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Occupational Therapists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual's environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.

Related: Occupational Therapy Assistants Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physicians Physical Therapist Assistants Physical Therapists Recreational Therapists

Industries: Health & Counseling Education

Summary
Details

Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement.
Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
Conduct research in occupational therapy.
Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff.
Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.
Provide patients with assistance in locating or holding jobs.
Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff.
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.
Complete and maintain necessary records.
Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs.
Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
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.

Speaking
- Talking to others.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

Psychology
- Knowledge 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.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge 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.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge 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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

102360/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

49.21/hr

Currently Employed

3,510

Yearly Projected Openings

300

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Dependability
Concern for Others
Cooperation
Self Control
Adaptability/Flexibility

Adaptive communication switches for the physically challenged
Braille devices for the physically challenged
Computer mouse
Cutlery or utensils for the physically challenged
Domestic electric knives
Domestic sewing machines
Drilling machines
Electronic blood pressure units
Gait belts for rehabilitation or therapy
Game pads or joy sticks
Goniometers or arthrometers
Hand held camcorders or video cameras
Hand looms
Headpointers or mouthsticks for the physically challenged
Keyboards
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Mercury blood pressure units
Mill saw file
Notebook computers
Orthopedic splint systems
Orthotics or foot care products
Patient care beds for general use
Patient ceiling hoists
Patient lifts
Patient scooters
Personal computers
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Power drills
Power sanders
Pulleys for rehabilitation or therapy
Resistive exercise bands or putty or tubing for rehabilitation or therapy
Saws
Scanners
Soldering iron
Therapeutic balls
Touch pads
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
Vascular or compression apparel or support
Visual presenters
Voice synthesizers for the physically challenged
Walkers or rollators
Weights or sets for rehabilitation or therapy
Wheelchairs

Accounting software
Computer based training software
Data base user interface and query software
Device drivers or system software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Music or sound editing software
Office suite software
Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
Pattern design software
Spreadsheet software
Voice recognition software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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