Occupational Therapist
Facilitate everyday activities to boost a patient’s wellbeing.
Job opportunities
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Jobs in Jobstreet right now
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In the last year
Salary
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Typical monthly salary
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Job opportunities
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Jobs in Jobstreet right now
Salary
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Typical monthly salary
Job growth
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In the last year
Job satisfaction
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What's it like to be an Occupational Therapist?
Occupational Therapists are healthcare practitioners who promote the use of everyday activities, or occupations, to treat the physical, mental, developmental and emotional conditions that impact a patient’s health. Their fundamental role as healthcare professionals is to encourage patients to be more independent, live a better quality of life, and be able to perform tasks with fewer restrictions. Occupational Therapists can also support patients, either in long-term patient care or acute patient care, to recover and regain the skills needed to perform daily tasks.
Tasks and duties
- Evaluating a patient’s conditions and needs.
- Developing treatment plans to address a patient’s needs and help them meet specific goals.
- Assessing a patient’s home and/or work environment and recommending adaptations to fit the patient’s needs and improve independence.
- Training patients and their caregivers to use special equipment.
- Assessing and documenting progress for evaluation, billing and reporting purposes.
- Advising on adaptive equipment to help clients with daily activities.
- Preparing clients for a return to work.
How to become an Occupational Therapist
The basic requirement to qualify as an Occupational Therapist is to obtain a bachelor degree in occupational therapy.
- Complete a degree in occupational therapy. The Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy is a five-year degree that provides students with the knowledge and skills to enter this career.
- Complete On-the-Job Training. During your fourth year of study, you will be required to attend On-the-Job Training (OJT) in a healthcare setting such as a hospital, rehabilitation center or nursing home.
- Obtain a license to legally work as Occupational Therapist. To do this, you need to pass the Occupational Therapist Licensure Examination. The examination is conducted by the Board of Examiners for Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists under the supervision of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).
- After you pass the examination, you may opt to pursue a career path in hospitals, rehabilitation centers or clinics, nursing homes, mental health institutions, home health agency services or community home health settings.
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Latest Occupational Therapist jobs on Jobstreet
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Skills and experience employers are looking for
Having the right skills and experience can make you an in-demand applicant. Occupational Therapist employers on Jobstreet are looking for job seekers with expertise in the following areas.
Source: Jobstreet job ads and Jobstreet Profile data
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