Dream Job
In a perfect world, I will be a pediatric occupational therapist one day.
What knowledge, skills, or abilities do you think you need for this job?
As a pediatric occupational therapist, I would help children fine-tune and develop their motor skills for everyday use. I would help them in every aspect such as daily tasks like getting dressed or bathing, social skills like improving relationships or attention, and even mental health by identifying early signs of disorders. Besides being successful in a recreational therapy degree and then becoming a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, I am sure I will need a lot of patience, flexibility, organizational, and time-management skills for the job.
After completing the quiz, were you surprised by the results compared to what you listed as your dream role?
Quiz: https://advance.appily.com/careers/healthcare/quiz
Yes and no. As much as the description that came with it appealed to me, I never would have guessed that I would get the ideal role of a Practitioner. Then again, I was not given many choices that would particularly lead to my dream job. Yes, I was surprised to have found another inviting career. No, I was not surprised the results differed from my dream job.
Three jobs posting similar to my dream job:
Clinical Liaison – Emergency Department Patient Liaison
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor – Assessor / Mental Health Agency (Indeed.com)
Community Health Worker – Outpatient Counselor, “Licensed Professional Counselor” and “Licensed Certified Social Worker” (Indeed.com)
Job Posting Number 1: Emergency Department Patient Liaison
Salary range?
Pay information is not provided, but I have seen $60,000-$80,000 a year for other clinical liaison jobs.
How much experience would be required to apply for that job, what degrees, certifications or training is required?
A High School Diploma or equivalent required, while prior work experience in healthcare, customer service or service recovery field is preferred. There are also no required licenses or certifications.
What skills are and tasks are involved in performing the job you have found?
To be successful in this job, some skills involve being able to communicate strongly, be highly motivated, have great organizational skills and time management, maintain a professional relationship and positive attitude with all internal and external customers, and know how to take initiative.
Tasks involved include using MS Office (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and office equipment), following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) policies and procedures, and maintaining confidentiality of all facility and facility-related (patients/families) information.
Job Posting Number 2: Assessor / Mental Health Agency
Salary range?
$325 an hour (Full-time or Part-time).
How much experience would be required to apply for that job, what degrees, certifications or training is required?
No certifications or degrees seem to be required. Only a background in behavioral health or related fields is preferred, as well as knowledge of behavior management techniques and applied behavior analysis is desirable. Having experience or training in addiction counseling, clinical counseling, or Christian counseling is just a plus, not a requirement or anything.
What skills are and tasks are involved in performing the job you have found?
Having strong communication skills (both verbal and written), the ability to work collaboratively within a clinical setting while maintaining professionalism at all times, and a commitment to ongoing professional development in the field of mental health are essential as an assessor at this job listing.
A few tasks I found include engaging patients using motivational interviewing techniques to encourage participation in their treatment, participating in case management activities to coordinate care and resources for patients, and maintaining accurate documentation of patient progress, behaviors, and interactions following ICD-10 guidelines.
Job Posting Number 3: Outpatient Counselor
Salary Range?
Up to $85,000 a year (Full-time).
How much experience would be required to apply for that job, what degrees, certifications or training is required?
An LMHP license is required, while an LPC or LCSW license suffices along with it. An NCC certification and counseling certification is not required, but preferred. Along with these requirements, experience in child and family counseling is needed.
What skills are and tasks are involved in performing the job you have found?
Clinical, solid documentation, and strong verbal communication skills are just as important as the needed skills and knowledge of successful rapport building, treatment planning, group counseling, evidenced-based counseling practices, diagnostic criteria, and assessment completion.
Tasks include properly providing individual and family counseling, and working with persons with various mental, emotional or behavioral disorders, and substance use or co-occurring disorders. Knowing how to handle crisis interventions and various therapeutic modalities is a must.
Did these jobs match what you had in mind for your dream job? Did you find your dream job? What are the similarities and differences?
Yes, a lot of the jobs match my dream job in one aspect or another. I may not have found my dream job through the job postings, but I did find other careers that appealed to me. I saw a lot of expectations for powerful communication, organization, and time management skills while remaining professional and motivated—elements that I am sure apply to all healthcare professions. While occupational therapists assist their patients physically, mentally, and socially, the other jobs I found seemed to only focus on one aspect or the other. The first job listing was more limited to communication with the staff and people who enter the building—no physically or mentally assisting patients. The other two also lack in providing physical help for patients, but focus more on either making patients receive their treatment or just counseling. Each listing also does not involve helping to improve patients in being successful with daily tasks, an aspect occupational therapists are known for.
From the 3 job postings you found, which job do you want the most? What skills do you already have and what skills do you still need more experience performing?
Of the three job postings, I am most interested in the Outpatient Counselor job. The human brain has always fascinated me, and I think it is essential that we solve the problems that occur in it—the very organ that controls who we are. I know that my few experiences in working with others have proven me capable of managing my time for others, remaining flexible in a diverse environment, and being able to take initiative, skills that always have more room for improvement. I can always build on those skills and surely need more professional experience to perform them. The same applies to me, as I need better communication skills, learn what it means to stay professional and maintain it, and become a better leader and listener, especially when the job requires counseling with more than one person.
To learn these skills I need, whether or not I were to take the Outpatient Counselor job, I would need to shadow others in the field or attend a counseling session myself. Exposure and following by example is how I learn best. Seeing the job done in real-time would be the best way for me to know how to act and remain professional, understand what questions to ask (and what I can ask in the first place) to identify the patient’s issue, and learn what other responsibilities come with the job that I might not have known prior. Attending a counseling session would allow me to understand the patient’s view and then reflect on what methods the counselor used to make me think or feel the way I did during the session. I would also be able to ask them questions one-on-one details about the job and how they got there.