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Who is a Occupational Therapist?
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel - Maya Angelou
In a career as an occupational therapist, individuals are knowledgeable healthcare professionals who are responsible for working with patients with permanent or temporary disabilities to perform daily tasks independently with or without the use of assistive equipment. Occupational therapist's job includes applying therapeutic use of daily activities to treat patients who are injured, ill, or incapacitated. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path assist these individuals in acquiring, regaining, maintaining, and improving the abilities necessary for working and daily living.
Occupational therapists jobs include evaluating the abilities to disable children and modify school equipment to accommodate them. Students can pursue a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, Master of Occupational Therapy to become an Occupational Therapist. Here, in this article, we will discuss occupational therapist courses, occupational therapist jobs, occupational therapy salary in India, occupational therapist certification, is occupational therapy a good career in India.
Occupational Therapist in a Nutshell
An individual who is specially abled can also opt for a career as an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist jobs come in the category of social service and counselling. The contribution of occupational therapists to society is great as it makes everyday life easy for specially-abled people whether it is teaching dressing to a stroke victim or walking with the help of a walker to a person who had a hip replacement.
Quick Facts for Occupational Therapist
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Industry
Healthcare
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Average Salary in India
₹31000
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Suitable for
Male, Female, Others
A career as an occupational therapist is suitable for both men and women regardless of their gender. The career is aimed at providing self-motivation to individuals with limited abilities and make them feel as normal as any other person.
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Any special needs
Yes
A career as an occupational therapist is not suitable for specially-abled individuals. As it is itself a supportive career that provides support to specially-abled people through guidance and counselling. An occupational therapist helps people with limited abilities, illnesses, or injuries to make use of special equipment to make them comfortable while doing any other activities.
Table of Contents for Occupational Therapist
What is the role of Occupational Therapist?
Here, in this section, we have discussed what is an occupational therapist and what does an occupational therapist do. A career as an occupational therapist involves working in various settings. Their work varies depending on the workplace. Occupation therapists who work in schools provide a helping hand to specially-abled students. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists evaluate the abilities of specially-abled students. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path require working with patients and helping them create a functional work environment for them.
Occupational therapist's jobs include collaborating with the employer for effective changes in the work environment and schedule. Occupational therapists also work in healthcare settings such as hospitals or other facilities. Occupational therapist's jobs include helping patients in recovery by rehabilitating them.
Review medical history
An occupational therapist reviews a patient's history and asks questions to the patient to know about the developments or improvements in his or her condition. An occupational evaluates a patient’s condition and needs. Medical history can include details about diseases, allergies, procedures, immunizations, physical examinations and medical reports.
Plan treatments
An occupational therapist is responsible for determining the treatment and planning it. He or she develops a treatment plan for patients, determining their specific goals and activities to help patients to reach their goals. Treatment programs exist for a number of different reasons related to health care. Treatment plans lead to continuous care taking into account past concerns and treatment of an individual, and also the present situation.
Demonstration
An occupational therapist is responsible for teaching or demonstrating the exercise to patients to relieve pain and improve muscle movements. Physical activity or exercise will enhance health and reduce the risk of many illnesses. Exercise and physical activity can bring health benefits instantly and even in the long term. Above everything else, daily exercise will enhance the quality of life.
Evaluation
An occupational therapist is responsible for educating patient's families and employers to accommodate and care for the patient. He or she is responsible for recommending special equipment such as a wheelchair, walker, and eating aids. An occupational therapist also instructs patients on how to use it.
Educate
An occupational therapist educates patients family members and employers about their special needs or requirements. The education of patients implies that the patients have been well educated of their own health. This may include educating them about the health consequences of their illness, explaining their symptoms, working over different effective treatments or trying to figure out ways to avoid degradation of their condition.
Types of a Occupational Therapist
Athletic Trainers: Athletic trainers are healthcare professionals who provide training under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician. An athletic trainer provides primary care in case of injury or illness. An athletic trainer is responsible for wellness, emergent care, promotion and education, examination and clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.
