Occupational Therapist (OT)
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate successfully in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists (OTs) achieve this outcome by enabling people to do things that will enhance their ability to live meaningful lives or by modifying the environment to better support participation.
What is the role of an Occupational Therapist?
Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. Occupational therapy services typically include
- an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals,
- customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and
- an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan.
What are the educational requirements for becoming an Occupational Therapist?
One must have completed a bachelor’s degree and then go on to earn a master's degree or a more advanced degree in occupational therapy to work as an occupational therapist. Examples of what other students have majored in at the undergraduate level include biology, kinesiology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, liberal arts, and anatomy. It is important that you contact accredited OT programs to which you are interested in applying and make sure you have taken the necessary prerequisites for admission into their programs. In order to be eligible to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) examination, one must graduate from an ACOTE (Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education) -accredited program.
What is an Occupational Therapist’s Typical Salary?
The median expected salary for a typical Occupational Therapist in the United States is $73,473. This basic market pricing report was prepared using certified compensation professionals' analysis of survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at employers of all sizes, industries and geographies.
Where can I learn more information?
- Visit the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy website for more information about the OTR/COTA Certifying Exam
- Visit the American Occupational Therapy Association website for more information regarding accredited programs, jobs in occupational therapy, and more specific OT information.
- Visit the World Federation of Occupational Therapists website to learn more about Occupational Therapy on a global scale.
Resources Used Include:
- healthcareers.about.com
- nbcot.org
- aota.org
- wfot.org
