This post presents exhaustive information on the occupational therapist job description, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.
What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?
The occupational therapist job description entails assisting patients in their daily activities and encouraging them to participate in rehabilitative program.
It also involves developing a care plan for the patient and evaluating the patient’s progress.
Occupational therapists use various equipment such as splints, wheelchairs, walking aids, and adaptive equipment to help the patient with their daily activities.
The occupational therapist work description includes working with other health professionals such as nurses, social workers or psychiatrists at the rehabilitation center or near the home of the patient.
Occupational therapists may also be responsible for teaching patients to use certain medication at home, including painkillers or muscle relaxants.
Their duties may also involve instructing patients on how to do exercises that they can perform independently in order to help themselves recover faster.
Occupational therapists will evaluate patients completed work and report their progress to the other health professionals.
When a patient is discharged from a rehabilitation center, the occupational therapist will visit and see if the patient is doing well enough to go home.
The occupational therapist can also help the patient take care of themselves and do light housework.
It is the duty of the occupational therapists to assist with the community reintegration of people who are discharged from a rehabilitation center and encourage them to participate in self-help programs in their own communities.
This position works in rehabilitation centers, hospitals, nursing homes and home care settings.
Another duty of the occupational therapist is that they coordinate rehabilitation activities in a variety of settings, including schools, the workplace, and daycare centers.
They will also be involved in research projects that help to improve the level of care for patients with disabilities or promote healthy lifestyle for people at risk for disability.
More tips on Occupational Therapist Job Description
The occupational therapist job description can vary from patient to patient depending on their level of physical and/or mental disability/illness, their age, and other medical conditions they may have or may have had in the past, which may need further diagnosis and treatment.
Occupational therapists develop a treatment plan for each patient to use based on the patient’s health status, such as current level of muscle strength and endurance, physical and/or mental activities, and mobility and ability to manage daily life tasks.
They accompany patients as they travel between rehabilitation centers or hospital beds or visit them at home under supervision of a clinical nurse specialist or other health professionals such as a physiotherapist.
Occupational therapists are also responsible for giving lectures to hospital staff, medical students, and other health professionals to develop their knowledge of how occupational therapy can assist in the treatment of patients with disabilities or illnesses.
The occupational therapist role also involves developing new treatments that use specific equipment, exercises, and activities to help patients make a full recovery as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Occupational Therapist Job Description Sample/Example/Template
The occupational therapist job description entails the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:
- Provide assessment of a patient’s needs and develop a therapeutic plan
- Supervise and support the health care team during treatment
- Assist in the implementation of a treatment plan
- Work in collaboration with other professionals
- Provide referral counseling, and inform patient about treatments
- Provide health education information to patients and their family members
- Train staff on clinical techniques and therapeutics
- Evaluate progress, progress reports, and modify program as needed for each individual client
- Record data and keep records of patients’ progress
- Provide the required care for each patient
- Ensure safety of patients and co-workers
- Monitor and develop treatment plan for patients with developmental disabilities
- Prescribe appropriate treatment, such as physical therapy program, assistive devices or adaptive equipment, and home modification education program all based on the medical treatment need of individual patient
- Keep informed of latest technology, treatments, and therapies in the field of occupational therapy; updating skills as needed and continue to educate themselves to acquire new skills.
Occupational therapists Job Description for Resume
If you have worked before or are presently working as an occupational therapist and are writing a resume or CV, you can make a more effective Professional Experience section by applying the above occupational therapists job description sample.
You can apply the occupational therapists duties and responsibilities in the above job description to make the Professional Experience part of your resume/CV, to show that you have been successful performing the role of an occupational therapist.
This can enhance your chances of being hired, especially if the position you are seeking requires someone with some work experience as an occupational therapists.
Occupational Therapist Requirements: Knowledge, Abilities, and Skills for Career Success
Here are important requirements you may be expected to meet to be hired for an occupational therapist job:
- A minimum of a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from a program accredited by the Canadian Association for Physical and Occupational Therapists (CAPOT)
- Licensure with CAPOT and/or provincial regulatory bodies
- At least 1000 hours of clinical practice experience before getting a license to practice in Canada
- In many provinces, certification as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) is required before being admitted as an Occupational Therapist into a two-year graduate degree program
- Often required to do Continuing Education credits so they will continue to work in their profession
- Does well in a team oriented work environment with a positive attitude
- Ability to deal with other people and be compassionate when working with patients
- Ability to make decisions and show initiative when the situation requires it
- Detail-oriented, able to work under pressure, communicate well both written and verbally in English language and have good computer skills
- Able to multi-task
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Communicate well both written and verbally in English language.
Occupational Therapist Salary
According to indeed.com, the average annual salary for an occupational therapist is $83,483 per year.
Glassdoor.com reports $80,587 and salary.com indicates $94,589.
The best paying cities for occupational therapists are New York, NY, $120,435; Washington, DC, $116,308; Los Angeles, CA, $111,250; Bronx, NY, $108,336, and Brooklyn, NY, $107,178 per year.
There are currently approximately 141,405 occupational therapists working in the United States.
Women make up 83.2% of all occupational therapists, while men make up 16.8%.
The average age of a working occupational therapist is 40.
White occupational therapists are the most common ethnicity (78.7%), followed by Asian (8.6%), Hispanic or Latino (6.1%), and Black or African American (5.0%).
Women will earn 96% of what males would earn in 2021.
Conclusion
This post is helpful to individuals interested in the occupational therapist career.
They will be able to learn all they need to know about the duties and responsibilities of a occupational therapist so they can decide if that is the job they want to do.
It is also useful to recruiters/employers in writing a detailed job description for the occupational therapist position in their company.