Occupational therapy is an allied health profession performed by occupational therapists.
This article will answer important questions about “Occupational therapy”.
Stay tune –
1. What is Occupational Therapy
It is the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. The person who is involved in occupational therapy is called occupational therapist.
2. Who Is An Occupational Therapist
An occupational therapist is someone who practice occupational therapy. They treat injured, ill, or disabled patient through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. They help these patients develop, recover, improve, as well as maintain the skills needed for daily living and working.
Also, they helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities. Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability.
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3. List Of Duties Of An Occupational Therapist
Some duties of an occupational therapist includes:
- Undertaking patient assessments of physical, communication, interaction and cognitive skills
- Planning and providing appropriate treatment and activities
- Giving advice and arranging support for family members, carers and clients
- Undertaking general administrative tasks, for example writing reports, making telephone calls, maintaining records and case notes
- Liaising with doctors, family members, carers and other professionals and keeping them updated
- Planning further treatment and reviewing progress
- Assessing treatment success at multi-professional case conferences/meetings
- Advising people on how they can approach everyday tasks differently
- Adapting people’s environments, whether at home or at work
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4. How To Become An Occupational Therapist
Here are some of the things you should consider:
- Earn a Relevant Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution: Depending on the requirements of your chosen graduate school, you may need to earn a bachelor’s degree specifically in occupational therapy. However, most will accept a four-year undergraduate degree in biology, psychology, sociology, kinesiology, health science, or even liberal arts.
- Take the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) exam. This is a computer base exams.
- Gain experience in the occupational therapy field: With your COTA certificate, you can seek for occupational therapist assistant job.
- Pursue a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy
- Pass the Occupational Therapy Registered (OTR) exam: This is also a computer based exams.
- Gain state license: This license should be specific in the state where you plan to practice.
NOTE: This is not a static trend as it may differ among states. Hence, you may need to find out what is needed in the state you plan to practice.
5. Occupational Therapist Salary
An occupational therapists earned an average annual wage of . between $64,447 – $83,730. in the US.