Occupational Therapy

Question: Occupational Therapy ? I've been thinking about majoring in occupational therapy are there any OT's out there that can explain to me what the job is like? And how are the hours like working as a OT.

Answer: The job is very rewarding. I do home health OT now, but have worked in acute care, inpatient rehab, and nursing homes. In home health OT, we serve home bound patients - patients who cannot easily go to outpatient services. RIght now, my caseload includes a gentleman who had a stroke, a woman with severe rheumatoid arthritis who just had a knee replacement, a woman with severe COPD and thoracic vertebrae fracture to name a few. With my stroke patient (who has a lot of deficits) we work on bed mobility, transfers, increasing attention to his left, particularly his left arm, increasing range of motion, decreasing tone, and facilitating normal, voluntary movement of his left arm, visual perceptual activities, trunk stability - a lot! A good portion of the session is spent on educating the caregivers on helping him to maximize his independence and safety. There are so many different areas of OT - you can do early intervention, school system, outpatient adults or ped, in patient adult or peds, mental health, ergonomics, and work and industry. As for the hours - it depends where you work. In nursing homes, my hours have been as early as 6:30 - but generally the normal OTs day would begin at 8. In the rehab hospital, the day started at 7 am. Doing home healh is pretty flexible - I see do about 20 visits a week (considered full time - 20 - 23 visits with my company). I get my kids on the bus at 8:15, go to work and am home by 4:00 to get the kids off the bus. I make $65 a visit. In nursing homes and in patient, I have made $40 - $50 an hour. I have a friend who works in an assisted living make $65 an hour. I noticed you put a question up earlier about school. You can get a bachelor's in anything - as long as you have pre-reqs for the grad program. I had a bachelor's in psychology. Here were people in my class with education and business degrees. Good luck!

Question: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY? Are there any schools that you can reccomend for Occupational Therapy? Im in Fl. I love online classes and distant learning btw :) How long is the program after you have a bachelors? And what is the starting salary? And any other general advice is appreaciated, thanks

Answer: Information is below.

Question: Occupational therapy...? If I want to be an occupational therapist after I become an occupational therapy assistant is that possible?

Answer: You can definately become an OTR after a COTA. They even have special programs for that. You can go to any OT school as long as you get the pre reqs. You need to go and get a BS then get in to a MS or MOT program.

Question: occupational therapy? I'm a senior in high school, applying to go to college in the fall of 2011. A few months ago, I became interested in Occupational Therapy. The only problem is, I'm kind of confused. I know what it is, just not how to go to school for it. Whenever I ask people, I get mixed answers. Whenever I look online, it doesn't seem to help me either. I go to websites of different schools, but I never know where to look for programs that would help me become an OT. Is there anyone out there who is an OT or going to school to become an OT who can help clarify some things ?

Answer: I just finished OT school. You can do it 2 ways. First there is the long way, where you go to a 4 year school and get a baccalaureate degree in a related field, psychology or exercise science for example. Then you would apply to a grad school for occupational therapy, which would most likely be around 2 years to complete. The other way, which is the way I would suggest if you already know you want to do OT is to do a BS/MS program. This is what I did and it was 5 years all together- 4 years undergrad, 1 year grad. This way you will get a feel for if you really want to go into the field (Not to mention, having a master's degree in 5 years is pretty sweet!) This is the american occupational therapy association's list of accredited schools: http://aota.org/Students/Schools/EntryLe… The ones that say entry level master's mean that you can join the program as a grad student and the ones that say combined baccalaureate/master's are the ones you enter as a freshman. Take a looksie :) It really is an amazing field that gives you options to work with so many different populations. Hope this helps!

Question: What can an Occupational Therapist or Occupational Therapy Assistant do other than work as a OT/OTA? I have an assignment that I need to bring in job as about Occupational Therapy. I need to be able to find a job that it's title is not specifically Occupational Therapy. In other words... I need to know, what can an Occupational Therapist/assistant do other than working as an OT/OTA?

Answer: i'm not really sure what you mean. occupational therapists can work in so many different settings doing different things yet they are still called an occupational therapist. they can work in a psych setting running groups, in a hospital helping rehabilitation after surgery, in a school helping kids with handwriting, posture, coordination, etc., can visit people's houses and make sure it's safe for someone to live in, considering their condition for example rugs on the floor, electrical cords they might trip on, etc. can visit people's homes and do early intervention with babies or older home bound people. there are sooo many options.

Question: To anyone involved w/ occupational therapy: What is the nature of occupational therapy? I'd like to hear about the specific duties of occupational therapists, what the job market is really like, and if occupational therapists find the career rewarding. Also, what kind of traits make a person a good occupational therapist? (I am thinking of enrolling in an occupational therapy program after I graduate, and I would like to find out the information I can't obtain from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.) Thank you!

