Learn About Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapy Schools, Training, Jobs, and Careers

What is an Occupational Therapist?
In life there are people that are mentally and or physically challenged. This challenge can come by way of birth or injuries. The challenge can make it difficult to live a normal and productive life.

This is where the occupational therapist (OT) comes in. The OT’s job is to help the mentally or physically challenged live normal or close to normal life. The therapist’s primary goal is to make his or her patient achieve the highest degree of independence possible. Some of the things the OT will implore are:

1. Activities to help the patient learn day to day living skills
2. Modify the patient’s living arrangements
3. Modify the patient’s working environment
4. Recommend physical activities to help patient get stronger
5. Recommend mental activities to boast patient’s mental abilities
6. Design special devices or equipments that would be of help to patient
7. Keep and update patient’s progress
8. Etc.

The occupational therapist must be physically strong. There may come times when you have to lift or turn your patient.

The OT must also have patience. Teaching a patient basic life skills can be a slow process. Some will get it fast while others will be slow. The OT needs to have this understanding.

How to Become an Occupational Therapist:
This is one of those professions where a graduate degree is needed. You will need to get bachelor’s degree in something else, preferably occupational therapy or another healthcare major. With this, you can then apply to get your masters (graduate) degree in occupational therapy. Some go as far as getting a doctorate degree in occupational therapy.

If you gain admission, you can look forward to exciting courses. You should expect to take such courses as:

a. Occupational Therapy Theory
b. Occupational Therapy Process
c. Practices in Occupational Therapy
d. Human Anatomy
e. Introduction to OT
f. Human Physiology
g. Exercise Science
h. Functional Movement Skills and Analysis
i. Etc.

After graduation, you will be required to go through 6 months of supervised fieldwork before you can practice on your own. You will also need to be licensed. To get the license, you need to take and pass the national certification examination. Passing this exam will allow you to have the title of Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR).

Occupational Therapist Salary:
If you haven’t guessed it already, after jumping all the huddles to become an OT, the pay is excellent. The average salary for OTs is $72,000 per year. Some make as much as $80,000 per year. This depends on your location, level of education, and responsibility.

Occupational Therapist School:
One of the reasons getting into OT schools is so competitive is because there are few of them. But not to worry! We have uncovered an excellent one for you.

The school is Boston University. Boston University has masters and doctorate degrees in occupational therapy. They have it both online and on campus. If you are interested in getting OT degree, you definitely need to check them out. You can request for their free no obligation information through this link.

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