healthcare and medical professions

Tag: healthcare and medical professions

Career Highlight: Occupational Therapist

Interested in pursuing occupational therapy as a career? Read on to find out more information about what a job as an occupational therapist looks like!

Job Duties
As an occupational therapist, frequently your job will involve evaluating and assisting people with various physical and/or neurological disabilities. For example, you may lead an autistic child in reciprocal play, or demonstrate healthy and/or alleviating exercises for people with chronic health conditions. As a result, your day to day activities will vary, and require a lot of flexibility. Part of this may include evaluating and assisting with updating a person’s home and/or work environment to ensure their health needs are being met. This often includes educating family, caregivers, and employers on how a patient can be best accommodated, providing information such has how to help them through a meltdown or flareup of symptoms, and how to use special equipment when necessary. Finally, occupational therapists work with the patient to develop a treatment plan to help the patient meet their own health goals.

Where They Work
Occupational therapists work in a variety of locations, depending on the patients they see. Many occupational therapists are employed by either hospitals or private healthcare practices. However, some work in educational settings, as schools will sometimes hire occupational therapists to help with child development in special needs circumstances. Retirement facilities will additionally hire occupational therapists to assist their elderly residents get accustomed to life in assisted living. And as may be suggested by the job duties, many occupational therapists additionally visit the homes of their patients to provide better hands on care.

Working Conditions
Work hours for occupational therapists are often flexible, suited to their patient’s needs. Most occupational therapists work full time (40 hours a week), and many work only during weekdays, similar to a typical day job. However, many also work nights and/or weekends when needed, in order to accommodate their patients and better recognize their needs. As previously mentioned, most will work in either an office of occupational therapy or hospital as a type of home base — where paperwork and planning commences. However when engaging with their patients, typically occupational therapists will spend a lot of time on their feet. This can include helping a patient get outside for some exercise, generally assisting around the house, etc. Additionally, local travel is often necessary for OTs who may need to visit patients in their homes as well as patients in a hospital or hospice care situation, as many OTs will treat patients in multiple facilities.

Who They Work With
The disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, and elderly are the populations typically served by occupational therapists, although exceptions exist. An occupational therapist will have the most interaction with their patients and caregivers, in addition to other occupational therapists. This is especially true if they work out of a private practice or hospital setting, where multiple occupational therapists are employed by the same organization (by contrast, schools will typically only hire one occupational therapist). In a hospital setting, an occupational therapist may expect to work with nurses and doctors as well, when necessary.

Education and Training
Occupational Therapists are required to go through quite a bit of education and training. The first major step is to take the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) exam in order to get their license to practice. However, most occupational therapists elect (and most states require) to obtain a 2-year associates degree in Occupational Therapy, as these programs prepare you to sit the COTA. After successfully passing the COTA, you can find work as an occupational therapist assistant and gain valuable fieldwork experience. In order to become a full-fledged Occupational Therapist, a masters’ degree in Occupational Therapy is required — although many programs exist that combine bachelor’s and master’s in occupational therapy. Finally, you must take a final exam — the Occupational Therapy Registered (OTR) — and obtain state licensure, whose requirements vary based on location. Then you’ll be able to practice!

Pay and Job Outlook
Pay varies based on state and on where you are on your career journey. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that in 2020, the median pay for an occupational therapist was $86k per year, or $41 per hour. However, occupational therapy assistants make a little less, on a range from around $36k/year to as much as $60k/year — all dependent on geographic location. As can be expected, occupational therapists in the midwestern states and smaller cities/towns make a smaller average than occupational therapists who work in large cities, especially along the coasts. That said, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics expects employment for occupational therapists to grow up to 16% in the next ten years, which is much faster than the average employment growth across all occupations. They suggest that occupational therapy will continue to be vital in treating people with conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, autism, or the loss of a limb.

Career Pathways in Psychology: To Grad School Or Not To Grad School

Career pathways are often at the forefront of soon-to-be graduates mind’s —and often even on the mind’s of sophomores and juniors — as you prepare to make the decision of whether to apply to graduate programs or not. In the field of psychology, there are myriad career pathways — some require different levels of graduate education, but some are possible with just your BA. Take a look at a brief (but certainly not exhaustive) list of ideas below!

