Ways You Can Make More Money With Your CHT Than Without!
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[00:00:00] Let's face it. Money is on everyone's mind all the time, even though they don't want to say it. My name is Hoang. I'm an occupational therapist and certified hand therapist. And my goal is to help you as an occupational therapist and physical therapist develop your skills, your clinical skills, your business skills.
[00:00:24] And really at the end of the day, no matter which path you take, how can you make more money? No, with your certified hand therapy destination than without. And I really just want to dive into that, a little bit, because I think that as healthcare practitioners, you have this one side where you want to make more money because it was.
[00:00:49] quote unquote expensive to get your degree. Like I get it. Most of us have to nowadays you have to get your master's degree. If you're a physical therapist, you have to [00:01:00] get your clinical doctors. And even as occupational therapists, even though we don't have to have our master's degrees, our clinical doctor's degree, I think most universities are like pushing therapists entering into the fields in that way.
[00:01:16] And so you're coming out, you've got, you need to pay back your loans, depending on how you went to school. And then you want to have a, you want to live your life a certain way. I think social media has made it look like we all rolling in the dough, truth be told. It just depends on how you live.
[00:01:37] It's not just what you make, but let's really just dive into it and talk about it because it's important. I think that most therapists want an opportunity to make more. It's not just starting out. Like sometimes what happens to us therapists is. We start out making a certain amount of money and then it's hard to keep essentially growing.
[00:01:59] [00:02:00] And I think as human beings, we want a certain, we want to see and feel a certain amount of progress, right? We can see and feel the progress of our skills when we work to develop it. And then we want to see and feel the progress of our art. Earning potential, right? And that's what we're talking about.
[00:02:21] You're earning potential. And when people come to me and they're like, I don't know if I've had people use like return on investment probably because someone else is asking. I don't think therapists really know what that means or use that in our everyday language, but probably someone is saying if you, if I'm going to pay let's say you're talking to your spouse and they're like, if I'm going to pay for this.
[00:02:44] Girl, you make money too. Okay. I'm just saying we're going to pay for this. What's the return on investment, but really your business, your, your boss might be saying this, if you're asking them to, if you're asking them to pay for [00:03:00] your, either your programs, your books, or, even your tests.
[00:03:03] But I do believe that there are ways in which you can make more money, with your certified hand therapy designation, Then without, and I think if we're talking about that progress and we're talking about you want this opportunity, then I think that it can help you make more money.
[00:03:23] It's not immediate. It's not immediate. I think sometimes we're so used to, we're so accustomed to immediate because fricking Amazon has made it so easy for us to be convenience that we don't have to go anywhere, do anything in order to. Get things, but career development and financial development, financial growth just takes much longer.
[00:03:50] Think about how you invest your money, right? There's two ways in which you can make more money, right? There's two ways in which you could, you can have more, let's say, [00:04:00] financial stability, right? There's two ways in which you can have financial stability. The way I say it is, I tell this to my own team.
[00:04:10] We can either One, make more money, or we can two, save more money. So there's two ways, there's two ways that you can have financial stability. You make more money and you can save, or you can save more money. And one way that you can save money is, let's face it, you don't have to eat out all the time.
[00:04:41] You don't have to Uber eats your food all the time. You, we don't need to take 10 vacations a year, right? Somehow, believe it or not, Instagram has made it like that. We all need to take multiple vacations, life changing vacations all the time, but I'll be honest. Like when I [00:05:00] started when I started as a therapist, I didn't take vacations.
[00:05:04] I barely, I barely made. Any money to then, get myself ready for what I wanted my career. So I can only speak on myself, share my story. So it wasn't like I made more money. When I first came out of school, I really didn't have a job. I actually moved back home so that I could save money.
[00:05:27] If I went out on my own, I would be taking out more debt, more loans, and I already had loans. I already had student loans. Granted my student loans aren't, were not back then as high as I think hearing some people's student loans now, but I also made choices. So we all have decisions and choices to make.
[00:05:47] So I saved money by one. Living at home to save that money that I was working and I know that you don't necessarily always see so much of the financial growth, but yeah, I'll [00:06:00] be transparent with you. When I first came out of school, my per diem rate as a therapist was 25. It is now like 45, 50, and I live in a low paying state, so I can't even imagine some of the more higher paying states have per diem rates that are much higher.
