Occupational Therapists

What Does a Occupational Therapists 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.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• 1Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
• 2Complete and maintain necessary records.
• 3Plan, 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.
• 4Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
• 5Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
• 6Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
• 7Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
• 8Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.

Required Skills

• Active Listening
• Monitoring
• Speaking
• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Learning Strategies
• Active Learning
• Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
• Casamba Smart
• Computer drawing software
• Crick Software Clicker 4
• Duxbury Braille Translator
• eClinicalWorks EHR software
• Email software
• Facebook
• Fifth Walk BillingTracker
• FileMaker Pro

Occupational Therapists Salary