Occupational Therapy Assistant Salary Range

Several youngsters possessing a liking towards medical jobs and particularly allied health care professions are opting for career in occupational therapy. But what exactly is occupational therapy? Occupational therapy is defined to be a allied health care profession that is associated with the promotion of health and well-being of an individual, group or community by engaging the same in some kind of work or occupation. Occupational therapy, therefore is a unique and noble career! In fact, occupational therapy jobs have got a high level of job satisfaction!

Occupational therapists are people who are engaged in helping people to come out of their day-to-day problems and also promote their welfare by indulging them in some occupations. So now, what are occupational therapy assistants? The answer is quite simple, people who assist occupational therapists in conducting treatments and therapy sessions are termed as occupational therapy assistants. However, assistance is not the only job they do. Their job includes many other duties and responsibilities. So read on, for the job description, educational requirements and occupational therapist assistant salary range.

Occupational Therapy Assistant Job Description
From therapy assistance to administration, occupational therapists are responsible for almost everything associated to their department. Here's a brief job description of the occupational therapy assistant.

• The core responsibility of occupational therapy assistant is to provide assistance to the occupational therapists, while conducting therapies, preparing developmental programs for effective service to the patients, etc.
• Preserving medical records and patient history for future references.
• Taking care and maintaining the equipment used during the work and also keep a check on the stock of essential supplies and utilities required in the clinic.
• Communicate the daily progress of the patients to the occupational therapist and also keep a record of everything.
• Interrogating with the patients on a primary level and also make a detailed case study of the same.
• Looking after administration duties such as handling the reception, answering internal as well as external phone calls and arranging patient appointments according to the schedule of the occupational therapist.

Occupational Therapy Assistant Educational Requirements
Training program for occupational therapy assistance can be taken up only after acquiring a high school diploma or any other equivalent qualification. There are several colleges and vocational institutions that offer associate degree programs of two years and also certificate programs. These training programs would include education on mental health, anatomy, pediatrics and understanding of basic medical terminologies. To become a certified occupational therapist assistant (COTA), you need to take up a graduate program accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association and complete it successfully. Occupational therapy assistants having some experience of working for hospitals or summer camps are preferred more by health care organizations.

Skills Required to Become Occupational Therapy Assistant
Occupational therapy is not a child's play! In fact, grooming people, make them understand things, prepare developmental programs for effective patient care are all specialized and difficult tasks. Therefore, people with a helpful nature, stable mental health and strong liking and determination towards working for humanity are fit for this job.

Occupational Therapist Assistant Salaries
Occupational therapy assistants are decently paid. The average salary of an occupational therapist assistant falling in the middle 50 percent category is somewhere around USD 38000 - USD 47000 per year. However, the more experienced top 10 percent earn about USD 50000 annually and sometimes even more than that. The salary factor actually depends upon the qualification, work experience, certification and size of the organization.

Needless to say, the career outlook for occupational therapy assistants is excellent. With many hospitals, rehabilitation centers, community mental health agencies and health care organizations opening in the near future, the need for qualified occupational therapy assistants and occupational therapy assistant salary range, both are estimated to increase. So go ahead and contribute in your own way to humanity!!!