This is a bit different than my usual content, but an important topic that is near and dear to my heart. I wanted to share the story about how I got into non-clinical occupational therapy.
Many of you know that I love to practice and teach intuitive eating, but what you may not know is that my day job is working in clinical informatics. This is essentially a person who is the liaison between the clinical world and the information technology world.
For about a decade, I was in the outpatient therapy setting, treating mostly orthopedic and neurological patients as well as some cognitive deficits, and a little of everything else. After having my second child, I begin to feel very burnt out and not content with my job. I loved where I worked and who I worked with but, y he constant turnover of patient appointments and documentation was getting to be too much. It was a bit of a mix of healthcare, burn out, mental understimulation, and too much face-to-face interaction for this introvert. So I began to explore other options.
I wondered if there was a way I could begin to incorporate some of the things I really liked into my current job, such as working with the electronic documentation system or teaching others. I explored opportunities with software development and academia, but none of them seemed like they were the right fit. I reached out to some contacts in IT and I was directed to connect with our organization's clinical informatics department.
Things moved pretty quickly after that. The job ended up having pretty much everything I was looking for. Despite having some unknowns, I took the job, and I now work as an occupational therapist in clinical informatics. I work with our organization's electronic medical record, Epic, and get to provide efficiency strategies and teach workflows for many different healthcare providers. I get to work primarily from home, nourish my introverted need for being alone with intermittent human interaction, and absolutely love what I do.
Because this is a rather unique field for therapist to be working in, I do get a lot of people who ask me about it, which is why I wanted to put it in writing. Here are some of the things to think about if you're considering a non-clinical job.
• Identify the components of your job that you love, not just the job itself. This will help you when seeking out a position that will fit you best. For example, I love technology and teaching.
• Do not put yourself in a box. Therapists have many skills that can transfer other industries. Be confident in what you can do and what you have learned after working in a challenging field.
• Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. Get creative and how you can relate the skills you have learned being a therapist to the job requirements listed in the posting. For example, while I had never worked in health informatics or IT, I talked about how I had been an Epic super user and pick up new information quickly. The Non-Clinical PT website has some great courses and tips for preparing for a non-clinical job which I used to update my resume.
• Network with those in the field you would like to get into. I was friends with someone who worked in IT with the EHR so I picked her brain on what the job would be like and if I would enjoy it. She was the one who pointed me in the right direction so I could learn more.
• If you're looking at getting into clinical informatics, like me, see if your organization has this department already. Even if they don't have any job openings, you could still express your interest and inquire about future opportunities.
The number one thing I learned about changing my career was that it required ignoring limiting beliefs that I was not ready or qualified for a job that was non-traditional for an OT. I wish you the best of luck if you're feeling the need to make a change. I recommend going for it. You just might find your dream job.
Feel free to reach out if you have questions!
Like, share, or comment if you enjoyed this post ❤️
Comentários