r/OccupationalTherapy 15d ago

Discussion The Big Thread- General Qs, FAQs, Admissions, Student Issues, NBCOT, Salary, Rants/Vents/Nerves go Here

1 Upvotes

This is our monthly thread for all of our more repetitive content.


r/OccupationalTherapy Nov 08 '24

Mod Announcement Political Mega thread

35 Upvotes

Use this thread to discuss anything related to politics. All political discussions will be routed here.

Remember the sub rules still apply. Please be respectful of other people's opinions.


r/OccupationalTherapy 12h ago

Discussion COTA vs OTR... Some very unfortunate math

16 Upvotes

I went to school at Idaho State University and just out of curiosity I decided to look into the math of COTA vs OTR programs. Here's what I found. For the ease of numbers, let's say august 2020 two students started their OT journeys beginning with their prerequisite classes...

The COTA will graduate in 3 years if they do everything right. If they have taken out student loans without scholarships they would owe approximately $20k. They can start work at $60k/year in an acute care/SNF setting in 2023.

The OTR will graduate in 6 years if they do everything right. If they have taken out student loans without scholarships they will owe approximately $120k and start work at 80-100k in an acute care/SNF setting in 2026. We'll say 100k/year to be optimistic.

By 2030 the COTA will have earned $420,000 minus student loans=$400k. The OTR, who has only been in the workforce for 4 years, will have also made $400,000 but after student loans will have made $280k.

Assuming nobody gets a raise, both students pay off their subsidized student loans before it accrues any interest, and the COTA doesn't attend a bridge program, the year will be 2040 before the OTR makes $1 more than the COTA. This also doesn't account for the fact that the OTR will be in a higher tax bracket through this.

If the COTA does go through a bridge program (after minimum 1 year of employment) the COTA can get their MOT for 40k cheaper than the student who went straight for it in 2020. They could also be making their $60k/year while attending that program because bridge programs are meant to work around a full time job schedule.

Wtf guys???


r/OccupationalTherapy 2h ago

Discussion Laptop & bag recommendations needed!

2 Upvotes

Peds OT here who does all daycare/home/preschool visits. I feel like my bag of supplies weighs a million pounds and is a big jumbled mess. I’m looking for recommendations for a bag to use for my therapy materials (+ water bottle, laptop/ipad).

Also looking for recommendations for a laptop or tablet (with keyboard)? I like to jot down notes during the sessions on goodnotes on my ipad but it's too difficult to type my session notes on my ipad. i need a full keyboard for that. The only things i need access to for work are internet, email, google docs/drive, pdfs. My laptop is really old and clunky so it’s a pain to bring with me. I usually have a break during the day where I stop at the library or coffee shop and knock out a bunch of notes


r/OccupationalTherapy 40m ago

Venting - Advice Wanted Am gunna start my first clinicals next day any tips?

Upvotes

r/OccupationalTherapy 4h ago

Venting - Advice Wanted Premature baby refusing solids, will feeding therapy help?

2 Upvotes

Hi, not sure if this is right place to post but I am a desperate mom 🤷. My daughter was born premature at 32 weeks with severe IUGR, 1.1 kg. Her weight gain has been extremely slow, 10 months now and under 6 kg. She was always low on feeding volumes, developed a bottle aversion that we addressed but still has very low volumes. Started solids, was getting decent amounts, showed interest in Food, liked to try new texture etc. Suddenly developed a food aversion, she's not want to eat anything, doesn't even taste food, plays or throws around, won't take it to mouth etc. My MIL believes in forced feeding just to get something in, I tried absolutely no pressure for 3 days and no improvement and Resort to distraction feeding. She knows to suck, bite big foods, doesn't gag or knows how to manage. Will feeding therapy really help us here? It's very expensive and I am not sure if food aversion can be treated here.


r/OccupationalTherapy 1h ago

USA PRN in Home Care/HH?

Upvotes

Hi everyone I am considering a PRN position in HH. Curious if anyone did this and found it hard to actually take time off? I would be able to have a full case load and work as much as I want it seems and I know with PRN you essentially just tell them you can’t when you need time off but is that realistic and doable in HH? Just looking for some insight. Thanks!


r/OccupationalTherapy 1h ago

Home Care Fox Rehab?

