I really enjoyed the patient population when working in a SNF as a CNA, but it is definitely a lot of work! I think acute care would be a good place to start out for me. I'll hopefully start my OT program next year.

[@otfocus]

SNFs are hard. That’s why I prefer acute care. Hope all goes well with your next step in the OT journey.

[@EstelaGarcia-o6m]

How easy is it to switch from each setting?

[@otfocus]

It just depends. I’ve never worked in pediatric and wouldn’t feel comfortable but it’s easy to switch between rehab, acute care, skilled nursing, and home health.

[@blakemckoy9497]

Ot is changing so much. All good points. I have been in OT 20 years. I currently do home health. To me it’s by far the most pay. If your load is low you make enough to make it thru the low times if you are not salary. It’s still more than most settings even part time. However wear and tear on the car and so forth definitely adds up. Since pdgm kicked in the visits for ot have gone from around 2-3x a week to 1-2. And usually only can get 2x a week if it’s ortho or if PT isn’t in as well. Also, home health you have to assess vitals, do medications, calling doctors, cpr alone if needed. It’s a lot more responsibility. So definitely have to weigh the pay versus hours you spend after hours typing and on the phone. So you will have days you are working 6 hours and some days 11 hours. School setting pay is horrid. Most schools you of course get state benefits so some like that for insurance and summers off and so forth. But the pay isn’t there. Acute care definitely is awesome because it keeps the spice as far as something different all the time. You can get good benefits at most. Especially state hospitals. The variety is great going from one extreme to another. Snf setting is becoming harder because of the new payment since rugs is gone. Now to hit a category they won’t bump minutes to 72 or 50 or whatever. Which was abused by a lot of companies to make more, but how it affects skilled nursing is if you only have 5 hours of treatment and they want you 90 percent productive they will send you home at 5.5 hours to maintain 90 percent productivity because they won’t pay you to sit around. So if a snf setting make sure of their policy for productivity and if they have local other facilities to send you to or their part b plan for extra visits and so forth or you will have times when they go thru slumps you will wish you had prn lined up. Hand therapy and outpt to me I couldn’t do. Just because I felt like I was always seeing the same stuff. To me acute care or home health is the best. Pros and cons for sure. Home health you do have great people and homes that are great and a lot easier on ur back. However don’t let it fool you, you will have homes where no one can help and you are repositioning people by yourself doing treatments in a home and have zero help and is extremely physically demanding. However it’s not all the time, since COVID and some families have gone away more from the skilled nursing to caring for home the max level patients have definitely picked up. Ot is a great field. I would recommend anyone to keep watching videos or even call a company and do a shadow if you just wanna know more. I have a lot more to say and left a lot out. But 20 years is tough to cram ha. Good luck. Follow your heart. Ot is definitely a great field. Just know all the angles.

[@otfocus]

Thanks for sharing. I know it will be helpful. I feel the same way about working in home health and hospitals but I think more max assist patients are going home now because there’s rehabs and SNFs are starting to refuse a lot more patients with the latest reimbursement rates. Thanks again!

[@TylerH12]

What is sniffs?

[@christinerogers1574]

SNF = Skilled Nursing Facility!

[@claritywellnesscoaching768]

Wow. Super helpful. Thanks so much

[@otfocus]

Thank you. I’m glad you found it helpful. :)

[@devanteswing701]

how you feel about assisted living facilities?

[@otfocus]

I’ve never worked at one. Only visited as a home health OT.

[@clng5550]

this is very informative! thank you

[@otfocus]

Thank you!

[@teeduck]

In So California almost all OT jobs are per diem. Zero benefits. They pay $95/ hour but you need 5 employer services to get enough hours.

[@otfocus]

What settings pay $95/hour?

[@teeduck]

@@otfocus Home Health. Pretty Standard pay. $95/ hour.

[@otfocus]

@@teeduck That's about the same as Las Vegas. Home health pays great, but with all the travel and time spent documenting the pay isn't quite $95 per hour. It would be great if it was $95 per hour for virtual visits.

[@teeduck]

@@otfocus well, there aren’t many options in CA to make a lot of money. 95% of all jobs in OT are part time with zero benefits. I wouldn’t recommend the profession to anyone that wants to live in SoCal and raise a family, buy a house etc. it’s a good profession if your married and your spouse has health insurance and has a full time job to support you.

[@otfocus]

@@teeduck Maybe it's a little different in So Cal. I work part time with benefits, so I can do some other jobs on the side.

[@hobopowerrangers]

I am a junior in college and am interested in becoming an OT but specifically for mental health and in behavioral units. Do you have any pros, cons, or experiences with this setting?

[@otfocus]

I don’t have a lot of experience but I think it’s a great job and has has good benefits if you work for the state. These jobs usually pay less but where I live in California you can get a pension after 20 years. The cons are the possible risks of working with this population but it’s not the bad for the most part. I would try to shadow someone if possible. Best of luck!

[@kellyspopcorn4725]

What category would being an OTA at an elementary school fall under? What would an OTA that does art projects and the more creative based?

[@otfocus]

There are school-based OTs who help with hand writing, arts, and crafts, fine motor, etc.

[@Rosario720]

Any tips on going into a setting you haven't worked in?

[@otfocus]

Shadow or ask for mentorship. Take a class related on Medbridge. And use my code otfocus to get a discount! 😉

[@neelsharma6847]

is there a certain field(s) that u think pays the best?

[@otfocus]

It’s mostly based on the state you live in. But usually the places that have the most money pay the best and that tends to be hospitals. But you really need to learn how to negotiate your wages. I wrote an article on it here: otfocus.com/how-to-negotiate-ot-salary/

[@nzuzo]

Hi. I’m thinking about becoming an OT and I’m in high school. How is the salary and can you live independently?

[@otfocus]

The salary really depends on where you live. This article explains it better. otfocus.com/ot-salary-new-grads/

[@mikepekala832]

Yes you can live independently. Average income is above 100K, how some areas pay poor like public schools setting.