Some jobs in this world not only offer an opportunity to help people suffering from various disorders, but also offer a bright future. Occupational Therapy Assistant is one such job that provides immense job satisfaction and decent means of a livelihood provided, you love to help people going through physical and mental turmoil. You can either work as a certified occupational therapy assistant by completing an associate's degree in occupational therapy, or an Occupational Therapist with a bachelor's or master's degree. In case you're aspiring to become one, then you should have a prior knowledge of duties, and responsibilities entailed in the job.
While working as an occupational therapy assistant, you will be planning and implementing therapies to treat patients facing mental, emotional, and physical problems due to illness, injury, disability, loneliness, or critical medical conditions. So your job role will be of a therapist and a psychologist. However, you will take orders from and report to occupational therapists. Even though you are creative enough to innovate your own set of exercise program for the benefits of patients, you cannot follow it without any consultation and prior approval from a senior occupational therapist. Every single decision that you want to take has to be implemented under the guidance and direction of your seniors.
The regular routine on the job that you will follow will include meeting and taking medical histories of patients, identifying the main issues patients are struggling with, and plan suitable therapy programs for fast and guaranteed recovery of patients. You have to work in tandem with the facility staff and put all your efforts and skills in improving the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of patients. Regardless of the employment place, you would be completing these tasks daily:
As the job role is to assist patients in improving their quality of life, employers want candidates who hold these skills and qualifications:
Education: If you don't have time for a degree education that takes four years, you can earn an associate's degree and become a certified occupation therapy assistant. Better if you do the certification program from a reputed institute authorized by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). There are also some reputed colleges and technical schools that provide education for this job.
Experience: As the job is critical where the well-being of patients relies on you, employers want experienced candidates. Most employers are ready to train you on the job if they see the caliber in you.
Licensing: Each state in the US has its own rule when it comes to license or certification. As such, they name it differently. You will either have to hold a license, get registered, certified, or authorized by the governing body of the state.
Since the occupational therapy assistant is one of the demanding professions throughout the world, there are plenty of job opportunities. Here are some employment places where you can work:
As the number of people suffering from illness, injury, or disability is growing, the job outlook for this field is bright. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected the employment to grow by 29% from 2016 to 2026. As the job caters to the most basic and essential requirement of humankind, it won't be wrong to say that the job trend will continue even beyond 2026.
If you're have already completed your associate's degree and looking for a job, browse our site for professional occupational therapy assistant resume samples.