Rehabilitation Counselor: A rehabilitation counsellor is responsible for providing healthcare and counselling to patients who are in rehab such as patients of drug abuse or accident. A rehabilitation counsellor trains patients to assist them in job placement to evaluate their medical reports and provides help to develop skills essential to living independently. The purpose of rehabilitation counsellors is to guide their patients so that they can live more independent lives.
Speech Pathologist and Audiologist: An audiologist is a hearing professional responsible for providing training and treatment to patients having such a hearing disability. Similarly, the speech pathologist is a professional who treats speech and swallowing problems in children and adults.
Physiotherapist: A physiotherapist means helping people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education, and advice. They maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease.
Staff Nurse: The work of a staff nurse can be described in the form of responsibilities and tasks they provide. Although some are generally involved in preparing and identifying requirements for patient care, and performing the operative treatment, others are expected to maintain medical records and manage and control routine check-ups and medication.
What is the workplace/work environment of Occupational Therapist like?
A career as an occupational therapist demands working with old people and staying with them to make their daily life easy. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path help in the recovery of patients with stroke or Alzheimer's disease. While some occupational therapists choose to work with victims of accidents.
The occupational therapist helps them regain the balance of their body, progression in movements, and all the other skills. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists also work with patients with mental illness. The other specialities in the career of an occupational therapist are to provide training to workers to use correct ergonomics, train old drivers, help people with low vision, make homes and workplaces more accessible, and promote health and wellness.
Does Occupational Therapist require travelling?
Likely
A career as an occupational therapist may occasionally require travelling. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path job may often require travel to the patient's home or workplace in emergencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an occupational therapist usually work full-time in an office setting, clinics, schools, hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other workplaces.
Employment Shifts
Full Time, Part Time
A career as an occupational therapist provides both full-time and part-time employment. Around 30 per cent of occupational therapists work part-time. The career requires a long-term commitment. It is not suitable for candidates who are looking for work-from-home or hourly basis career opportunities.
Employment Nature
Contractual, Permanent
Individuals in the occupational therapist career path offer both contractual and permanent employment. The duration of contractual employment depends on the employer or company. It may be for six months, a year, or two years.
Work Place
A career as an occupational therapist involves working for more than 40 hours. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists work more than 40 hours a week. He or she works in academic institutions such as schools and colleges to provide help to students with several illnesses, injuries, or permanent disabilities. An occupational therapist works in hospitals, clinics, healthcare facilities, old age homes, and rehabilitation centres.
Presence in Geographical Area
Urban
There are flourishing opportunities for a career as an occupational therapist in urban cities while there are negligible opportunities in rural areas.
Time Pressure
Not Likely
Individuals in the occupational therapist career path generally work in a set schedule and the working conditions are quite stable. There are rare occasions when occupational therapists are required to survive conflict situations where the clients might put challenging conditions. In such cases, there might occur a little time pressure. However, during adverse situations, occupational therapists are expected to work under double shifts which causes time pressure.
Overtime Details
Since most of the patients visit the clinic in the daytime, hence their work is scheduled in the daytime. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists work for more than 40 hours a week. Occasionally during the end months or weekends, they might be required to put some extra hours into work and practise over time.
Weekly Hours of Work
Min 45 Hours
A career as an occupational therapist involves working full-time or part-time. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists work more than 45 hours a week. Their work shift generally starts in the morning and ends at mid-evening.
How to become a Occupational Therapist?
Steps to become a Occupational Therapist
If you are someone who wants to serve or help people with disabilities and live independently or would love to treat people with injuries and illnesses then a career as Occupational Therapist is the best option for you. If you are interested in maintaining and improving the health of people then you can opt for a career as Occupational Therapist. We have mentioned below some of the steps for how to become an Occupational Therapist in India.
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Occupational Therapist?
In this section, we will be answering the most commonly asked question that how to become an occupational therapist. In order to make a career as an occupational therapist, one must possess some skills. Here, we will be discussing how to become an Occupational Therapist. Some skills required by an occupational therapist are mentioned below:
Communication skills: Communication skills are important to properly interact with a broad spectrum of people while trying to maintain eye contact with the audience, display a varied vocabulary and adjust the dialect to the listener, maintain attention, communicate your ideas in a proper way, write clearly and accurately, and work in a team properly. An occupational therapist should possess excellent communication skills. He or she has to interact with multiple patients and their families on a daily basis. An occupational therapist has to describe the developments and treatments for the health of patients.
