{"id":9432,"date":"2021-08-17T12:39:17","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T12:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/?p=9432"},"modified":"2021-08-17T12:40:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T12:40:05","slug":"what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What does an occupational therapist do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_45_1 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" area-label=\"ez-toc-toggle-icon-1\"><label for=\"item-69f3a6af161e4\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69f3a6af161e4\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/#What_is_the_role_of_an_occupational_therapist\" title=\"What is the role of an occupational therapist?\">What is the role of an occupational therapist?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/#How_to_hire_an_occupational_therapist\" title=\"How to hire an occupational therapist\">How to hire an occupational therapist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/#How_to_become_an_occupational_therapist\" title=\"How to become an occupational therapist\">How to become an occupational therapist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/#Salary\" title=\"Salary\">Salary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists (OT&#8217;s) are professional medical practitioners who help people with injuries or disabilities that prevent them from carrying out their daily task or performing their duties at work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, some individuals with disabilities may have a challenge in performing simple daily tasks like standing up, removing their clothes or walking. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The OT\u00a0 is trained to identify these constraints and to provide assistance or materials that will help these people improve their range of movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_role_of_an_occupational_therapist\"><\/span><strong>What is the role of an occupational therapist?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthdirect.gov.au\/occupational-therapy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers or nursing homes. They collaborate with physicians or physical therapists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They attend to clients across all age groups and some of them that work part time do home visits to provide care. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They possess good communication skills because they are in constant interaction with their clients. Also, they have the necessary creative abilities to solve the problems of their clients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/pain-management\/occupational-rehab#1-4\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">duties<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> entail:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Clinical Examination<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Occupational therapists possess visual abilities and make most of their diagnosis by watching what their clients do, how they move and interact with objects in the surrounding. For instance, an occupational therapist\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invited to help a child with a physical disability may prefer to visit the child at school or at home to watch how the child moves or interacts with objects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0This inspection provides clues to the occupational therapist on what the child needs and the adaptation techniques to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: OT&#8217;s plan the therapy after clinical evaluation. The therapist outlines the treatment goal and decides on the number of therapeutic sessions required to achieve the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Counseling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: They educate their clients on how to use assisted devices to improve or adapt. For example, if a client needs a crutch to improve mobility, the occupational therapist is responsible for educating the client on how to use the crutch until the client masters the usage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Monitoring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: They track and keep a record of how a patient responds to therapy. This helps the occupational therapist decide if the client will benefit from additional therapeutic sessions or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_hire_an_occupational_therapist\"><\/span><strong>How to hire an occupational therapist<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists are rare professionals because they serve a specific type of clients. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of them work part-time because they offer home services except for those who work in rehabilitation centers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part time OT&#8217;s usually work on an hourly basis and charge an hourly rate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are 3 effective ways to hire an occupational therapist:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write and post your job description on a job listing website: To hire a professional <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">occupational<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> therapist, write a job description that states the type you want to hire and set application requirements applicants must meet to be eligible. Then upload this job post on free job listing websites like Indeed. Platforms like Kolabtree offer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/find-an-expert\/subject\/occupational-therapy?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=post&amp;utm_campaign=OT\">freelance occupational therapy experts<\/a> on demand for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/ensuring-reproducibility-in-ai-driven-research-how-freelance-experts-can-help-in-biotech-and-healthcare\/\">research<\/a>, statistical and writing services.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask for referrals: Ask friends and colleagues if they know and can refer a qualified occupational therapist to you.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search online for a local occupational therapy association.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_become_an_occupational_therapist\"><\/span><strong>How to become an occupational therapist<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists have a bachelor&#8217;s degree from an accredited university and must undergo advanced training to earn a master\u2019s or doctorate degree.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thereafter, they are expected to sit and pass a licensing exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The minimum requirement to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regiscollege.edu\/blog\/occupational-therapy\/what-does-occupational-therapist-do-roles-and-responsibilities\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">practice as an occupational degree <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a master\u2019s degree and a practicing license.,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Salary\"><\/span><strong>Salary<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average annual income of an occupational therapist is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/ooh\/healthcare\/mobile\/occupational-therapists.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$86,280<\/span><\/a>. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This figure varies based on the type of health facility they work with, their location, skills and level of experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States of America Bureau of Labour and Statistics projects that the demand for OT&#8217;s will increase by 16% between 2019 to 2029.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, as the number of elderly people increases, the higher the prevalence of age induced neurological conditions that necessitate the services of an occupational therapist.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists are special health care professionals who work with physicians to aid the full recovery of clients. They help patients to regain their independence and ability to perform daily tasks at home or work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They educate their clients on how to use assisted devices and how patients with a permanent disability can adapt. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their services will continue to be in demand as the prevalence of individuals with disabilities increase and also their earning potential will rise in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Occupational therapists (OT&#8217;s) are professional medical practitioners who help people with injuries or disabilities that prevent them from carrying out their daily task or performing their duties at work. For example, some individuals with disabilities may have a challenge in performing simple daily tasks like standing up, removing their clothes or walking. The OT\u00a0 is<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/\" title=\"Read More\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":9433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[443],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.1 (Yoast SEO v20.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What does an occupational therapist do? - The Kolabtree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read to understand the role of an occupational therapist, how much they earn, typical specialities and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What does an occupational therapist do?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read to understand the role of an occupational therapist, how much they earn, typical specialities and more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/what-does-an-occupational-therapist-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Kolabtree Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-17T12:39:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-17T12:40:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kolabtree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/doctor-with-patient-physiotherapy-clinic-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ramya Sriram\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kolabtree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ramya Sriram\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What does an occupational therapist do? 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