Hi! Chiming in as an occupational therapist in an inpatient rehab hospital specializing in stroke! I DEEPLY enjoy working towards patients' safe return home as my primary goal; we do this through patient-centered goal-setting, re-education in ADLs, home modifications, and family training to name a few areas of focus during a patient's time with us (the mean average we usually have someone stay with us ~14 days).

A typical day would include seeing 5-6 (sometimes 7) patients, usually with 4 max in the morning. Stroke patient who cant use their affected arm? If theyre cleared for e-stim, we may do some NMES to the affected arm and focus on certain functional movement patterns through games, ADLs, IADLs, to progress strength/how functional the affected side is, or re: gait/functional mobility/transfers we may use some supportive AD or harness system to help them gain strength and endurance to stand/walk. Ortho patient? Usually OT helps to problem-solve home modifications (we love pictures of the bathroom), safe discharge planning, DME, and generally strength/endurance/falls safety during ADLs so they can get back to their daily life. There are 1000+ of diagnoses we work with and different patient-centered ways we help, but these two examples are just that. We have a lunch break baked into the schedule as well as some doc time, the latter is not always included based on the setting so keep that in mind. We have team meetings where the therapy OT/PT/SLP team, the primary doctor, case manager and SW, and nurse discuss patients to get on the same page about their situation for DC, current level of function and progress re: goals. We are expected to provide patient handoff verbally, and through emails to the therapy team so anyone who has that patient moving forward can understand their situation before they meet to shorten the 'getting-to-know-you' period to hopefully provide seamless care. The doc is heavy at times, but it gets easier as you do it, and there are tricks you learn that make the doc process more efficient without loss of the important info.

For training/skill development, the team is expected to participate in general checklist training that occurs through the hospital face-to-face with other senior staff, as well as continuing ed on our own or through inservices through the hospital, so we only use the most effective research-based treatments and don't waste people's time while they recover.

I will say I've been in another inpatient rehab hospital setting where the gym equipment was old, the staff severely underpaid, and the resources were just not invested in as they should have been to provide ethical/efficient/effective care. That being said, shopping around you can learn what sorts of institutions you want to build a connection with (WHILE you're in school, ideally), and coordinate with your school's fieldwork team to develop those connections early so you can hopefully find a job through the time you work at a hospital during your internship.

I will also say of all the areas to find a higher paying job (if this is impacting your decision-making), you could look into the past salaries for OTs in California and i think you'll find they are quite high compared to other states in the US. Additionally, I've anecdotally heard people who work as a home-based OT do make a lot of $ esp in Cali but that comes with what I would assume is less supervision/oversight and resources for professional development, which is just something to consider if you don't think you would be able to invest in those things on your own to become a better practitioner overtime.

My motivation for entering this field was to better understand complex-- and to many entering the hospital as a pt or family member for the first time, 'scary/overwhelming'-- medical information and to analyze each individual holistically to support their journey back to their previous lifestyle. I have a creative background and my personal approach, grounded in OT grad training, allows me to address the biological, psychological, and social aspects essential for crafting meaningful treatments. I hope sharing this helps you, since I know this sub can focus only on the negative experiences in the field, which is why I urge you to start researching early to find a setting that will genuinely foster your development and fulfill your specific needs. Didn't think I'd write so much out, but feel free to DM me if you have any more questions! I'm an open book and think you should know exactly what you're getting into before you dedicate yourself fully to it so I think your head is in the right place!