Answer: As far as the duties of an OT, is really depends on the setting you practice in. I have worked in several different adult settings - you do anything from helping people wipe their rear ends to cook a meal. Basically - life skills. This can range from being in an acute setting and teaching a person who just had a hip replacement to use a sock aid to put their socks on to being in a rehab facility and helping someone who had a stroke regain functional use of their affected arm. OTs can work on community reintegration - reading bus schedules, money management, etc. They teach patients to maximize their safety and independence in all environments. I work primarily in home health and a rehab hospital. In home health, I work primarily on endurance, upper body strength, increasing a person's independence getting dressed, bathed, groomed, eating, toileting, getting in/out of bed, transfers (to/from the toilet, shower, recliner, etc), hand problems, cooking, cleaning, car transfers, and increasing safety (by environment adaptations) in the home. My advice would be to observe some OTs in different settings prior to making your decision. The job market is awesome! There is a huge need for OTs now - At the rehab hospital, I make $45/hour and doing home health, I make an average of $70 per visit (which generally lasts from 40 - 60 minutes). It is a very rewarding job - especially when you see an improvement in your patients! As far as traits - definately a people person, someone with a good amount of patience, someone who can be empathtic to what their patients are going through without becoming overly involved, someone with the ability to motivate people, and a good problem solver. Good luck!

Question: Any Occupational or physical therapy aides out there? How did you get your jobs? How old do you have to be and what is a typical day like? What do you do and do you like your jobs? Being an aide, do it make you want to go all the way and become either a physical therapist or occupational therapist? I need some advice because I am thinking about getting a job as an occupational therapy aide or physical therapy aide.

Answer: I am an occupational therapy assistant. An aide is responsible for the setup and break down of therapy equipment. They are also usually involved in transporting patients back and forth from therapy. Filing paperwork is also a duty of the therapy aide. It would also be good to find a job with a company that would provide tuition reimbursement for you to go back to school for an advanced degree. Check out the occupational outlook handbook for more info. Good Luck!

Question: What is the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy? I am wanting to go into physical therapy or sports medicine when i get older. I was wondering if someone could tell me what the difference is between physical therapy and occupational therapy though. Thanks in advance! Happy new year!!

Answer: Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy both aim to help a patient improve their abilities. The Physical Therapist will do this primarily by working with the patient to change their muscles, balance, strength, power, or stamina etc. Their treatment will usually include exercises that will work on different muscles or movements so that the patient increases their amount of movement, or relearns to move in a correct way. The physical therapist may need to work on the patient first by applying heat, or moving their arms legs etc for them. A physical therapist can work with sports injuries (as you say), and also with people who have had accidents ie. Stroke, Head Injury, amputation etc. They also work with people who need to improve their balance i.e. the elderly who have lost mobility skills, their input them helps prevent a patient from falling and breaking their hips etc. Physical therapists are also vital in helping children and adults with disabilities learn how to move. An Occupational Therapist's aim is to help a patient to gain as much independence in daily activities as possible. Activities include being able to do essential things like washing, eating etc, things you need to do like food preparation, getting out etc and things they would like to do i.e. working, hobbies etc. Reasons why activities are difficult vary from person to person - so the patient may not be able to eat because they cannot move their arm / hand. Treatment could therefore start with helping the patient improve their hand/ arm movements. This could look like physical therapy. If a patient cannot achieve the movement required though the occupational therapist will then work to adapt the activity - for example by giving the patient the correct specialist cutlery, or a special plate. The OT knows how to help a patient develop their skills, and adapt the activity and the environment - so they can advise to have ramps, lifts etc put in for a new wheelchair user too. All the treatment that an occupational therapist gives will be activity based. So an OT uses a task as a means of improving a patent's skill. So a physical therapist will give an exercise ie. making a pinch grip 10 times, but an OT will get the patient to pick up something tiny within an activity that they want to do i.e for a child - playing a game with small counters. Physical therapist's tend to have a more in depth knowledge of the muscular skeletal system, occupational therapists are expert in task analysis and working out how to enable someone to do things for themselves,rather than requiring assistance. These 2 disciplines frequently work closely together on the the same patient. I hope this helps!

Question: What is the difference between occupational therapy and rehabilitation counseling? I work in the field of developmental disabilities, and I love my job, but it just doesn't pay enough to support my family. I am looking into getting my Masters to be an occupational therapist or rehabilitation counselor, but I want to really understand what these jobs entail in the day-to-day. I have a better grasp on occupational therapy than rehab counseling. Can anyone help me?

Answer: I do not know what rehab counseling entails, as a matter of fact, I have never heard of it. Go for OT, it pays well and there are jobs available!

Question: What is the field of occupational therapy like? I am considering working as an occupational therapy and I would like to know some more information about the field. I have read the occupational outlook handbook, but I feel like the description of it is really broad. I would love to hear any personal stories if anyone would like to share. For therapists, what kind of work do you do with your patients? For patients, what was your therapy like? What activities did you do for what?