[00:06:21] You're seeing rates of 40, 42, 45, potentially even 50, if you have a lot of the designations and the skills to back yourself up, but I was making 25. This is over 20 years ago, 23 years ago. And my first job, like my first full time job was like it was like 18 or 19 or like an hour.
[00:06:47] And nowadays, therapists are asking for a lot more money. So I just want to give you that comparison. And yes, cost of living was less, but back then it [00:07:00] didn't feel less. Houses were really expensive for based off of what you're able to make, going out, eating, all of that has slowly increased, right?
[00:07:11] But so has, so have salaries, not at the percentage and the breakdown but I think that relatively speaking, therapists nowadays can come out of school and ask for more. I think that you also you won't always get it depends on your area really is very area dependent, depends on your experience.
[00:07:37] And again, it depends on your specialties. To become a certified hand therapist, you have to have a minimum of three years And then, to be able to take the exam and pass it the first time, years ago, there was no help there was, you had limited resources and I think nowadays there's a lot more [00:08:00] resources that can help to expedite your study, but also outside of expedite your study, people want to More clinical skills back then I want to say back then it's 20 years is significant over 20 years ago You didn't have the internet at the level that you have you didn't have the free information At the level that you have now patients coming in were a lot more clueless than patients coming in now.
[00:08:34] They're doing so much research. They know more. Not everybody, right? But they are, when they're frustrated, they're still looking for information. And you have to know what you're talking about, right? So the, things have changed in 20, over 20 years. The way I studied or the questions that were there, potentially they've changed a little bit because there's a [00:09:00] lot more critical thinking now.
[00:09:01] There's a lot more judgment. Your judgment now, but so how do you make more money when you have your C H T, right? So if you want to make more money, you have your CHT. Number one, you can ask for more money.
[00:09:24] You can ask for more money. I, and it's not necessarily always immediate, but I've worked with students who get a bonus. I worked with one student. He got a 5, 000 bonus when he passed the exam. And so he's failed. He failed it a couple of times. So how much, how much time passed that he didn't get the money.
[00:09:47] So that's a loss of money, that's a subtraction of money, right? Because of the time that he lost, that he didn't get it because he didn't pass. Then he paid multiple [00:10:00] times to take the exam and each time he failed. So when I spoke to him and he was like if I pass, I get, a 5, 000 bonus.
[00:10:09] So he gets immediate money. And that was like, I was like, you're paying for what? At that's what, 2, 500, you're making over 50 per, you're making 50%, right? Bonus if you pass, so you just need to study in a way that's going to help you pass. And then after you pass, he also got a raise. So it was like more than a 50 percent return on investment.
[00:10:37] Who gets that in six months? That's a really great return. Outside of anyone who gets a bonus, you can ask for more money. So when I was when I was taking the exam, I asked, I pre negotiate. So you can pre negotiate your ask, right? You can pre negotiate your ask. [00:11:00] Then put your money where your mouth is, right?
[00:11:03] It's not just the business. That's taking the risk. You too. If you want more money, you too have to take the risk. So you can say, Hey, I'm going to, I'm going to do this for myself. I'm going to invest in myself. And then I'm going to ask for more money. I got a, I think it was like a five or 8 percent raise.
[00:11:23] Once I passed the CHT, and then after that, I got a 20 percent bump once I moved into another position and asked for that money because I already had my certified hand therapy exam designation, right? So how you can make more money with that I think can set you apart from other therapists going after the same job.
[00:11:50] So you can, two, you're making more, okay, more just because you can ask for hours, or for the [00:12:00] job. You really can if you don't want to be in a very high volume clinic. Alright, you're done with a high volume clinic, you can go into a slower paced volume, have more skills and ask for more money because you know how to get a patient and keep a patient, right?
[00:12:22] If your company makes money, you make money. That's essentially how you can make more money. And that's the difficult thing is when I was in acute care. Like in acute care and in the SNF, in acute care, you get a bundled amount per patient like the hospital does. And so only a certain amount of money can be allocated to your acute care therapy units.
[00:12:51] And it can't exceed a certain amount because you're not getting more because you do more. You're just getting a [00:13:00] certain amount. regardless, right? So everyone gets a certain amount. And most of the time therapy, there can be like a loss, like what they call a loss leader, right? So your department doesn't necessarily make money.
