Hello Terrianne: My reply is NOT on the OTlist.
I thourghly enjoyed your below message. I would like to add it to the OTnews wide site. This is a portion of OTnow where I've written a few commentaries. Are you acceptable to me doing some minor edits to your message and then posting on the OTnews site????? Thanks, Ron Carson ----- Original Message ----- From: Terrianne Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 To: OTlist@OTnow.com <OTlist@OTnow.com> Subj: [OTlist] on the "uselessness of OT " and other things TJ> "My other curiosity is why, if people are having such TJ> negative OT experiences in rehab, they bother to come for TJ> more OT once discharged?" TJ> Jeanne, you pose an interesting question, and one that is TJ> pretty easily answered. For the population covered by Medicare A TJ> , which is the main payer for physical rehabilitation for the TJ> largest portion of the population receiving OT services, it is TJ> ignorance plain and simple. Most of these clients have no idea TJ> what the MD's order; many a time I go to do a home care OT eval TJ> and my clients will balk that they didn't know the doctor ordered TJ> home care let alone OT. So in a sense they are somehat a captive TJ> audience. And since under the part A benefit they cannot be TJ> balanced billed, the see no direct out of pocket cost associated TJ> with OT. So, although they may hate or love their OT, until our TJ> clients have more connection to the investment versus outcome TJ> assoicated with OT, we will continue to offer in some TJ> circumstances a mediocre product with not much accountability, TJ> because the market will bear it. I am surprised quiet frankly TJ> that Medicare hasn't demanded more from the TJ> profession. TJ> When I teach OT students, my mantra is always "would YOU pay TJ> out of pocket for your service? Would others see the value in what TJ> you are doing with their loved one? Would there be enough face TJ> validity to your interventions that you could feel good about what TJ> you are doing and what you charge for the skilled service? " If TJ> you can't answer yes to these questions, then in all likelihood TJ> you are not offering a skilled intervention and will burn out in TJ> this field" TJ> After 15 years in this profession, I have really come to the TJ> conclusion that many OT's in adult and geriatric rehab are not TJ> that invested in truly operating as professionals. They want the TJ> paycheck and some sort of prestige, but they don't hold up their TJ> end of the equation by continuing their educations, using the best TJ> evidence and offering their clients a truly unique and skilled TJ> service. And they can get away with it because the TJ> patients/clients don't know any better and don't have to yet. TJ> If there were even a $5co -pay under part A for every therapy TJ> visit/session, this situation would change in a heartbeat, because TJ> the clients would demand better from us, and we would have to TJ> deliver to remain viable as a profession. TJ> The real question is: do we continue to "feast" on a sinking TJ> ship or do we abandon sloppy practice and hold ourselves TJ> accountable before we are forced to do so? In my mind that is what TJ> makes a real professional. TJ> Terrianne TJ> JM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: < TJ> they were supposed to do, they would make a big difference in patient's lives".>>> TJ> I would also be interested in knowing what the sister believes O T's are TJ> supposed to be doing.... a lot of people don't even know what OT is. My TJ> other curiosity is why, if people are having such negative OT TJ> experiences in rehab, they bother to come for more OT once discharged? TJ> I would be very uncomfortable working in a SNF where I was not allowed TJ> to address mobility in regards to ADLs....I have been fortunate to never TJ> have been pigeon-holed in that manner. Currently in my inpatient acute TJ> setting, I am constantly working on educating other staff that I am not TJ> a "PT" because I happen to get people out of bed-----Unfortunetly, I TJ> follow several OT's that never got people out of bed--fairly useless in TJ> my opinion TJ> On another topic, I am arranging activities at my facility for OT TJ> month--I had to cringe when the COTA was wanting to bring the cones and TJ> the arc to the demonstration table as OT modalities. I don't use these TJ> things as a general rule except with very low level neuro for TJ> tracking/color recognition and some basic grasp etc. I gently declined TJ> in favor of providing information on how not to pack a backpack and fall TJ> prevention in the community.....Just having items on a table doesn't TJ> show purpose even when there is one... TJ> anyway, always intersting to open my OTLIST digests :> TJ> Jeanne Marie TJ> -- TJ> Options? TJ> www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com TJ> Archive? TJ> www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com TJ> ************************************************************************************** TJ> Enroll in Boston University's post-professional Master of TJ> Science for OTs Online. Gain the skills and credentials to propel TJ> your career. TJ> www.otdegree.com/otn TJ> ************************************************************************************** TJ> --------------------------------- TJ> Be a PS3 game guru. TJ> Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games. -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com ************************************************************************************** Enroll in Boston University's post-professional Master of Science for OTs Online. Gain the skills and credentials to propel your career. www.otdegree.com/otn **************************************************************************************