Answer: I starred because I'm also interested in going into the field of occupational therapy and would like to learn more about it. I hope you don't mind! Take care. :)

Question: What is the definition of occupational therapy? I want to know about occupational therapy and more about studying occupational therapy for high school and high education.

Answer: See below for a definition of OT. I am an occupational therapist and I have worked in a couple different settings. In the school systems, OTs can work on tasks such as improving (or teaching) handwriting, helping a child attend better to tasks, sit still, tie shoe laces, cut, button their pants, coats, etc. even help them learn to play on the playground. In acute care settings, we can help people who are in comas or who are very low level by doing sensory stimulation - using smells, touch, motion to help stimulate them. We can give exercises to increase strength and range of motion. WE can teach someone to sit up on the side of the bed, stand up, transfer to the toilet. In a rehab setting we can help someone who has becomes paralyzed learn to eat using adaptive equipment, transfer using a sliding board. Or teach someone who has had a stroke to dress with one hand, increase any visual deficits that may have occured from the stroke, and to increase function in the affected arm. Or to educate a patient who recently had their hip replaced to dress themselved with adaptive equipment while adhering to hip precautions. In a hand therapy clinic, they may help someonce increase usage in their hand after cutting a tendon (or in my case once a man who cut half-way through his pinky and thumb and clear through the other 3 fingers. They were reattached and I got to help teach him to use his hand again!) In a nursing home, you often work with people who have gotten run down from a simple illness such as a urinary tract infection. In this case, you teach them energy conservation techniques and increase overstrength and activity tolerance. In a pediatric clinic, you can do lots of things with kids, that seems like play. After all, occupational therapists address occupations - which in a child is PLAY!!! They may play Hungry Hungry Hippos to work on fine motor skills or hand-eye coordination. They may make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to work on sequencing and a child tolerating different textures in their mouth. There is soooo many different things OT does. That is why it is such a great field to go into. If you get burned out in one setting you can do a different area. Plus, consumer reports lists it as one of the top ten jobs this year and the need for OTs is anticipated to continue grow with the baby boomers getting older. Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. Occupational therapy assists people in developing the "skills for the job of living" necessary for independent and satisfying lives. Services typically include: Customized treatment programs to improve one's ability to perform daily activities Comprehensive home and job site evaluations with adaptation recommendations Performance skills assessments and treatment Adaptive equipment recommendations and usage training Guidance to family members and caregivers Some of the health conditions that benefit from occupational therapy include Work-related injuries including lower back problems or repetitive stress injuries Limitations following a stroke or heart attack Arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or other serious chronic conditions Birth injuries, learning problems, or developmental disabilities Mental health or behavioral problems including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress Problems with substance use or eating disorders Burns, spinal cord injuries, or amputations Broken bones or other injuries from falls, sports injuries, or accidents Vision or cognitive problems that threaten the ability to drive

Question: How many years does it take to get a occupational therapy carrer? How many years does it take to get a occupational therapy carrer? Do u need to get a masters degree or Ph.D get in the career of occupational therapy.

Answer: To be an occupational therapist now you need a master's degree after acquiring your BA/BS. Most programs last between 2-3 years. Some schools (usually they're private) do have a 3 year undergraduate program followed by a 3 year graduate program, so if you haven't had any higher education schooling it may be financially beneficial to go that route. If you are interested in an OT-D (doctorate degree) that usually is an extra year on top of your masters. If you want to be an OT, there is absolutely no point in getting your PhD unless you have a burning desire to do research or teach. (and you CAN teach with a masters degree) ALSO when you are all done with schooling, professionally it is better for you to take a job with many occupational therapists on the job so you can learn from them and establish yourself. While it's not always the case, this usually means your pay may be at the lower end of the range. (After that, however, there are contract positions, and lots of other lucrative options.)

Question: How can I impress in my university interview for studying occupational therapy? I am hoping to start an occupational therapy degree in September 2009. My interview is coming up in the next few weeks. I am told that they will test my knowledge of what occupational therapy is, does anyone have any tips for my interview? Thanks in advance

Answer: Most OT schools require that you have volunteer experience in OT in order to get into the program. Use what you learned from the therapist that you volunteered with. If that fails, talk about how excited you are to enter a field where you get to look at a person from a "holistic" perspective. also throw out terms like "occupation of life" "daily occupations" and "purposeful activity". If they do ask you what you know about the field, they just want to know that you understand what it is that you are getting into. It's competitive, and you have to portray yourself as well rounded, flexible, and eager to learn.

Question: What makes people choose speech pathology over occupational therapy and vice versa? I have been looking to go into speech pathology for some time but unsure if it's the right choice for me. Occupational therapy also seems to be a good career and has recently been on the top careers list in the past few years. What are the main differences between the speech pathology career and the OT career? Why/How do people choose one over the other? What kind of personality do you need to have to be in one over the other? Any input would be appreciated.