Compassion: Compassion refers to the care for others, and acts with kindness, helpfulness, and concern toward each other. Compassion, as compared to empathy, entails understanding sincere feelings about the suffering of others. Compassion is a delicate skill with significant benefits. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists should be compassionate about his or her profession. Individuals who opt for a career as an occupational therapist must be aware of the fact that the prime objective of their profession is to improve the daily lives of others.
Flexibility: Workplace flexibility helps managers and workers to manage work environments that match their needs. This helps the employee maintain a work and personal life balance and can allow businesses to strengthen their operational efficiency and productivity. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path must understand that each patient does not have the same illness or disability. Therefore, the treatment for each patient would not be the same. An occupational therapist must be creative to plan the treatment and use adaptive devices as per the patient's requirements.
Interpersonal Management: Interpersonal competencies are the abilities that individuals use to communicate with one another. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists require interacting, developing, and maintaining relationships with everyone. Interpersonal skills help you to manage everyday conversations, interactions, and differences with all other individuals in the work environment. Occupational therapists require to spend most of the time teaching and describing the therapies to patients that will improve their lives. Occupational therapists are required to build up the trust and respect of their patients to treat them.
Patience: Patience is one of the variables that play a prominent role in success to contribute significantly. Patience is a core component of organizational achievement. Employees have to experience some cases multiple times that might need patience. Like, due to the seriousness of some issues, people, therefore, need to operate for a long time. It takes time for the recovery of illnesses, injuries, or disabilities. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path must be patient to record developments in the health conditions of patients and treat them using alternative methods.
Writing Skills: Effective organizational writing ability benefits the business in many ways. This opens up whole new avenues and helps you improve your career and work for your targets. Again, writing skills allow you to convey yourself, help you to become stronger and therefore more descriptive, and encourage you to stay at the forefront. Individuals who opt for a career as occupational therapists must be able to communicate in writing also. Individuals in the occupational therapist career path require to write treatment procedures or therapies to communicate them with the other people in the medical team overseeing the patient.
Popular Online Medicine Courses and Certifications
Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Occupational Therapist?
We have mentioned below various certifications that Occupational Therapists can opt to upgrade their skills.
Internship Availability
The medical sector has a lot of internships to offer to students pursuing occupational therapy courses. Internships work as guidance to your career by providing insights into the industry and helping you find answers on how to become an occupational therapist. An intern works under the supervision of an assigned teacher, social worker, or occupational therapist. They learn skills and therapies required to teach people with limited abilities to improve their life skills. An intern may require to administer the screenings and assessment to make recommendations for progress. An intern may be responsible for preparing reports and planning occupational therapy interventions.
Career Path Progression for Occupational Therapist
Junior Occupational Therapist: A Junior Occupational Therapist is a professional who is responsible for evaluating the patient's health conditions and providing treatment. A Junior Occupational Therapist works under the supervision of seniors.
Senior Occupational Therapist: A Senior Occupational Therapist is an experienced professional who is responsible for developing a treatment plan as per the patient's needs to help them to cure their illness. A Senior Occupational Therapist provides training to the patients and caregivers.
Occupational Therapist Jobs and Salaries
Junior Occupational Therapist
- Average Salary 23000
Job Description
The Junior Occupational Therapist job description includes treating disabled, ill or injured patients using special equipment. A Junior Occupational Therapist helps the patient to improve, restore and develop the skills that are needed to do everyday activities.
Salary Description
An entry-level Occupational Therapist salary in India ranges between Rs 0.2 Lakhs to Rs 5.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 3.0 Lakhs per annum. Junior Occupational Therapist salary in India may vary depending on the various job factors like skills and experience of the candidates, job location, and others.
Salary Source: AmbitionBox
Senior Occupational Therapist
- Average Salary 39000
Job Description
The Occupational Therapist job description includes conducting physical and psychological assessments of clients, educating the caregivers and family members on the patient's care and evaluating the progress in the patient's health.
