Working as an occupational therapist in a rural area is both rewarding and straining. Working in a rural area enables the therapist to broaden their comfort zone with many different practice areas. One of the most difficult aspects of working as an occupational therapist in a rural area is that there are simply not enough therapists. The rural way of life is not exactly appealing to most new graduates. The State of Nebraska has a rural health student loan program to assist in attracting new graduates to rural areas; however where I practice in Madison County is not considered to be rural by the state of Nebraska.

I chose to contact our Speaker of Legislature, Mike Flood who happens to reside in Madison County and inform him of our difficulties with recruitment. I invited Speaker Flood for a tour of our facility and set aside some time to talk about our issues with recruitment. The visit with Speaker Flood was great, he was very open to all our questions and had many questions himself of the profession. Following our visit from Speaker Flood he has since contacted the Nebraska Office of Rural Health and is opening a file on this matter to follow through the balance of the year to find out what can be done. Speaker Flood commented that it is visits like this where he truly learns what is going on behind the scenes. Our members of the Legislature are available with open ears; it is up to us as practitioners to make the first step in advocating for ourselves and our profession.

Justin Young, OTD, OTR/L

Faith Regional Health Services

Norfolk, Nebraska