Career Research Paper : Occupational Therapist Assistant

In order to become an Occupational Therapists Assistant, one must earn an Associate’s Degree, obtain a certification and/or license for OTA, and have 1-2 years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. As I complete my major, I will also be gaining work experience during my Externship. Through this experience, I will have the opportunity to participate actively in my field of work interest alongside my mentors who are OTs and OTAS and gain the hands-on training I will need in order to begin my career as an OTA.

In order to be considered for a job in this field you need to have a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Along with a Master’s Degree you also need to have a state license, be CPR or Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certified, sometimes both are necessary. In order to get a state license, you need to go through a Master’s program, have fieldwork experience, and pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam. Once pass the exam, you will be given an OTR credential and continued education will have to follow in order to maintain the OTR credential. Others optional certifications can be taken from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Also, you are required to have at least one to two years of experience, but some employers may differ. Key skills that an employer’s looks for in an Occupational Therapist are good communications and interpersonal skills, compassion, patience, and strong writing skills. Physical strength is sometimes taken into consideration as

Occupational therapy assistant is my dream career. They help people live a normal life again without any assistance of other people. The help people enhance, improve, develop, and recover the skills use for working or doing daily average tasks. OTA’s usually work under the direction of occupational therapists, and they still get involved with providing therapy for patients. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, occupational therapy assistants help patients do therapeutic activities. For example, they help patients to stretch or do other exercises. OTA’s also help children who have developmental disabilities to play activities that helps stimulate coordination and learn to socialize. They teach disable people to use special equipment,

Throughout this course, my mind was opened to several healthcare careers which I was unaware of before. For the careers that I did know about, this course still did a great job at informing me of the professions on a deeper level. After reviewing the lectures and careers, I feel strongly about pursuing a career in Occupational Therapy. More specifically, I want to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. This was a career that I had in mind when I began the course and I have been interested in it for about two years now. Occupational Therapy Assistants need to be sociable, compassionate, flexible, and enjoy problem solving. I believe I will enjoy this profession because my personality matches with all of these things.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational therapy assistants and aides help patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working.” OT Career Path.com also states that, “occupational therapy assistants assist with the rehabilitation and care of patients with mental, developmental, physical, social, and emotional disabilities” Occupational therapist may provide many different forms of service from setting up materials, moving a patient, explaining exercises, preparing reports and implementing treatment plan as prescribed by the Occupational Therapist. An OTA’s duties vary greatly an example of their duties include helping patients acquire fine

OT and COTA collaboration: Both the registered occupational therapist (OT) and the certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA), should collaborate over the course of the client’s evaluation, treatment, and discharge. There is a hierarchy of supervision regarding an OT and a COTA, but nevertheless, both clinicians should have a professional team approach and partnership with the common core of serving the client. The team approach relationship should have sound partnership factors such as communication, trust, knowledge, and respect. Both clinicians would communicate clearly to one another of any client concerns, integration of activities within the intervention process, positive treatment outcomes, etc.

Occupational Therapist – Works with people with disabilities to achieve as much independence as possible. They assess the need for any equipment e.g. Wheelchairs, and walking aids. The OT at school monitors and assesses the needs of individual pupils. They provide equipment and advise on activities. One pupil was having postural problems and the OT provided a moulded cushion for his use which greatly improved his posture.

“What if there was a job that allowed someone to have endless flexibility and creativity; a profession that is respected and is in overwhelming demand... Most importantly, wouldn’t it be nice to find a job in which you could make an impact, big or small, on the lives of each individual person you worked with? I found this job and that is why I decided to pursue a degree in occupational therapy" (Springer, J., 2015). This testimonial comes from a practicing occupational therapist who has found value in his life's work. Occupational therapy is not a job where "one size fits all"; there are many different demographics of people who need occupational therapy in different environments. Although, all occupational therapists have the same skills

Lives are changed everyday by occupational therapy assistants. I have the dedication, compassion, and ability to celebrate every miniscule improvement needed to become a successful OTA. This a quickly growing field where I can use the talents I already possess to excel. I can easily recall the differences made in my papaw’s life through occupational therapy and the way every advancement in mobility or independence was as exciting as it would be with a new

When I graduated from high school I originally planned on being an Athletic Trainer. After being accepted into not only Shenandoah University but the pre-admit AT program which is a three plus two program, I was going to graduate with a masters degree in five years. In my sophomore year at Shenandoah I realized that I did not want to be an Athletic Trainer. I began looking into what careers were out there that I could pursue with an Exercise Science degree. After talking my advisor, who was an athletic training for most of her career, she asked if I ever looked into Occupational Therapy. Once looking into the career I talked to my Aunt who worked in many fields as an Occupational Therapist and learning more about the career I was set on pursuing

This scholarship is very important to me in many ways.This scholarship will help me physically and emotionally if I receive money. For instance, it will make me stress less about how I am going to be able to pay for my tuition and fees and not have debt. Also, it will give me a way to purchase my books for the classes I will take.Since I will not receive financial aid I will have to apply for more scholarships. I plan to go to Northwest Shoals to be able to get my basics done and further my education and transfer to Wallace State to be able to become an Occupational Therapist it has always been a desire to work with many people and help someone out if they needed it. Some of my college goals is to be able to maintain a high GPA and do the

Every story has a beginning, mine starts in Oak Hill, Ohio. I was born on February 18th, 2000 in Gallipolis, Ohio. I live in Oak Hill, Ohio and go to Oak Hill Middle/High School. I live with both of my parents (Sabrina and Kenneth Burton) and my little sister Amber Burton. My older sister goes to college now and does not live at home with us .I am a really nice, responsible, and hard working person. I have won many awards in both marching band and HS choir. Some of the awards range from the best dancer to one of the most dedicated members. I have not yet finished high school, but it is my senior year. After I graduate I plan on attending Shawnee State University to become a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA).

I believe that my prior work and school related experiences allow me to stand out above other future occupational therapy assistants. I am currently in school obtaining a bachelor's degree in psychology. Throughout the past three years I have taken classes not only in the field of psychology but also anatomy and physiology, biology, and chemistry. I strongly believe that the time I spent while obtaining a bachelor's degree and focusing on healthcare classes will allow me to do exceptionally well in the occupational therapy field. Since I have taken many undergraduate classes while obtaining a psychology degree, I have taken many of the classes that are incorporated into the coursework at zane state, therefore I will have less classes to take

Occupational therapy combines my two loves the medical field and working with special needs children. While being employed in the school system as an occupational therapist, I will be interacting and working with many different people on a daily basis. We will all be considered part of the support staff and will work together to help the children achieve their goals. I will also be keeping the parents updated on a weekly basis of their child’s progress, along with attending each child’s IEP (individual education plan) conference. Becoming an occupational therapist is a very long and hard journey. During the process I will be taking many difficult classes, learning about numerous disabilities, taking lots of tests, learning how to use adaptive

An occupational therapist is a trained and licensed health care professional who can make a complete evaluation of the impact of disease on the activities of the patient at home and in work situations. Hobbies and recreational activities are considered when an assessment is made. The most generally accepted definition of occupational therapy is that it is an activity, physical or mental, that aids in a patient’s recovery from disease or injury.