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Occupational Therapist Career
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Occupational Therapist Job Description
An Occupational Therapist works with patients to improve their ability to perform various tasks in their home and work environments. An Occupational Therapist may work with individuals suffering from developmental, physical, mental or emotional disabilities by using various treatment protocols to enhance, recover or maintain their routine skills.
The primary job profile of an Occupational Therapist is to improve the motor functions and the reasoning ability of patients and thereby compensate for permanent loss of functionality of a particular organ.
An Occupational Therapist helps patients with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, etc. The therapist helps a patient to use the adaptive environment including eating aids, wheel chair, orthoses and dressing aids. They may also train patients to use various computer aided equipments and help them improve their communication and ability to control various situations.
An occupational therapist works with individuals in a specific age group or suffering from a particular disability. Some Occupational Therapists may work only with children suffering from cerebral disorders, while others may work with children at high risk of developmental delays.
There are various therapies which are provided by the Occupational Therapist and they include social play, dressing, promoting listening skills, grooming and following directions.
Occupational Therapist Skills/Duties
An Occupational Therapist works with disabled individuals to improve their ability to interact with their environment. An Occupational Therapist may work in post trauma rehabs or centers where they assist individuals in coping up with the loss of limb or functionality of a particular organ.
Occupational Therapist helps individuals in performing routine day to day activities such as eating, dressing, etc, help them in increasing strength and endurance by performing various exercises, improve visual and auditory functions, etc. Further in patients with short term memory loss, a Occupational Therapist would help them improve hand eye coordination skills, enhance decision making, promote abstract reasoning, improve problem solving skills and enhance perception and memory.
An Occupational Therapist may work with a individuals of all age group and hence the basic attributes of a healthcare professional are absolutely vital. Patience, empathy, strong communication skills, comforting attitude, etc are some of the requisites for Occupational Therapists.
Occupational Therapist Education and Training
• Occupational Therapy is a regulated profession and there are certain requirements for pursing this career.
• A Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy is the mandatory minimum requirement to practice Occupational Therapy. The degree should be attained from an institute or program accredited by the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education. Following the completion of the course, an Occupational Therapist would need to apply for the National Certification Exam.
• Currently, there are about 150 programs accredited by the Council. The program is ideally a full time program but some schools do offer part time programs. The coursework includes biological, physical and behavioral science.
• On clearing the National Certification Examination, Occupational Therapist are awarded with an OTR registration which allows them to practice.
Occupational Therapist Job Outlook
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this profession is anticipated to increase by 26 % over the next decade. The demand for Occupational Therapists is driven by increasing elderly population, increasing number of individuals with physical disabilities due to trauma and accidents, etc. However, some are of the opinion that since rehabilitative services for the elderly will be limited by the Federal government, there is a possibility of limited growth in this profession.
Occupational Therapist Salary
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual earnings of an Occupational Therapist is about $66,780, and can go as high as $98,310 depending upon experience and the location. The remuneration is highest in Nursing Homes and Hospitals and lowest in elementary schools.
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