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What does an Occupational Therapist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
What does an Occupational Therapist do

An occupational therapist specializes in treating patients who are recovering from illnesses or disabilities to help them adapt and overcome the physical and mental difficulties they face in their daily lives. The responsibilities of an occupational therapist revolve around examining a patient's medical history and conducting different kinds of assessments to determine what type of treatment a patient should receive. Furthermore, an occupational therapist must build rapport with a patient to make them feel at ease and coordinate with their guardian or family to discuss the recommended ways to help the patient adjust and recuperate.

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Occupational therapist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real occupational therapist resumes:

  • Achieve advance clinical competency in UE splinting.
  • Manage outpatient occupational therapy rehabilitation program.
  • Provide home assessment and recommend adaptive equipment and/or home modification needs to maximize safety of patients in their own environment.
  • General debility, CVA, joint replacement, upper extremity weakness, ADL 's
  • Founder of TLC program to educate patients, staff and family about CVA.
  • Complete evaluations and IEP's for home school children and perform on-going therapy for the kids.
  • Demonstrate competency in providing quality care to patients according to their individualize needs with compassion.
  • Fabricate static and dynamic splints and develop home exercise programs for patients with upper extremity disorders.
  • Demonstrate compassion and empathy with both patients and their families while demonstrating fiscal responsibility for the company.
  • Educate patient and caregivers/families in safety awareness; including back protection, use of adaptive equipment, and energy conservation.
  • Provide occupational therapy treatment including ADL strengthening, family and patient education, and equipment ordering in conjunction with team members.
  • Treat some kids in separate clinic setting.
  • Work primarily with NICU graduates and medically fragile clients
  • Develop and implements several positioning devices for the babies in the NICU.
  • Carry out patient treatment plans per the written plan of care by OTR/L.

Occupational therapist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Occupational Therapists are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Patience, and Compassion.

We break down the percentage of Occupational Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 23%

    Performed numerous evaluations and interventions, and successfully established collaborative goals and treatment plans with patients and the interdisciplinary team.

  • Rehabilitation, 12%

    Assisted the facility rehabilitation coordinator with delegated responsibilities

  • Home Health, 12%

    Treated patients as an occupational therapist in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, outpatient, and home health settings

  • Patient Care, 9%

    Participate in performance improvement activities designed to identify and resolve problems affecting patient care outcome and to improve quality of care.

  • COTA, 7%

    Provide therapeutic services, supervise COTA Responsible for all power mobility evaluations Responsible for facility restraint reduction Responsible for all wheelchair positioning

  • Occupational Therapy, 4%

    Acted as senior level liaison between program director and occupational therapy staff to ensure clients were receiving appropriate occupational therapy interventions.

"patients," "rehabilitation," and "home health" are among the most common skills that occupational therapists use at work. You can find even more occupational therapist responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for an occupational therapist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what occupational therapists do because "occupational therapists must listen closely to clients." Additionally, an occupational therapist resume shows how occupational therapists use communication skills: "completed discharge evaluation including home visits and communication with home health or hospice services. "

Patience. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling occupational therapist duties is patience. The role rewards competence in this skill because "occupational therapists work with clients who have problems with everyday activities." According to an occupational therapist resume, here's how occupational therapists can utilize patience in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated compassion, patience, and understanding in addressing tx needs of the clients. "

Compassion. occupational therapists are also known for compassion, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to occupational therapist responsibilities, because "occupational therapists work with patients who may struggle with life’s daily activities." An occupational therapist resume example shows how compassion is used in the workplace: "demonstrated compassion and empathy with both patients and their families while demonstrating fiscal responsibility for the company. "

Interpersonal skills. occupational therapist responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "occupational therapists spend much of their time interacting with clients and explaining treatment." This resume example shows what occupational therapists do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "increased outpatient/hand therapy clienteleskills used-strong interpersonal skills with both patient and families. "

See the full list of occupational therapist skills

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Compare different occupational therapists

Occupational therapist vs. Rehabilitation technician

A rehabilitation technician is responsible for assisting therapists and other medical personnel on supporting the patients in their daily activities and physical therapy sessions. Rehabilitation technicians provide high-quality care services for the patients by administering medications, accompanying them on medical appointments, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of all equipment and facilities to prevent hazards within the premises. They may also perform administrative and clerical duties such as updating patients' information on the database, writing reports, processing payments for medical procedures, and maintaining medical charts for reference.

