Occupational physician vs occupational therapy assistant

The differences between occupational physicians and occupational therapy assistants 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 therapy assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an occupational physician has an average salary of $211,324, which is higher than the $50,653 average annual salary of an occupational therapy assistant.

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

Occupational physician vs occupational therapy assistant overview

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Yearly salary	$211,324	$50,653
Hourly rate	$101.60	$24.35
Growth rate	7%	25%
Number of jobs	61,738	39,881
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 69%
Average age	48	41
Years of experience	4	12

Occupational physician vs occupational therapy assistant salary

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

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Average salary	$211,324	$50,653
Salary range	Between $103,000 And $431,000	Between $37,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	-	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	PeaceHealth
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between occupational physician and occupational therapy assistant education

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

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 69%
Most common major	Medicine	Occupational Therapy
Most common college	Stanford University	Northwestern University

Occupational physician vs occupational therapy assistant demographics

Here are the differences between occupational physicians' and occupational therapy assistants' demographics:

	Occupational Physician	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Average age	48	41
Gender ratio	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	13%	8%

Differences between occupational physician and occupational therapy assistant 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 therapy assistant example responsibilities.

Order patient equipment as well as developing and fabricating inexpensive adaptive equipment for patients to use.
Educate patients and family members on the importance of using adaptive equipment and following proper safety precautions.
Provide all occupational therapy services to facility patients, including charting their progress, developing and maintaining treatment plans.
Assist in rebuilding the therapy department in an inner city SNF.
Perform therapy to patients with hip replacements, knee replacements, CVA, and multiple disorders.
Help patients adapt to the use of wheelchairs, braces, canes, crutches and prosthetic/orthotic devices.

Occupational physician vs occupational therapy assistant skills

Common occupational physician skills

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

Common occupational therapy assistant skills

Patients, 27%
Rehabilitation, 22%
Home Health, 11%
Patient Care, 10%
Therapy Programs, 4%
Acute Care, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Occupational Physician
Occupational Physician vs Occupational Therapy Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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