Salary Description
The estimated Occupational Therapist salary in India ranges from Rs 0.4 Lakhs to Rs 81.6 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 5.0 Lakhs per annum. Senior Occupational Therapist salary may vary depending on the various job factors.
Salary Source: AmbitionBox
What is the job outlook for Occupational Therapist?
The Healthcare sector keeps evolving, and so do occupational therapists. There is an expected 23 per cent job growth for occupational therapists in the next five years. The ageing population certainly drives the demand, but this is not the single most important reason. Nearly half of the occupational therapists function in clinics and departments of occupational therapy, offering rehabilitation care to disabled people with stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's as well as other long-term disorders.
Occupational therapy should be seen as a model practice for solving current and future social problems, essential to the growth of society. There is less competition in the field of occupational therapists. The demand for occupational therapists is higher. Occupational therapy scope abroad is evident.
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Frequently Asked Questions for Occupational Therapist
Que. What is the average salary of an occupational therapist?
Ans.The average salary of an occupational therapist is Rs.361,368 per annum.
Que. What are the specializations in occupational therapy?
Ans.There are several specializations in occupational therapy. We have mentioned the popular specializations in occupational therapy such as paediatrics, adult rehabilitation, hand therapy, vision rehabilitation, ergonomics, community consultation, driver rehabilitation, neurological, psychiatric, and industrial rehabilitation.
Que. Does it require certification to practice occupational therapy?
Ans.Occupational therapists are required to get themselves registered under the AIOTA (All India Occupational Therapists’ Association) to get the certification. Certification is required for practising occupational therapy.
Que. How many institutes are there that provide academic programmes for occupational therapy?
Ans.There are 25 institutes recognized by AIOTA (All India Occupational Therapists’ Association) that offer undergraduate-level programmes in occupational therapy. Some of those institutes offer postgraduate programmes also.
Que. Describe the pediatric occupational therapist job description.
Ans.The pediatric occupational therapist job description focuses on helping kids learn the skills they need to build into responsive, mature individuals. Physical disability, illnesses, as well as a number of other problems can adversely affect the ability of a child to perform typical activities or usually advance through the social or cognitive stages of development.
Que. Describe the mental health occupational therapist job description.
Ans.The mental health occupational therapist job description is mainly based on helping people to actively engage in productive careers across a range of skills and knowledge like skill growth, developing healthy behaviours and routines, clear objectives for treatment, applying cognitive-behavioural strategies, and considering the various neural factors.
Que. Describe the physical therapist job description.
Ans.Physical therapist's job description is to assist individuals with severe illnesses and diseases to gain back movement and control their discomfort. They help identify the underlying causes of the pain, advise patients and collaborate with them to develop a recovery plan.
Que. Describe the psychiatric occupational therapist job description.
Ans.A psychiatric occupational therapist job description is to support people with mental health problems to develop their capacity to adapt in terms of work, recreation, self-care, activity, social interactions.
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Questions related to Occupational Therapist
what is occupational therapy? how much value now a days? how much starting salary for now a days ? is this a valuable course and after completed this course one have bringht future or not ?
Hello candidate,
An occupational therapist is a person who treats physically injured, ill health people use of thereopathy involving the use of daily life activities.
Occupational therapist is a very demanded professional in the field of Medical Science, and have a good demand specially in hospitals. An average professional belonging from this field can earn monthly of Rs. 50000 in India.
Hope this information helps you.
Answer latercan occupational therapist add dr to their name
Hello student no Dr title is not for occupational therapist it's for person who hold MBBS degree or BDS degree from any recognized medical college person who pursue doctorate degree/PhD can also put Dr before their name but for occupational therapist it's not legal.
Feel free to comment if you have any doubt
Good luck
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Did you know?
Fact 1
Greek physicians used to treat their patients with mental illness through occupation therapy in 100 B.C.
Fact 2
During world war I and world war II, the wounded soldiers were treated with occupational therapy that further pushed the profession towards more standardized methods of improvements.
Fact 3
The arts and crafts movement influenced not only housing but also occupational therapy with the idea of using creative activities for hospital patients.
Fact 4
The role of occupational treatment is expanding in the treatment of mental health and related abilities.
Fact 5
Occupational therapy was not applied to children until the mid 20th century. It was further used to treat a major patient group.