The annual salary of rehabilitation technicians is $46,174 lower than the average salary of occupational therapists.Even though occupational therapists and rehabilitation technicians are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, rehabilitation, and occupational therapy in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between occupational therapists and rehabilitation technician. For instance, occupational therapist responsibilities require skills such as "home health," "patient care," "cota," and "adaptive." Whereas a rehabilitation technician is skilled in "cpr," "customer service," "rehabilitation services," and "direct supervision." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Rehabilitation technicians earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,968. On the other hand, occupational therapists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $77,905.The education levels that rehabilitation technicians earn slightly differ from occupational therapists. In particular, rehabilitation technicians are 31.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an occupational therapist. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Occupational therapist vs. Music therapy internship

In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed. They may also assist and work with clients under the supervision of a therapist. Moreover, they must understand and adhere to the facility's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Music therapy internship positions earn lower pay than occupational therapist roles. They earn a $38,863 lower salary than occupational therapists per year.A few skills overlap for occupational therapists and music therapy interns. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "patient care," and "occupational therapy. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that occupational therapist responsibilities requires skills like "rehabilitation," "home health," "cota," and "adaptive." But a music therapy internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "mental health," "individual therapy sessions," "group therapy sessions," and "substance abuse."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Music therapy interns tend to reach lower levels of education than occupational therapists. In fact, they're 20.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Occupational Therapists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University

First, I think technology, in general, is going to become increasingly important across all jobs in the next few years. I believe organizations will continue to conduct business remotely and electronically in the future, so it will be essential for job seekers to be comfortable with the technology (software and hardware) necessary for these small work tasks. Additionally, job seekers will want to be satisfied with multiple small task platforms, rather than choosing a favorite and only using that one. There are so many options right now for videoconferencing and other web meeting/streaming activities, and the number of options available will likely only increase in the future. So it will be essential to be flexible in one's comfort with/use of such platforms.

Occupational therapist vs. Student physical therapist

A student physical therapist assists physicians in handling patients in a medical facility or a similar setting. As students, they typically follow directives and work under the supervision of a physical therapist. Besides assisting in treating patients, a student may also perform various clerical tasks such as filing paperwork, producing reports, running errands, managing schedules, responding to inquiries, and answering calls and correspondence. They may also coordinate with other hospital personnel and attend meetings, all while adhering to the medical facility's policies and standards.

On average, student physical therapists earn lower salaries than occupational therapists, with a $2,704 difference per year.occupational therapists and student physical therapists both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "rehabilitation," and "patient care," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from occupational therapist resumes include skills like "home health," "cota," "otr," and "occupational therapy assistants," whereas a student physical therapist is more likely to list skills in "physical therapy assistants," "orthopedic diagnoses," "gait training," and "patient education. "

Student physical therapists typically earn lower educational levels compared to occupational therapists. Specifically, they're 34.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Occupational therapist vs. Therapist

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

Therapists typically earn lower pay than occupational therapists. On average, therapists earn a $19,764 lower salary per year.According to resumes from occupational therapists and therapists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "rehabilitation," and "patient care. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between occupational therapists and therapists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an occupational therapist might have more use for skills like "home health," "cota," "occupational therapy," and "adaptive." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of therapists require skills like "group therapy sessions," "crisis intervention," "mental health," and "community resources. "

Therapists enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $55,972. For comparison, occupational therapists earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, therapists hold similar degree levels compared to occupational therapists. Therapists are 4.6% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of occupational therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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