OT/SLP burnout | Imamother

amother

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 12:35 pm

I am a therapist working in pediatrics for the last 12 years and I am starting to feel very burned out, like I really don't enjoy what I do anymore. I went into the field as I enjoy working with children and helping them overcome their challenges, but I feel like I need a career change. I worked in 3 different places over the 12 year time-period, so its not like a different place would help. Any insight?

amother

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 12:41 pm

groisamomma wrote:

Can you identify which part is burning you out? Is it the lack of adult company? Or the physical work?

Definitely not the lack of adult company, as I work with very nice people. I feel like the field is flooded with so many techniques, and try this but maybe try that, and take this course and take that course....I feel like I need a job that is more straight forward. You would think that after so many years of experience I would feel more confident, but for some reason I don't. Sometimes I enjoy my job more than other times, but now I am finding it very draining.

mha3484

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 12:46 pm

I do medical staffing, A couple of years ago, I had a client who was looking for someone to do quality assurance for their therapy program. He wanted someone with therapist experience to ensure the paperwork was done correctly. Maybe a job more like that would appeal to you.

Another idea. The case manager of my boys school was a therapist now she oversees who gets what services. She doesnt see the kids just works with all the parts of the school to make sure no one falls through the cracks.

Last edited by mha3484 on Tue, Feb 13 2024, 12:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 12:51 pm

Same. But I can't afford to leave my job just to get a job I would enjoy more. Try to come up with a hobby or something you can do on the side that makes you feel fulfilled. Look at the positives your job offers you and focus on that.

amother

Camellia

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:02 pm

Same. I completely understand what you're saying. There is nothing straightforward. Like if I have a certain issue I come across and want to know what to do for it, there's a thousand things I can try. Nothing is really clear cut. There's a lot of floundering. I hear this from many therapists.

amother

Camellia

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:09 pm

and btw call me cynical, but I have come to realize that the therapists (referring to SLPs as that's my field) who promote this field and say how amazing it is, etc.. are the ones making money from giving coursers. That's where the money is. And also the fame/name recognition. And that's what keeps them going.

honey36

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:20 pm

Sounds like your burnt out because you are trying to cover too many bases. SLP is a huuuge field, it's impossible to be an expert in:
Early Language
Regular language
Articulation
Fluency
Auditory processing
Voice
Dysphagia
Phonemic awareness/reading skills
Learning disabilities
And and and...

And yet, clients expect us to be experts in all of the above and treat them for whatever they need. It's just not possible!

I would highly recommend just specializing in one specific area. Like literally chose just ONE of the topics mentioned above, and only treat that. See if that helps.

amother

Camellia

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:27 pm

honey36 wrote:

You are correct. That's literally the main issue of a school therapist. Dozens of areas to try to learn and improve on.
If OP stays in the schools this is how it is, she can't choose one topic to specialize in. I mean it's a good idea if she wants to go private. But in the school it's the whole hodpodge.

amother

Molasses

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:28 pm

Another burnt out therapist here

It's not just the broad scope of what we are expected to treat. Personally, over the years I have gotten better at putting my foot down and saying that I cannot treat certain things. I work in a school and they would just throw every issue the kid was having at me.

What is burning me out is the awful work/life balance. I take home so much work. There is always something on my mind-another report that needs to be written, another parent that needs to be called etc. I can never shut off completely from work.
And yes, I am very organized and efficient and experienced (before anyone accuses me that I should develop better systems).
I also find it draining to work with kids a whole day an then come home to my own kids

amother

Molasses

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:29 pm

amother Camellia wrote:

Agreed

The ones promoting the field are NOT the ones doing 15 sessions a day back to back plus paperwork plus parent contact plus....

mha3484

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 1:39 pm

amother Molasses wrote:

Agreed

The ones promoting the field are NOT the ones doing 15 sessions a day back to back plus paperwork plus parent contact plus....

Based on my friends and working in healthcare, I think its a good job for a certain type of person and also my feeling is its a better job when you leave NY. When it becomes everyone become a therapist its not good.

I feel like in NY the BOE has a stranglehold on rates. Most kids can get therapy in school so no one feels the need to pay for private so the rates stay low and also everyone gets therapy so there are so many kids to see.

Where I live and across most of the country, we are used to paying much higher costs for therapy because your local school district provides so little. If you get therapy in school you still have your kid in outside therapy too. So maybe in NY its not a good career but in a different state it is. There are so many complex factors that make it a good or bad career choice.

amother

Camellia

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 10:42 pm

So are there any slp's who work in a school and actually like it?
I don't just mean the actual work part, I am referring to the whole picture as some posters above have explained. To be clear, I do enjoy working with the children and helping them. It's everything else that is causing burnout.

I honestly don't feel up to the task of switching to adults at this point. I've been in schools for a long time. I would have to be trained from scratch and take loads of courses and classes to be able to work in such a setting. There is literally zero the same between working an slp in a school setting and as an slp in a nursing home/hospital, etc. If I switch, I can almost go for a new career altogether. (Which I actually might just do)

amother

Camellia

Tue, Feb 13 2024, 10:44 pm

I noticed OP did not mention if she was an SLP or OT even though both were written in the title.
In my anecdotal experience, I hear more burnout complaints with SLPs than OTs. Even those working in the exact same setting. I have some theories why I think this is the case but I'm not going into it now.