Occupational Therapists Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Occupational Therapists

The main tasks and work activities of Occupational Therapists are to record patient medical histories, prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities, monitor patient progress or responses to treatments, analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals. In general, for the Occupational Therapists, monitoring, service Orientation, social Perceptiveness, judgment and Decision Making and other 17 skills are required.

Occupational Therapists Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related Experience	Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job Training	Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Example	These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Occupational Therapists jobs. 4.00% of Occupational Therapists have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 96% of Occupational Therapists have Bachelor's Degree and Above.

Less than a High School Diploma

0.00%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

4.00%

Post-Secondary Certificate

0.00%

Some College Courses

0.00%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

0.00%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

96.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Occupational Therapists

Complete and maintain necessary records.
Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate those impaired because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.
Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities.
Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs.
Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability.
Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff.
Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement.
Conduct research in occupational therapy.
Provide patients with assistance in locating or holding jobs.
Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
Teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches.
Refer clients to services, such as eye care, health care, rehabilitation, and counseling, to enhance visual and life functioning or when condition exceeds scope of practice.
Provide consultation, support, or education to groups such as parents and teachers.

Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and EventsIdentifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Developing Objectives and StrategiesEstablishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Record patient medical histories.
Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies.
Direct healthcare delivery programs.
Design public or employee health programs.
Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
Supervise patient care personnel.
Train medical providers.
Fabricate medical devices.
Design medical devices or appliances.
Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
Clean medical equipment or facilities.
Advise communities or institutions regarding health or safety issues.
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
Encourage patients or clients to develop life skills.
Train caregivers or other non-medical personnel.

Skills and Abilities for Occupational Therapists

MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Operations AnalysisAnalyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Time SharingThe ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
VisualizationThe ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Perceptual SpeedThe ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Cutlery or utensils for the physically challengede.g. Adaptive cutlery
Patient care beds or accessories for general usee.g. Adjustable beds
Keyboardse.g. Alternative computer keyboards
Braille devices for the physically challengede.g. Braille printers
Adaptive communication switches for the physically challengede.g. Computer switch interfaces
Drilling machinese.g. Drill presses
Domestic electric knivese.g. Electric knives
Wheelchairse.g. Electric wheelchairs
Electronic blood pressure unitse.g. Electronic blood pressure units
Therapeutic balls or accessoriese.g. Exercise balls
Gait belts for rehabilitation or therapye.g. Gait and transfer belts
Goniometerse.g. Goniometers
Patient ceiling hoistse.g. Hoists
Game pads or joy stickse.g. Joy sticks
Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathee.g. Lathes
Patient lifts or accessoriese.g. Lift chairs
Hand loomse.g. Looms
Mercury blood pressure unitse.g. Manual blood pressure cuffs
Medical acoustic stethoscope or accessorye.g. Mechanical stethoscopes

Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
PsychologyKnowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and DentistryKnowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
BiologyKnowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
TransportationKnowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Occupational Therapists Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Occupational Therapists

Skills and Abilities for Occupational Therapists