Everywhere we can see people who have a disability in their body. So those people who have no disability are lucky enough to have a normal life. People who have disabilities undergo a therapy but it is expensive. We can undergo a therapy in the hospital, nursing care facilities and in private occupational therapy practices. The people who help them are occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, etc.
What is an Occupational Therapist?
An occupational therapist is the one who helps patients of all ages who have conditions that are emotionally, physically, or mentally disabling their strength to accomplish their daily regular activities. He/she performs a therapy every day, work one-on-one with the patient and helps them to improve the quality of their life. He/she also helps them recover and develop their condition.
Duties of an Occupational Therapist
- An Occupational Therapist is the one who helps clients in performing their activities such as doing physical exercises everyday to help patients increase their strength, and doing activities that help patients improve their ability to focus.
- He/she also use computer programs to help them improve their decision-making, abstract-reasoning, problem-solving, memory and perceptual skills.
- This person also designs a new special equipment to be used at home or at work.
- He/she should also share his/her knowledge about his/her new discovery in order to develop their skills and teach how to use that discovery in order to communicate with other people better.
Work Condition of an Occupational Therapist
- An occupational therapist usually works in hospitals, nursing care, and private occupational therapy practices.
- Being an occupational therapist, you need to take care of patients so you should be physically fit and healthy.
- He/she should know how to balance his/her time. Also, it is a must that occupational therapists should have a lot of patience.
- This person should also have communication skills and interpersonal skills. Because this person will need to get along with other people so he/she should have good manners especially to the elders.
Educational Requirements of an Occupational Therapist
To become an occupational therapist he/she should obtain a master’s degree or more advanced degree. Biology, sociology, psychology, liberal arts, anatomy, and anthropology are the important courses to take to become an occupational therapist. So he/she should have knowledge in those subjects.
Occupation and Progress of an Occupational Therapist
Being an occupational therapist is also a tiring job. Most of the time therapists are on their feet. He/she does the lifting and the moving of clients and equipment. This job is also difficult for occupational therapist because this job needs a lot of patience and understanding especially when dealing with older people. You should also know how to communicate with different people in all ages as well.
The aim of being an occupational therapist is to be knowledgeable in science such as biology, psychology, sociology, anatomy and other subjects related to the said subjects. It’s not difficult to aim for this profession, if you have the determination in reaching your goals. You could be one of the successful occupational therapist in our generation.