I started out my occupational therapy career by having both clinical and non-clinical roles. Non-clinical jobs are types of work in which a therapist’s skills are useful even if they don’t involve patient care, such as being a health blogger or a rehab liaison.
If you’re a therapist, there are many reasons why you’ll find yourself considering non-traditional paths. It’s tempting to expect too much from them though, when you don’t understand their disadvantages.
Addressing the Contextual Factors
The opportunities to address the social determinants of health (SDH) are what I like the most about non-traditional careers. Targeting the SDH can create a positive systems-level impact that improves patients’ individual health in the process.
I experienced how this works when I was part of a team that created a comprehensive system for mainstreaming students with disabilities. We developed protocols for screening and monitoring their performance. The kids with special needs had pull-out sessions with special education teachers to help them master their lessons. Moreover, their school-based occupational therapists and speech pathologists did push-in sessions during classes, breaks, and extra co-curricular activities.
The inclusive practices empowered many students to progress through the general education program despite their disabilities. On the other hand, those who have more significant impairments transitioned into functional academics classes. But the latter still got to attend mainstream school activities that improved their social and communication skills.
Diversified Income
The potential to earn income that augments one’s fees from patient care is another advantage of a non-traditional side hustle. It can even turn into a full business. Such a venture can serve as a Plan B should the therapist resign from clinical work due to an illness or other life changes. Finally, having multiple streams of income will help therapists survive in case they get cancelled for having views that elitists deem unacceptable.
The Grass May Not Be Green At All
The greatest downside of non-traditional jobs is their low barrier to entry. Graduates of other degree programs can also do non-clinical work. After all, you don’t need to be a therapist to be a health blogger or a program consultant.
Take note also that demands for these jobs may not be that high because COVID-19 is driving businesses to downsize. Hence, the competition is tougher yet the entry-level pay is lower.
On the other hand, in-demand careers like software engineering and UX design can set you up for burnout faster. Those jobs pay well because they’re highly complex. Companies will also set demanding time frames for your project competition. In contrast, our clinic hours as self-employed therapists are far more flexible.
Turning the non-clinical side hustle into a full startup is most likely to be even more stressful than patient care. It’s also most likely to fail.
Therapists in Public Health
Finally, there are serious limitations on the impact that you can create in a non-traditional career. The social determinants of health (SDH) that prevent you from achieving the goals that you’ve set for individual patients will also hinder you from making all the necessary systems-level changes.
Unfortunately, altering the SDH is far more difficult than remediating patients’ impairments or compensating for their activity limitations. When I was a program consultant, the Department of Education’s rules constrained the inclusive strategies that the school could implement. How on earth can you change that? I also could not replicate the inclusive program for low-income kids due to the limited resources.
So be glad that allied health schools mainly produce clinicians! Through our traditional role, we equip our patients with skills that can help them thrive regardless of the external circumstances.
Non-clinical jobs can be impactful, fun, and financially rewarding. Just be realistic in your expectations. Check out the links below if you’d like to learn more about what these non-traditional roles are. Plus, tune into Occupassion’s upcoming FB livestream about emerging practice areas!
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