Occupational Therapist Career

Occupational Therapist Job Description

An Occupational Therapist’s job description entails improving the patient’s ability to carry out different tasks at home and work environment. He may work with people suffering from physical, developmental, psychological or emotional disabilities, by using diverse treatment programs to boost, improve or maintain their routine skills.

Chiefly, he improves the motor functions and the interpretation skills of patients, and thus compensates for permanent loss of functionality of a specific organ.

An Occupational Therapist assists those having spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, etc. The therapist helps a patient make use of an adaptive environment like eating aids, orthoses, dressing aids, wheel chair, etc. He may train patients to use computer-aided gadgets and helps them enhance their communication and capacity to manage various situations.

Occupational Therapist Education, Certification and Education

• You need to have a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy in order to practice. The degree should be acquired from a college that has been accredited by the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education.

• After you have completed the course, you need to apply for the National Certification Examination.

• At present, there are around 150 training programs recognized by the Council. The education is a full-time program; however, some institutes offer part-time programs as well. The schooling comprising of: Physical, Biological and Behavioral Science.

• After you have passed the National Certification Exam, you will be awarded an OTR registration that permits you to practice.


Occupational Therapist Jobs

The BLS has states that job opportunities for this profession are expected to increase by 26 %. Occupational therapists’ jobs are on an upswing. The requirement for occupational therapists is governed by an increasing geriatric population, increasing number of people having physical disabilities due to accidents / trauma.

Occupational Therapist Salary

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an occupational therapist’s salary is around $66,780 per year. What’s more, it could rise to approximately $98,310 per year, with experience. The earnings are highest in hospitals and nursing homes, and least in schools. By and large, the salary depends on the employer, location, education and experience.