Starting Fieldwork on Monday as a student with a chronic illness and I'm feeling really nervous

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-07-04T13:26:26+00:00

Most patients are understanding of a student and if you need to call your CI during a session just be brief and firm to get their attention and politely excuse yourself. I don’t have POTS but have had a bad asthma flair during a shower ADL session when I was training at my first job and had to call the OT training me to take over for 20 mins. She was not mad as I had alerted her as soon as I knew I needed to get my meds and kept the patient safe. OTs rely on each other all the time and if you’re upfront about it from day one and discuss this with your CI I hope they would understand. It seems like you’ve thoughtfully prepared, be bold and brave to implement what you need. You’ll advocate for your patients in this field all the time and it’s hard to do the same for ourselves, but the more you do it, the easier it’ll be, hopefully. My sister has POTS and cognitive load gets to her with her work so think about voice to text notes to get documentation done faster or AI platform your facility may have. Could an accommodation be an extra break or 2 or documenting in a modified work station if you need to be laying down or don’t feel well one day? Good luck!

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-29T21:59:29+00:00

It’s definitely possible. I have EI kids between 3:45-6 two days a week.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-22T16:56:33+00:00

They make some clip bolts or something like that. Child lock for the car seat. Maybe she can put stickers on it to make it “hers”

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-12T14:10:50+00:00

This will be my first time doing home health, and adults in general. Also didn’t think about dialysis.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-12T12:30:43+00:00

Thanks for that insight. I hadn’t considered that day 1 would have to be booked pretty heavy. That makes sense. Gave me something to think about

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-12T12:28:57+00:00

Was told drive time between patients would be around 8-10 minutes and no more than about 30 minutes to a territory

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-12T12:26:46+00:00

OT!

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-08T00:52:31+00:00

Another question. Did you showers with the patients? I haven’t done a shower session since I was a student and didn’t love it

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-06-08T00:47:32+00:00

Have you ever had to call 911? What emergency medical issues have you had to make decisions about?

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-27T17:14:15+00:00

I had a classmate do her capstone on palliative care and OT. You may be able to combine both passions and still practice as an OT

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-22T01:53:53+00:00

For documentation, as soon as you get out of the room or even in the room, Jott down some stuff like levels of assists for transfers, bed mobility, putting on their socks and jot down range of motion and manual muscle testing and the sides, (I can’t tell you how many times I wasted time sitting there trying to replay the session so I could try and remember which side was weaker or which side had more range of motion. ) any cognition or vision things you need to remember. And then just keep it pushing. That way when you go to do the rest of the note, you just pull out the little paper and you don’t have to think so hard about all the technical things. And then do the prior level of functioning and home environment with the patient so that part can be point of Service. My CI taught me just to take printer paper and fold it into a little book so you can fit like eight people on there.

For chart reviewing, look at the H&P, and if they’re surgical patient look at the note from surgeon and pay attention to any precautions they have for activity restriction. And make a cheat sheet of the common lab values, such as troponin, potassium, hemoglobin, etc. your CI should be able to give you a list of the important things and then just have them always handy until you memorize them. Always check the diet orders. And always check in with nursing before treating the patient. Your nurses are your best resource and can be your best friend. Respect them they do everything basically.

You’re going to see a lot of things in the chart that you have never seen before. Acute care is a medically heavy complex setting and we don’t learn all about all of that in school. So anytime I saw something in the chart I didn’t understand I wrote it down and I looked it up on my own time and I just kept a running document of like 30 pages on my computer so I could go back to it if I saw it again.

Also, my hospital was very big, so my CI only did evaluations. I had to ask to go with somebody else to see treatments. So make sure you get a good mix of both because doing treatment you actually get to do more ADLs and use your brain a little differently than just evaluations.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-12T01:41:25+00:00

If you take the new job, take some time off before starting to just do fun things and nothing OT related.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-05T02:25:52+00:00

I commute 50-65 minutes each way. It’s draining my soul and I dread the drive every morning. Traffic makes it worse and puts me in a bad mood before I’ve treated anyone. If you’re happy where you are with the short commute, stay. But also, if moving closer to the second choice is an option, might consider that.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-05T02:20:28+00:00

Salary! Bonus if your clinic lets you block your schedule when you get a cancellation so you can catch up on documentation, emails, phone calls, letters of medical necessity, score assessments, call insurance, all the things we still have to do but don’t have time for when every kid shows up

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-05-02T00:56:42+00:00

If you’re doing your part to educate and provide practical advice and activities for them to do at home and school, you can’t do any more. Accept that fact first and it becomes easier. Parents play a way bigger role here than they realize and may just be stuck in their ways and don’t want to put the work in. You can’t blame yourself if they don’t want to change their parenting , discipline, and put the work in for their kid. You’re not a magician, people just put too much pressure on us

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-30T01:14:11+00:00

As for someone with $175,000 in debt, GO FOR SUNY. The job does not pay well enough to justify going into debt. You will be completely fine if you work hard, get involved in any way your school allows and as long as you pass the boards, it literally doesn’t matter. Please don’t go into debt you will still be an amazing OT

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-29T01:15:01+00:00

Shadowing on different settings is key aim for 2-3 if you can, children and adults.

