How To Become a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant
Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a certified occupational therapist assistant. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a certified occupational therapist assistant.
-
Most companies require a certified occupational therapist assistant to have a associate degree degree in a related field, such as occupational therapy or medical assisting services.
-
It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 6-12 months in related fields.
-
The Occupational Therapy Assistant license requirements vary by state. 37 states require barbers to have licensure for their work.
-
Common job titles before becoming a certified occupational therapist assistant include certified occupational therapy assistant, certified nursing assistant, and occupational therapy assistant.
-
Hiring managers expect a certified occupational therapist assistant to have soft skills such as physical strength, detail oriented, and compassion.
-
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of less than 1 month of job training to become a certified occupational therapist assistant.
-
Getting a certification as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) will help you to earn more as a certified occupational therapist assistant.
Those certified occupational therapist assistants who do attend college, typically earn either occupational therapy degrees or medical assisting services degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for certified occupational therapist assistants include liberal arts degrees or psychology degrees.
How to become a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant in 6 steps:
- Step 1: Explore certified occupational therapist assistant education
- Step 2: Develop certified occupational therapist assistant skills
- Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship
- Step 4: Obtain the necessary licensing
- Step 5: Research certified occupational therapist assistant duties
- Step 6: Prepare your resume
Key Steps To Become a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant
Explore Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Education
If you're interested in becoming a certified occupational therapist assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 10.9% of certified occupational therapist assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.7% of certified occupational therapist assistants have master's degrees. Even though some certified occupational therapist assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a certified occupational therapist assistant. When we researched the most common majors for a certified occupational therapist assistant, we found that they most commonly have occupational therapy, medical assisting services and liberal arts.
Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Major Percentages Occupational Therapy 70.50% Medical Assisting Services 9.20% Liberal Arts 2.60% Psychology 2.30% Other Degrees 15.70% Develop Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Skills
It'll be a good idea to develop certified occupational therapist assistant skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in certified occupational therapist assistant job descriptions:
Skills Percentages Patients 27.47% Home Health 11.69% Patient Care 10.09% Rehabilitation 8.54% Acute Care 5.65% Complete Relevent Training/Internship
Certified occupational therapist assistants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new certified occupational therapist assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a certified occupational therapist assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real certified occupational therapist assistant resumes.
Average Amount Of Time At Training
Obtain The Necessary Licensing
Becoming a licensed certified occupational therapist assistant usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed certified occupational therapist assistant in most of states. 37 states require certified occupational therapist assistants to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.
State Education Exam License Url Alabama - - Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant Alaska Degree required Third-party exam required Occupational Therapy Assistant Arkansas Specific course required State exam required Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA) California Degree required Third-party exam required Occupational Therapy Assistant Colorado Degree required Third-party exam required Occupational Therapy Assistant Research Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Duties
When you decide to become a certified occupational therapist assistant, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most certified occupational therapist assistant jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
- Manage wheelchair room and walkers; recommend and implement improvements to organization and ease of use.
- Provide occupational therapy services to rehabilitation, acute care, and outpatients in a hospital setting.
- Provide patient and family education concerning energy conservation techniques, precautions, and proper use of adaptive equipment.
- Educate patient on energy conservation techniques and adaptive equipment use.
- Provide patient with different types of splints.
- Train residents and health care provider in applying orthotics and prosthetics.
Prepare Your Resume
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Resume templates
Build a professional Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant resume.Apply For a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Job
Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Jobs