[00:13:13] Maybe it's just breaking even or whatever. But it's required to help the patient get better, get out faster. So if you get the person out faster than the company has an opportunity to make more money. But it's not directly tied to you in a sniff. It's the same way. Like you, a sniff can't make better money without the therapist.
[00:13:38] And this is one of the reasons why sniffs get paid so well, because patients there are there for certain services and they'll only get paid if those services are delivered. And so that's why. Skilled nursing facilities tend to pay more because they have to have it in order to make the income of getting that patient in.
[00:13:59] You also [00:14:00] don't have a lot of opportunity for growth there. You coming in high and you stay high, right? And you, where people get really frustrated is they come in high and they can't move anymore, right? You coming in at a certain skill level. And then you, there's not much to do. And some people are okay with Hey, I'm good.
[00:14:20] I don't need more. And some people are like, I need to see progress in my life. To feel like I'm accomplished that I'm making a difference, right? Then most people, what they want to do is they want to go into an outpatient. type of setting, right? Outpatient type of setting. You just get to work in a different way.
[00:14:40] I'm not saying one is better or one is worse. It's just not. It's how you want to work. So when you become a certified hand therapist and you essentially invest in yourself to become a certified hand therapist. Not only can you ask for more money, but you can get the kind of hours and the jobs [00:15:00] that you want, right?
[00:15:02] And you get to work in the way that you want. Sometimes higher volume clinics are willing to pay more if you have the capacity to work in that way, if they want, it all, it comes down to market need, right? It comes down to market need. Yes. Everybody wants. It needs occupational therapy, needs physical therapy, but at the end of the day, it comes down to market need.
[00:15:30] You are the only person who think that you're the most important, right? That's just human nature. We think everyone needs us. And I'll tell you, I thought so too. But. Not everyone wants it. Not everyone wants it. And that is the key thing to wrap your head around. They can have all the aches and pains.
[00:15:54] They could have had surgery, but sometimes they don't be wanting you. And that's okay. Look, [00:16:00] I'm putting myself out here as an patient therapist as a certified hand therapist who can help you study and pass the exam so you can have more choices in your career so you can pick and choose. You can have opportunities to make money, save money, right?
[00:16:16] And some people don't want it. I'm okay with that, right? But all I'm doing is I'm letting myself be here. Be seen and let everyone know that, Hey, listen, when you're ready, right? When you're ready, I'll be here for you, right? When you're ready to make more money, when you're ready to have more choices.
[00:16:40] And then I will be here to help you because not everyone wants it all at the time that you want to give it right and that's us as therapists like we can't help ourselves like we want to help people so much like I am I want to help therapists so much just like I want to help my patients so much right but I can [00:17:00] only help them if they're willing to come into the door right from an outpatient standpoint that's what makes it so you know to certain ways satisfying because they want you here.
[00:17:09] You're pushing yourself on that. Yeah. They might not always want you. And you're like, yeah, should we doing this? Because we gots to do it. And that doesn't always feel so nice. You're getting there 7, 15 and you're like. Let's go, people! Let's do therapy! And they're like, Bitch, get the fuck out of my room.
[00:17:30] I'm trying to sleep. They're so grumpy. Listen, I remember them days, okay? I remember. I worked in skilled nursing. I did acute care for a long time. I've done home health, but I've worked my way with my specialties, with my clinical skills, to work in a way where I get to work with people who want to work with me.
[00:17:53] It makes my job so much easier and so much more enjoyable, like honestly, [00:18:00] and that's what I want for you to the fulfillment is so important because it makes the money just feel so good, right? Cause, there's a saying, not all money is good money. We, sometimes we think all money is good money, but no, not all money is good money.
[00:18:17] Because. You can take money from someone and they can be a complete asshole to you. They can yell at you. They can scream at you. And do you really want that? It's like I don't know if I really want that, right? But as a certified hand therapist, I've seen it. I've experienced it. I got a bump when I became a certified hand therapist.
[00:18:36] I got classes paid for, even if it was for a limited time. And then when I was ready to move along, I, I got a 20 percent bump in my salary, and then I got to do the job in the way in the hours and in the way that I want to do it. And the 3rd really is. If you want to take that plunge is to, take the risk [00:19:00] of business, right?
[00:19:05] Take the risk of business. Now, I think there's ways to in which, if you're not the business owner, could you do things? I think there's going to be new opportunities for therapists. There really are. There are going to be new opportunities for therapists in order to, to get more financial stability, financial rewards.