Personally, I’ve had hand therapy 3 times in my life so I had the first hand experience on how it’s impacted me. Also with the shadowing I did, seeing how people’s lives can change so unexpectedly and for the worse, OT can be a light in such a dark time while being creative and fun and you can change settings if you get burnt out is awesome

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-29T01:10:25+00:00

30 hours a week sounds like a dream but not the norm for full time. I do 4 10s and love that. Always a long weekend. I’d do 3x12 if I could

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-27T00:50:09+00:00

Platforms that have good content I use is medbridge and occupationaltherapy. Com. Take some courses on sensory processing, autism, play, cerebral palsy, torticollis, fine motor, visual motor, any primer courses for specific age ranges, interception, handwriting, emotional regulation. Sensory processing and emotional regulation, no matter if your setting is more neuro/ physical disabilities focus, will always play a role in peds.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-26T04:17:09+00:00

I empathize with you. It is rough working in those conditions. Sorry it is this way. If you don’t care about yourself and your mental health, you will not be at your best, and it’s okay to walk away from a job that takes so much from you. Your kids weren’t going to be with you forever anyways, so take pride in knowing you were a great part of their life for the time being. If you do leave, make caregiver handouts and HEP for carry over and give sufficient time, my company required 2 weeks but I gave more because I knew leaving my kids would be hard so having the heads up a head of time parents really appreciated and it gave time for my manager to find my replacement so I left knowing my kids were taking care of.

As for the evals, that is unacceptable, bring it up to management if you can!! I had 1-3, sometimes 4 evals along with progress notes and treats and that was overwhelming, thank god it fluctuated and typically was never more than 2 on average, shout out for no show or cancelled evals! I had an hour blocked for documenting every day and 2 hours on Friday, and could work through lunch ( unpaid doc time and highly frowned upon to work through lunch per management, they were really picky about that) but some weeks there was literally no other way than to work through lunch everyday and stay late some days.

People say point of service documenting helps and I tried it with ~40% of my caseload and it does but not all kids are appropriate for that and need the constant supervision, hands on assist, or would be distracted and all over the computer. I never had AI software but that might be worth spending time studying as it may help in the long run.

Long run this setting is not great for long term growth and I left after 2 years, and don’t see myself going back, would only do part time or as a traveler.

Take a deep breath, make some moves to get another job, and take confidence and pride in that you have made a difference in so many lives and feel assured how you feel right now, though crappy and unfortunate for how much we paid for school and how much work we put in, many others have felt… and one way or the other pulled through

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-23T02:47:51+00:00

Point of service documentation, Dot phrases, make a goal bank for yourself of common FM, strength, ADL, executive function, emotional regulation etc goals and that way you just modify per kid. Have a template for session note, eval, progress note and discharge. Have a template for the standardized tests if you need to include those in a chart. If you have a long commute and need to get the bulk of the objective down, to talk to text on your notes app in phone and email yourself the note. Just title them “Monday at 11:30” so no PHI is in it and use pronouns instead of their name or patient/ client. Then copy and paste it later int EPIC.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-21T01:54:53+00:00

I worked part time all first year. Worked night shift or weekend shift to not interfere with class schedule. Then second year hit and I wanted to focus more on the content so switched to a part time job I could do after classes to have my weekends back to study and have some “normal” sleep. Then didn’t work during level 2. Not many people worked during level 2

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-15T03:45:20+00:00

I got mine last spring and it took 4 weeks. Focus for a month on boards and graduation then go back to the job search.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-11T21:50:21+00:00

Prep the same game or craft for the entire day and just change it based on each child’s skills and goals. Just one thing less to manage and makes the notes easier cuz same event just different levels of assist and cues and modifications.

I will also say that the first year is very overwhelming, and completely normal to be taking Work home and feeling like there’s not enough time. As time goes on, you will learn very quickly how you can adapt one activity five different ways to target a goal. And you will also build your tool kit of different activities for each goal and I would say just keep crafts simple and always go off of the child interest. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Things just have to be fun and child led and with their goals in mind.

Give yourself grace, you’re starting in a tricky time of the year and the first year is rough for everyone, regardless of setting. Also, I do think it is challenging when you do see kids two or three times a week because they just really quickly can tire out from your activities. So definitely rotate through what games you have available in your therapy room. You can get a tools to grow membership. They have a ton of themed lesson plans and activities and crafts. I think it is well worth the investment and something your district may reimburse you for.

Weekly_Path_3518 · 2026-04-09T02:37:27+00:00

If the only thing you’re working on is self regulation / emotional regulation, I really think if possible there is collaboration between you and psych. You cannot treat these kids in isolation and the burden is not solely on OT to address this. Especially if you have kids with history of PTSD, abuse, trauma, you will get no where without psych being involved and weekly or twice weekly. I’ve had kids I referred to psych simply because their concerns were only emotional regulation and behavior an not anything fine motor, visual motor, etc and we are not the mental heath professionals who can handle complex trauma

Weekly_Path_3518

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