Yes or no?
This morning there was a stellar “Money and OT” chat on Clubhouse and the wonderful @lovelly_ot asked: “Are we as OT practitioners paid what we are worth?’
And let me just say that the convo that ensued afterwards was amazing!
For me, the short answer to this question is no.
And my long answer is…
I believe so much in the power of who we are and what we do as OT practitioners. The skills we possess, the ideas we have, and the ability for us to work with pretty much any client that comes our way is remarkable.
We literally change people’s lives EVERY SINGLE DAY through engagement in meaningful and purposeful occupations.
While on the surface, what we do might not look like much, i.e. helping somebody brush their teeth or transfer to the toilet or help a child learn to eat with a fork or write their name, but these small actions have a huge impact on a person’s overall health and wellbeing.
I believe that we as a profession quite often undervalue what we bring to the table. I think society as a whole still doesn’t understand what we do.
Therefore, I think we are not paid what we are worth, not even close.
What do you think? Are we as OT practitioners paid what we are worth? Why or why not?
