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To
be a successful Occupational Therapist you should:
- Be able to work with a wide variety of people with
different illness and impairments.
- Be able to motivate patients.
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| What
type of education and/or training do I need?
Occupational therapists complete four years of formal
education to earn a bachelor's degree. A bachelor's or
master's degree in occupational therapy is required to
practice in this profession as a Registered Occupational
Therapist (OTR). This program includes six to nine months
of clinical training. |
| Do
I need a license or certification for this career?
Licensure is required in the State of Connecticut. Prerequisites:
An approved Bachelor's degree. Licensing requires 24 weeks
of supervised fieldwork experience and successful completion
of the National Board for Certification in Occupational
Therapy certification examination. |
| Where
can I get more information? American Occupational
Therapy Association, Inc.
4720 Montgomery Lane
PO Box 31220
Bethesda, MD 20824
(301) 652-2682
www.aota.org
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| What
is the salary for this career? $41,600-$66,560
(Source: 2003 Connecticut Hospital Association
Compensation Survey) |
|
| What
will my job be like? Occupational therapists
assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative
programs that help restore vocational, homemaking, and
daily living skills, as well as general independence,
to disabled persons.
Occupational therapists (OTs) use many techniques to help
people learn or re-learn to carry out the activities of
daily living, such as eating, dressing, writing, cooking,
and going to work. They work with people whose functioning
is impaired by physical or mental illness, by injury,
or by old age or developmental disabilities. OTs evaluate
functional skills, train people to do such things as dress
or drive a car in a new way, identify barriers to meaningful
activities, and help people adapt activities or use adapted
equipment to achieve self sufficiency.
Other specialties:
- Developmental Disability
- Educational
- Gerontology (Elderly)
- Home Health
- Mental Health
- Neonatology
- Pediatric
- Physical Rehabilitation
- School Systems
- Work Evaluation and Treatment
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| Where
could I work? Occupational therapists work
in hospitals and other health care and community settings,
and usually work a 40-hour week.
Some occupational therapists are self-employed in private
practice. They see clients referred by physicians or other
health professionals, or provide contract or consulting
services to nursing homes, schools, adult day care programs,
and home health agencies.
Other workplace settings:
- Community Mental Health Centers
- Job Training Services
- Rehabilitation Hospital
- Psychiatric Hospitals
- Residential Care Facilities
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| What
is the future of this career? Employment of
occupational therapists is expected to increase faster
than the average through 2008. Over the long run, the
demand for occupational therapists should continue to
rise as a result of growth in the number of individuals
with disabilities or limited function requiring therapy
services. |
Where
can I get the education and/or training?
- Quinnipiac University, Hamden
- Sacred Heart University, Fairfield
- University of Hartford, West Hartford
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