[00:19:28] Without necessary, always being a business owner, like a sole business owner. But if you wanted to, you can, like I decided 10 years ago to essentially go out on my own. And then five years ago, this hand therapy secrets was in the making 10 years ago, right? I just didn't take the plunge or take the leap because I started my clinic.
[00:19:54] Because I wanted to work in a certain way. I actually wanted to I thought I wanted to [00:20:00] teach at the university level. So I did that first and then I realized, sometimes you just got to try things, but I think that I also got the hours, right? The job and the hours because I was certified hand therapist.
[00:20:14] I got to come in and teach the things that I like to teach. I actually taught anatomy and kinesiology at the university level. So I got to try that experience that and I think that all of these different opportunities. I created, and I think if I created it, you can create it too. And I created these opportunities because I became a certified hand therapist.
[00:20:43] Now listen, if you're a therapist and you don't want to be a certified hand therapist, find some other specialty that you could do that you can be really good at. I personally chose to become a certified hand therapist. One, I like the area. I like how technical it is. To be [00:21:00] a certified hand therapist, we can see the non surgical cases and we can see the surgical cases, but we have the capacity to treat some of the more challenging cases.
[00:21:11] Yes, there can be, there's going to be OTs and there's going to be PTs and there's going to be chiros who are like, Oh yeah, carpal tunnel. I can fix that. Oh, trigger finger, whatever. I can fix that. But I think as a certified hand therapist, you have a more, or you have a capacity for a more totality type of critical thinking and decision making that encompasses a lot of different areas that, that, then can solve that problem because sometimes we think, Oh, trigger finger is really easy or carpal tunnel is really easy, but they're not always easy, right?
[00:21:45] They involve a lot more from a diagnosis standpoint and from a treatment standpoint that like when you study to become a certified hand therapist, you have the capacity, right? To be able to solve that type of problem. [00:22:00] And the more complex problems you solve, the more you essentially can make. These are, I think, the three primary ways in which when you become a certified hand therapist, it's possible for you to get more out of your career over the long run of your career, over the long term of your career.
[00:22:20] Oftentimes we think, people are just wanting to come out and they just want shit fast. I'm going to tell you right now, fast does not work in your career. It just doesn't. Like I came out thinking the same thing one year, two year, three year. And then it was about three years that hit me. I was like, Oh, shit needs to slow my roll.
[00:22:36] I don't know shit from shit. I don't write, but I thought I did and I needed to be humbled in order to actually be able to make bigger and better strides and through the longevity of my career, I've been able to make more money. I've been able to every single at every single level. [00:23:00] I've done all the three things that I'm actually making the recommendation for, right?
[00:23:06] You have the opportunity, it's just now you know the ways, don't worry about the how tos just yet. Just study so then you can have that, and then after that, then you can say, okay. What opportunities am I going to create for myself? It is possible. And I think you're smart. I think you're capable.
[00:23:26] I don't think as occupational therapists that to have gone through the kind of schooling that we've gone through, you're not dumb. You're smart. To remind myself sometimes too, because I was not an A student. I'm just a hard worker, right? I was not the A student. I think that has helped me in many ways, but I think that it has hurt me because I've always heard that, Oh, like in order to become a CHD, you have to be so smart.
[00:23:57] And every single time I hear that, I say, no. That's [00:24:00] not true. You don't have to be an A student. That does not mean you're an A student. If if you're a B student or C student, you still can become a certified hand therapist. That's nothing to do with it. It's how you choose to Study that will help you pass the exam.
[00:24:18] It's how you commit to becoming a better therapist time and time again. That's going to set you apart from every other therapist out there, right? For you to get the job that you want to work in the setting that you want to ask for the money that you want to become a business owner and set your prices the way you want.
[00:24:42] That's it. There are ways in which you could do it. You just have to see it for yourself. You have to see that you're capable. You have to see that you're smart and you have to point your focus so that your energy goes into it. If you want to become a CHT, you can do it. Let me know if [00:25:00] this has helped you in any way.
[00:25:02] I'll be opening up the exam prep pretty soon. So I don't know when you're going to see this, but it will be open. Just, click the subscribe button. If you need my help then you can send me a message and get on my email list. So many ways in which to communicate and work with me. You can, if this video has helped you.
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