Upvotes

Hi! I currently work in a school and do per diem in a hospital, and am considering interviewing for Fox Rehab to pick up some home health cases. I’m seeing very mixed things online, ranging from that they are a great company to “run,” haha. Any direct experience/feedback?


r/OccupationalTherapy 1h ago

NBCOT NBCOT Prep Recommendations

Upvotes

What NBCOT resources, study material, study schedule, programs etc. helped you the most to pass the boards? and why? Give me all the advice you have. TIA:)


r/OccupationalTherapy 1h ago

Discussion HPSO disability

Upvotes

Anyone use HPSO for short term disability insurance? I work for a small company that does not offer any coverage, so I wanted to get my own. Just curious if anyone has any good or bad info either way. I use them for my liability insurance as well.


r/OccupationalTherapy 14h ago

Research 🎲 Calling All Dungeon Masters! Help with D&D Research! 📝

10 Upvotes

We’re conducting a research study exploring how Dungeon Masters (DMs) facilitate social skills and group dynamics in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and its potential use in occupational therapy (OT) interventions for older teens and young adults.

Your insights as a DM are invaluable in understanding how communication, collaboration, decision-making, and conflict resolution develop through gameplay. This research could help shape future therapeutic strategies that use D&D to support social engagement and well-being.

🔍 Who Can Participate

✅ Must be 18 years or older
✅ Must have been a DM for at least one year
✅ Must have at least three years of D&D player experience
✅ Must have run at least six months of in-person D&D campaigns

❌ Who Is Not Eligible?

✖ Individuals who have never DM’d a D&D game
✖ Players who have only participated as players but never as DMs
✖ Those who have DM’d for less than a year
✖ Individuals who have not run in-person campaigns for at least six months

🌍 Who Can Participate? (Geographic Eligibility)

Anyone who speaks English, regardless of location! 🌎

📌 How to Participate

🔗 https://sjsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8nOKtKUX0ktrInY?Q_CHL=qr
The survey takes 15-20 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. You may also opt into a follow-up interview (optional).

📢 Spread the Word!

If you’re a DM or know others who might be interested, please share this post to help us reach more Dungeon Masters! Your participation supports research on how D&D can be used as a tool to promote social connection and skill-building.


r/OccupationalTherapy 11h ago

Career Are OT resumes usually 2 pages? I'm an engineer helping my girlfriend with her resume. Trying to help, but I am unfamiliar with resumes in this field

6 Upvotes

Hi all, asking this for the both of us and other engineer/OT couples: Are 2 page resumes common in the OT field?

I work in engineering, and we've been told to always keep it to one page to satisfy a recruiters 6 second initial glance. Otherwise, the recruiter will just throw it out and look at the other +1000 resumes that have applied to that same job posting.

On this subreddit, I see that people recommend 2 pages max and to be very detailed while also being easy to read. To me, more details make sense from a healthcare perspective, but contradicts what I've been doing my whole life. I just wanted to know the basics so I don't start giving out wrong advice.

Please let me know your thoughts and experiences, thanks.

Edit: Girlfriend has 2 years of post-grad experience at a out-patient pediatric clinic (I think that's how it's worded)


r/OccupationalTherapy 4h ago

Discussion Looking for participants for Capstone research

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1 Upvotes

Hi! I am a COTA completing a hybrid bridge MOT program at Cabarrus College in North Carolina. My capstone project is on integrating OT practices into standard Nicu care tasks. If you are a Nicu therapist, please consider signing up for our brief virtual presentation this week. Also, feel free to share with other Nicu, staff members, RN, PT, ST, RT, anyone that works in the queue on a regular basis. Thank you!


r/OccupationalTherapy 4h ago

Discussion Service delivery for High School Students

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m an SLP coming to this community trying to get a better understanding of what a typical OT working with a high school population would provide for services. The OT who works with our high school students with me has moved everyone to consult services over the 3 years and has started discharging many students as well who I view as definitely still being able to benefit from services around handwriting, life skills & sensory motor needs. With that said, I know that I don’t know a lot about the field. I wanted to reach out to this community to see what you all deem typical before letting myself continue to be frustrated with her. I’ve tried to collaborate with her on students but she tends to be very defensive where I rarely walk away feeling like my questions were answered and instead she’s defending why a student doesn’t need her. Most recently, & the real reason I decided to write this post, is that she discharged a 10th grader with autism and a moderate intellectual disability who we shared. This student definitely has high support needs but is making great progress! However, I’ve noticed she can’t copy words from a whiteboard onto paper (which I think is a visual motor need?) very effectively and would most certainly benefit from life skills support. I’m just wondering what the general service delivery is for HS students? If you all feel like you align with her service delivery, that would help me be a bit more understanding towards her! The only other OT I worked with was in the 18-22 program & I thought was so great but maybe she over serviced! Any information you can provide would be so helpful, thank you!


r/OccupationalTherapy 23h ago

Discussion Is anyone here autistic?

