Frankly, I find it hard to understand what all the fuss is about. I think we can all agree that we want consumers with vision loss to be served by well trained, capable staff. I work for a private rehabilitation center that mostly serves blind consumers referred by the state VR agency. I teach several areas of ADL, including home management, cooking, and other skills of independent living. We have four rehab teachers, of which I am one, and three O&M instructors. Each of us is well trained.

Several staff came through university training programs which granted degrees in rehabilitation. They were very skeptical when they learned my degree was in OT. A few were outright unfriendly. It is to these few that I would like to address the following remarks:

1. You didn't invent rehabilitation. Regardless of your educational background, there is nothing you have learned that I cannot learn, and most likely already have.
2. Because my training and background is different, my employer finds that is positive and that I bring additional perspective and skills to the team.
3. I have talked to other rehab instructors who entered the field long before formal degree programs in rehab were common. I find that many of them are excellent instructors, although their degrees may have been in teaching, social work, psychology or other fields. Along the way, they have received hundreds of hours of in-service training in vision loss, counseling, and other aspects of rehabilitation.
4. Where is the evidence that certified rehab teachers provide better services than teachers without certification do? Is the educational background the primary factor among good teachers, or is there more to the mix. Do consumers learn more from one group than the other? Are the service outcomes more impressive?
5. One last thing, O&M is not rocket science. Do you really need a degree in O&M? I don't think so. Our best O&M instructor, according to our clients, is "agency trained" with about 25 years experience in the field.

I think the most important thing is that we all have talents and experience to lend to a common goal of high quality services. Having a staff with a varied background and with excellent training in vision and rehab can be very positive. We can share many things as we work together. We can also provide a broader perspective on rehab to our consumers.

Don't get hysterical about Ots and PTs being hired by agencies in the field of vision loss. It's not going to happen that often. Frankly, you don't pay enough for many of us to join your agencies. The fact that I can enjoy my work forty hours a week, and still find another 10-12 hours to contract with health care agencies that can bill Medicare and pay me $40 an hour, and that many of you can't, is not my problem. We need to work together and try to find ways of convincing health care funding sources that our services play a vital role in the lives of our consumers.