Occupational physician vs occupational therapist

The differences between occupational physicians and occupational therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an occupational physician, becoming an occupational therapist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an occupational physician has an average salary of $211,324, which is higher than the $75,707 average annual salary of an occupational therapist.

The top three skills for an occupational physician include occupational medicine, DOT and medical care. The most important skills for an occupational therapist are patients, rehabilitation, and home health.

Occupational physician vs occupational therapist overview

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapist
Yearly salary	$211,324	$75,707
Hourly rate	$101.60	$36.40
Growth rate	7%	14%
Number of jobs	61,738	78,315
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	48	40
Years of experience	4	12

Occupational physician vs occupational therapist salary

Occupational physicians and occupational therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapist
Average salary	$211,324	$75,707
Salary range	Between $103,000 And $431,000	Between $58,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	Salinas, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Waters
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between occupational physician and occupational therapist education

There are a few differences between an occupational physician and an occupational therapist in terms of educational background:

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapist
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Medicine	Occupational Therapy
Most common college	Stanford University	Duke University

Occupational physician vs occupational therapist demographics

Here are the differences between occupational physicians' and occupational therapists' demographics:

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapist
Average age	48	40
Gender ratio	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%	Male, 16.8% Female, 83.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.4% Asian, 19.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 9.6% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	13%	14%

Differences between occupational physician and occupational therapist duties and responsibilities

Occupational physician example responsibilities.

Initiate new treatment protocols for managing complex patients with co-morbid psychiatric and medical illnesses.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Care for chronic conditions include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, thyroid conditions and depression/anxiety among many other common conditions.

Occupational therapist example responsibilities.

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.

Occupational physician vs occupational therapist skills

Common occupational physician skills

Occupational Medicine, 43%
DOT, 29%
Medical Care, 15%
Health Programs, 10%
EKG, 2%
Diagnosis, 1%

Common occupational therapist skills

Patients, 23%
Rehabilitation, 12%
Home Health, 12%
Patient Care, 9%
COTA, 7%
Occupational Therapy, 4%

Occupational Physician vs. similar jobs

Occupational Physician related careers

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Physician responsibilities

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Occupational Physician
Occupational Physician vs Occupational Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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