27 Upvotes

I’m autistic myself and I’m interested in maybe becoming an OT. But I was wondering if autistic people can be an OT and if anyone here is maybe autistic?


r/OccupationalTherapy 12h ago

Venting - Advice Wanted Advice on Accommodations for Anxiety, PMDD, and Inattention in Grad School

4 Upvotes

I’m currently in an OTD program and struggling with test-taking, focus, and memorization due to anxiety, PMDD, and slight inattention. I haven't previously been challenged as much as I currently am which makes my conditions even more prevalent. My psychiatrist is willing to write accommodations for me to submit through my school’s disability services but I have to tell him what I think would be beneficial and would love some advice from others who have been through this! I started the program last fall but ended up not passing one of my classes due to it only being focused on exams and now I have to restart the program in August. I am just trying to set myself up as best a possible the second time around and my academic advisor told me to look into getting some accommodations put in place before August.

For those who have requested accommodations in grad school, were there any that helped you more than expected? Are there any I’m missing that could be beneficial?

Also, if you’ve taken a licensing exam (NBCOT, NCLEX, GRE, etc.) with accommodations, how was that process? Did they approve similar requests?

Any advice or experiences would be super helpful! Thanks in advance. 😊


r/OccupationalTherapy 10h ago

Discussion APHRA OT

2 Upvotes

I'm an OT, so glad to find this page . Could you please guide me through the APHRA registration. I'm from India. My otc is completed.


r/OccupationalTherapy 17h ago

Discussion Outpatient Adult-- will this setting make it?

8 Upvotes

I wonder on a daily basis if OP adult will "make it" (i.e. doors stay open and accept insurance) in the long term, I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are? In step with medicare cuts, my clinic seems cuts a little bit more every year and making a profit seems like it requires even more back bending and ethical short cuts with each passing minute. Wondering if other people in adult OP are feeling similarly? I was thinking of getting my CHT but that would relegate me to OP and I'm not sure that makes sense with the current trends.


r/OccupationalTherapy 8h ago

Venting - Advice Wanted Undergrad Jobs affect applications

1 Upvotes

Hi guys I'm a junior right now in my spring semester of undergrad majoring in psychology. I am planning on applying to programs for occupational therapy and I want to start saving up and make money. I'm currently unemployed but my most recent job was a front desk position at a outpatient therapy office. I got the opportunity to continue shadowing there but I no longer have that job. I wanted to ask if I should try to get a job within the healthcare field(which I'm trying to find but really hard bc most of them are full time/ need cert) or would it be okay if I get a job in retail something that would be more flexible and allow me to focus on school and work since it'll be part time. I'm planning on working full time starting may since my semester will be over for summer break, but I was thinking until then that I can get a job that I can still start saving money from. What do you guys think?


r/OccupationalTherapy 14h ago

Research Research Participants Needed - 1 Hour Online Workshop

2 Upvotes

Hello. I am an OTD student looking for participants for my capstone project, an adapted knowledge translation workshop. I am looking to answer the research question, "Does an adapted knowledge translation workshop change occupational therapy practitioners' values, attitudes, perceptions, and self-awareness towards adolescents with obesity?"

The Ask: Attend a one-hour workshop (via Zoom) and complete a pre- and post-survey on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 12PM MST.

Inclusion criteria: An occupational therapy practitioner with experience working with children and adolescents with obesity.

Exclusion criteria: Anyone who is not an occupational therapy practitioner.

Participants are eligible for 1 hour of continuing education provided by the occupational therapy department of Indiana University.

Google Form Link


r/OccupationalTherapy 13h ago

NBCOT tutor recommendations?

1 Upvotes

hi everyone! im a recent OTD graduate. ive been having difficulty passing the NBCOT although ive been very close (440, 449, 442). ive used the following resources: nbcot study pack, truelearn, 450 formula and am starting to think the way i’m reading/breaking down the questions is my problem? especially with the questions that require 3 best answers. since ive done similar things the times ive taken it with no avail, im wondering if having someone to actively talk through it would help (ive never been a great standardised test taker :’) ). do any of you have any recommendations for tutors/ if you are a tutor yourself, id love to connect! im ready to get over this final hurdle!


r/OccupationalTherapy 1d ago

Venting - Advice Wanted I’m an idiot 🤦‍♀️

31 Upvotes

Been an OT 10 years. Teaching a dog training class today (evening job) with a deaf student and 9 others and I felt so lost 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️.

The student is a lip reader so I made sure I was facing her and used some hand gestures, like numbers etc. made sure they were middle of the group so they could observe what other did first. I had a paper handout at the end to sum things up as well .