Answer: For starters, both are great careers that will always be in demand. I am a speech path student, and might be a little biased, but I will try to answers your questions. An occupational therapist has a broader range of duties and responsibilites than does a speech pathologist. They work to improve gross and fine motor skills, while an SLP works to improve speech and language skills. I chose a career in speech pathology for several reasons. First, I love working with kids and have a very caretaking personality. Second, I have always had a passion for it; I became addicted to reading at an early age, and always did well in English and foreign languages. In addition, I desired a career where I would have some independence and also make a good living. An occupational therapist probably shares many of these qualities, minus the speech/language stuff. You can feel good knowing though, that each job pays decently, and each will always be in high demand. Good luck!

Question: Would you find Occupational Therapy an enjoyable and stimulating career? I am almost done my Bachelor's degree in Human Development (I'll be graduating in December from Penn State). I have looked at a couple of options for what to pursue for my masters degree. I know I will work in either education or healthcare as I find them spectacular areas with good job security and consider these fields rewarding. Do you think occupational therapy would be a good choice for a career? Thanks much, my other idea is school counselor probably at the elementary level.

Answer: This is what I want to major in. Occupational therapy seems like it could be a great field to get into. You should do some job shadowing if you haven't done any already. School counselor seems kinda boring and i'm not badmouthing counselors but there's really no mobility. The thing about being in OT is that you can work in schools which might be something you can look into. Also the pay is much higher than a counselor's. OTs can also open their own practice and have other professionals work for them.

Question: How difficult is the cousework for Occupational Therapy? I am going to be a freshman in college next year, and I'm very interested in occupational therapy. I have job shadowed multiple therapists, and my aunt (who is one) has answered many of my questions. One thing I'm not sure of is how hard the college classes will be leading up to OT school. I'm not a genius in physics or anatomy, so will it be very difficult? If anyone has taken classes required for OT, please give me your input! Thanks.

Answer: Different universities have different classes for their OT programs. You can look at the school that you are interested in to see what classes are required as prerequisites, and what are part of the program. You can also talk with someone in the OT department and ask them specific questions about your educational concerns. You don't need to be a genius, but understanding what would be expected of you could take away some of your concerns. Congratulations on starting college next year, how exciting for you.

Question: Is occupational therapy considered a public health major? I want to apply for the Gates Millennium Scholarship and my prospective major is occupational therapy. Public health is one of the majors required for a person to be eligible for the scholarship.

Answer: It is a Health Science, but to make sure you should consult with the scholarship council or your college student advisor's office.

Question: What does an occupational therapy intern do? I am getting an internship at Coney Island Hospital for occupational therapy. I will be 'assisting' occupational therapists. What does this entail? Thank you. Christian

Answer: "Occupational therapist assistants and aides work under the supervision of occupational therapists to provide rehabilitative services to persons with mental, physical, emotional, or developmental impairments. The ultimate goal is to improve clients' quality of life and ability to perform daily activities. For example, occupational therapist assistants help injured workers re-enter the labor force by teaching them how to compensate for lost motor skills or help individuals with learning disabilities increase their independence." Lots more at the link below.

Question: How can a person receive Occupational Therapy? I was diagnosed with a learning disability when I was a child, and for the most part, you could never tell today. However, my fine motor skills are seriously impaired (like I am 22 and still sometimes have problems buttoning my pants and cutting meat). How do I get occupational therapy...I think it would benefit me. I am in my last year of college and need to gain some fine motor skills to live on my own and to perform my job adequetly (I will be a Special Education teacher in May). Like I said, all my other areas are fine. Do I need a refferral from my doctor, or will neuropsychologist do? Thanks.

Answer: I hope you have medical insurance most OT is handled in hospitals. a neuropsych. can handle the referal OT is a long and time consuming process but worth every second of invested time... Good Luck and do good things for your students they are our future!!

Question: How hard is it to get into an Occupational Therapy (MOT) program? I am a recent college graduate with a bachelors of business administration and a minor in psychology. I would like a career in the health field and Occupational Therapy sounds like a really interesting career. Does anyone know how hard it is to get into an MOT program, how to make your application more competitive, and what are the best schools to apply to? How many volunteer hours are necessary to be competitive and what GPA and GRE scores? Thanks for your help!

Answer: I recommend that you do some "informational interviewing." That is where you seek out persons working in the OT field, and ask them to meet with you for a cup of coffee. Then, you ask them all kinds of questions: what do they dis/like about OT? how did they decided on this career? etc. Most people are happy to answer your questions, especially when they know you are not asking for a job. You can find OTs in hospitals, rehab centers, and the phone book (yellow pages). Best wishes.