Occupational Therapist

Laura Williams

IntroductionO Occupational therapists help people of all ages

participate in life through the therapeutic use of everyday activities, or occupations.

O They assess each patient individually to determine their goals and then create an intervention plan to help improve the patients daily activities to reach their goals.

O Occupational therapy is applicable in a range of settings, such as hospitals, outpatient facilities, and schools, and can look different from setting to setting.

History of OTO Occupational therapy can be traced back to the

late 1700’s. Phillipe Pinel and William Tuke developed new ways to treat people with mental illness. Pinel called it “Moral Treatment and Occupation”.

O These principles of maximizing function and minimizing symptoms of a patients mental illness were applied to hospitals around the world by the 1860’s.

O In the chaos that followed the Civil War, moral treatment was not used in American hospitals and became less of a priority.

History of OTO In 1917 the National Society for the Promotion of

Occupational Therapy was founded.O After World War I and through the 1960’s,

occupational therapists were in high demand to treat injured soldiers and develop programs to aid in their recovery.

O The 1980’s and 1990’s brought about a new change to OT. The focus became a patients quality of life and occupational therapists became more involved in education, prevention, screenings, and health maintenance to help patients reach goals and maintain independence. These principles still apply to occupational therapy today.

Stats on OTO Occupational Therapists have an

average annual salary of $78,810. (2014)

O An entry level Occupational therapist can expect to make on average $69,00 annually.

O Occupational therapy is also ranked 17th in Best Health Care Jobs.

O This profession is expected to grow by 14% in the future.

What it takes to be an OT

O To be an occupational therapist you must earn a bachelor’s degree.

O You must then earn a master’s degree from an accredited university.

O After earning a masters degree, you can apply for licensure or continue your education and earn a doctoral degree.

O Before applying for your license you must pass the NBCOT, the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapists.

Why I want to be an OTO I want to be an occupational therapist

because I want my job to be one that helps and serves others.

O I like that occupational therapy focuses on helping patients with activities of their every day life.

O I want to help people not only learn to walk, or move their hands but do those things in such a way that they are able to live independently and have the best life possible.

Characteristics of an OT

O Good communication and people skillsO Know how to solve problems O Have physical strengthO Enjoy helping othersO Have organizational skillsO Have patienceO Compassionate and empatheticO CreativeO Good writing skills

Characteristics of an OT

O I believe I have all of the characteristics required to be a good occupational therapist.

O According to the O-net Profiler my dominant personality traits are social, investigative, and enterprising.

O I believe that these qualities would make me a great OT because I interact well with others, I can identify problems and find solutions, I am creative, and I am confident in taking action and making decisions.

Academics O Undergraduate academic courses that are

beneficial to future OT’s and required by most graduate programs as prerequisites include:O Anatomy and PhysiologyO PhysicsO StatisticsO Psychology (Abnormal and Developmental)O Sociology or Anthropology O Medical Terminology

Grad Programs in OTO Medical University of South Carolina

O Located in Charleston, SCO East Carolina University

O Located in Greenville, NCO Augusta University

O Located in Augusta, GA

Grad Programs in OTAdmissions criteria

MUSC East Carolina

Augusta University

Minimum GPA required

3.0 3.0 3.0

Volunteer hours required

30 hours Not required for application but strongly encouraged

60 hours

References 3 references: 1 from OT practitioner who supervised volunteer hours, 2 others from professors

2 letters of recommendati-on

3 references: 2 from occupational therapists and 1 from professor/advisor

GRE scores 60th percentile or higher

50th percentile Minimum score of 290 combined

Grad Programs in OT

Conclusion O Occupational therapy is a career that

I hope to have one day. It’s history dates back to the 1700’s, and since then therapists have been helping people live their lives and reach their goals. I aspire to do this one day as well. I think occupational therapy would be a rewarding career, and its future is very bright.

Sources O http://www.aota.org/About-Occupatio

nal-Therapy.aspxO http://www.sensory-processing-disor

der.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.html

O http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/occupational-therapist/salary

O http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Occupational_Therapist_(OT)/Hourly_Rate

O http://www.otcareerpath.com/how-to-become-an-occupational-therapist

O http://www.otcareerpath.com/successful-occupational-therapist

SourcesO http://www.augusta.edu/alliedhealth/

ot/admissions.php

O http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/ot/?RenderForPrint=1

O http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/chp/ot/admissions.htm