I’m interested in getting a Master’s or PhD — which degree is suitable for what position?
Positions requiring graduate degrees in psychology will often involve some level of direct therapy with patients. Often, attaining a Master’s in psychology alongside licensure can provide you with the qualification to work as a counselor in an organizational setting, as a Staff Psychologist, and as a School Psychologist. Something to consider for these types of positions is what clientele you would prefer to work with. Obviously, school psychologists will work with children and adolescents, whereas a staff psychologist will work with members of a specific organization’s staff to ensure good health and mental well-being in a work environment.

Getting a doctorate — PhD or PsyD — in psychology, along with appropriate licensure, opens the door to private practice as a Clinical or Counseling Psychologist. This will enable you to work 1:1 with patients in a private setting — either your own or someone else’s clinic. Additionally, if you’re interested in leading your own research or teaching, a PhD is a requirement for many positions in academia.

I only want to get my BA in psychology, or I’m not sure about graduate school — what opportunities are out there for me?
While clinical and counseling therapy positions require higher education, there are plenty of positions in mental health that only require you to have a BA in psychology — and some you can even start while still pursuing your degree. For example, an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Instructor typically requires a BA, or even occasionally just the current pursuit of a BA, where you will get to work as an interventionist for educating and treating children with autism and autism-spectrum disorders.

Additionally, you could look into becoming a Mental Health Case Manager, where you will oversee a caseload of clients with long-term mental illnesses. Rather than providing direct therapy treatment, case managers help clients assess their needs and implement or review plans for service, while also connecting clients with community resources.

Finally, if you’re interested in pursuing research, or want to explore research as a career pathway without committing to years of graduate schooling, most Research Assistant positions in Psychology require a BA in psychology or other related social science. Research assistant experience also looks excellent on future graduate school applications, if that does end up being a possibility in the future.

Resume Suggestions for Careers in Healthcare

When you’re creating your resume, the most important part is customizing it to the job or internship description. However, there are always little things you can do when working on a generic or “grab-bag” resume to help your resume stand out from the rest.

What should I include on my resume if I don’t have a lot of work or internship experience?
It’s not only okay, but normal and common for undergraduate students to include work they’ve done for class on their resume. This can mean highlighting a bit of research you’ve completed or labs you’ve worked on here at Lawrence. Don’t be afraid to experiment with combination resumes if you don’t have a lot of formal work experience — this format can highlight the skills you’ve learned during your time as a student, with less emphasis on prior work/intern experience.

What kinds of skills are good to include?
All kinds, especially the skills listed in the job description! Be sure to include any trainings or certifications you may have received that might be relevant to the position you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying to a research internship, include your familiarity with data analysis/data management software like Excel, R Studio, SPSS, etc.

How do I make my language look more professional?
Bearing in mind that you do want to reference the job description as much as possible for an application resume — including using the specific language they use as much as possible — there are many ways you can rework the items on your resume to fit a more professional style.
For example, avoid phrases like “Worked with…”, “Duties included…” or “Was responsible for…” All of these phrases sort of tell a hiring manager what you did — but they’re quite passive and not very specific! Using strong action verbs in your resume is key, especially if a recruiter is only spending a few seconds reviewing your resume. Here is a list of strong action verbs that you can utilize on your resume to add some specificity to your past experiences.

Remember, even if you’re not planning on applying to a new position, it’s always a good idea to update your “grab-bag” resume so that it’s ready for you to tweak for your next job application.

Service Opportunities for Gap Year

Are you interested in attending graduate school, but not ready to jump right in after graduating from Lawrence? Curious to learn about gap year opportunities to gain experience and explore your interests? We’ve got you covered. There are a wide array of opportunities for recent graduates — here are just a few service programs that offer yearlong opportunities in healthcare.

AmeriCorps State and National
AmeriCorps may not seem like the place for health care opportunities, but there are actually a variety of service programs offered that focus on community wellness and health services. For example, take a look at the “Be Well Fox Valley AmeriCorps Program” right here in the Fox Valley area. Through this program, members have the opportunity to provide health education and promote physical, mental, and social health for community members.
Check out AmeriCorps here!

National Health Corps
This program is specifically dedicated to connecting young adults interested in becoming health professionals to people in need. There are a variety of positions available for many different organizations (called “host sites”) nationwide. For example, you could spend a year as a “Patient Navigator” where your responsibilities include linking patients to health care services, enrolling patients in health insurance, and providing health screenings.
See more about the National Health Corps here!