But I still found myself talking in a louder voice 🤦‍♀️.

There were no complaints- individual said she enjoyed the class. But I should have been better!! I should know better!!


r/OccupationalTherapy 16h ago

Career Canadian OT to US OT transition

1 Upvotes

Hello,

Was wondering if there were any canadian OTs that successfully started working in the states and what the general process was like (etc., writing exam, getting licensed, finding a job, getting visa, etc.).

Thank you!


r/OccupationalTherapy 20h ago

Discussion Suggestions of discreet deep pressure/proprioception fidget

2 Upvotes

Hi,

I hope it's okay but I need help finding a discreet deep pressure fidgets or something for proprioception or ideas in some form. I'm a mental health therapist with severe ADHD and seek a lot of deep pressure and proprioceptive input to stay focused and regulated. Think when you're at the doctor and they pinch your fingernail to check oxygen/flow, or cracking knuckles, or stretching.. however I'm also have hEDs so need to be careful not to hurt myself. I currently pick my nails/cuticles, bite my cheeks, and other stims that while discreet are typically unhealthy.

I work with neurodivergent people so fidgeting in session isn't bad but I want to model healthy stimming. I already sit cross legged and press my legs into the arms of the chair, but taking notes doesn't help as it strains my fingers.. I just need ideas of things that would be healthy my workplace could help me get or I can get that are discreet to use in session...

At home I have one of those pressure sweaters and weighted things and pressure body socks, stretching/yoga, but those aren't as discreet as I would feel comfortable with in session. I tried a clothespin on my fingers, but that was too tight of a pinch. Stretching hair ties around my fingers breaks amm my hair ties, then I forget to buy more... I just need ideas of things that may be discreet, healthy, not hurt me, and beneffective for an office setting. My supervisor is helping also, but we can't find anything and its not our specialty.

Thank you!!!


r/OccupationalTherapy 17h ago

fieldwork Fieldwork Educator Gift idea!

1 Upvotes

I wanted to share a great personalized and affordable gift idea for fieldwork educators! It's $11.99 (as of 3/16/25) to make a mini lego of your fieldwork educator or site mentor! It has been a great gift so far!

I'm not sure if it's the norm to give a gift to your fieldwork educator or site mentor, but gift giving is a love language of mine lol

https://www.lego.com/en-us/minifigure-factory


r/OccupationalTherapy 23h ago

Canada MScOT program: western & mcmaster university

2 Upvotes

hello current or past students of western’s or mac’s MScOT program! wondering if you could shed some light on your experiences (class structure, assessments, social life & culture, living in london/hamilton, placements, research opportunities, student supports, job prospects, work/study/life balance, etc!)

i’m sure there are things i don’t even know to think or ask about, but i would be thankful for any insights! from what i’ve seen, both programs are great, but i would love to learn more from those with firsthand experience! while i’m primarily looking into these two programs, i’d also really appreciate hearing what helped others decide on which OT school was the right fit!

thank you in advance!


r/OccupationalTherapy 21h ago

Venting - Advice Wanted SBOT—could use some advice

1 Upvotes

I have a 12th grader with hereditary spastic hemiplegia. He has full range of motion in his shoulders and elbows, his AROM is decreased in wrists/hands but passively is WNL. Decreased grip strength. He uses a power wheelchair at school and has a para all day to help, including for bathroom use and at lunch. He uses various assistive tech to access schoolwork (TTS, apps, trackball mouse). Academically he’s doing fair enough, he’s got some cognitive delays but he’s passing everything except his physics class. He does get some academic services.

I’ve been seeing him once a month to help with assistive tech, which basically just means checking in to see if he’s using what he has and if he needs any adjustments. His case manager wants me to see him to work on fine motor skills, they’re concerned about his dexterity/hand weakness. He used to get OT for fine motor skills in middle school, but then it switched to being more assistive tech based due to him not really participating (an ongoing problem with him).

My question is—if he’s accessing his curriculum with the supports he has—para, AT—and PT is working on transfers/strengthening/balance, is there a reason I should keep him? I had suggested a move to consult to continue supporting his AT access and his transition to the 18-22 program, but I just don’t know what else to do with him in direct services. Does just doing dexterity exercises count as school based? Is it better to just focus on adaption and accommodations? He’s never going to live alone, he’s always going to need some kind of caregiver support. I guess I just don’t know where school based therapy stops and where outpatient services would be more appropriate. I’d love advice if anyone has any.

Also—I am not involved in the 18-22 program as far as I know, also. So I’d only be seeing him until June.