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The differences between rehabilitation assistants and certified occupational therapist assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a rehabilitation assistant and a certified occupational therapist assistant. Additionally, a certified occupational therapist assistant has an average salary of $53,296, which is higher than the $35,219 average annual salary of a rehabilitation assistant.
The top three skills for a rehabilitation assistant include rehabilitation, patients and patient care. The most important skills for a certified occupational therapist assistant are patients, home health, and patient care.
| Rehabilitation Assistant | Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,219 | $53,296 |
| Hourly rate | $16.93 | $25.62 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 25% |
| Number of jobs | 19,317 | 105,405 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Associate Degree, 81% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A rehabilitation assistant performs support tasks to assist nurses or therapists in providing care services to patients and maintaining the smooth flow of operations in clinics. Their daily tasks often include greeting patients, answering inquiries, helping patients during treatments and training, and providing personal care by assisting them in hygienic and physical tasks. They may also prepare and process documents, handle calls and correspondence, organize files, liaise with external business partners such as vendors and suppliers, maintain records, and arrange schedules.
Being a certified occupational therapist assistant (OCA) requires skills in documentation, scheduling, and verbal communication. Occupational therapists need to be equipped with patient services, health care administration, and teamwork. They should know medical technologies, highly dependent, and have knowledge about health promotion and maintenance. Some of the responsibilities of OCAs include helping clients by providing rehabilitative and other services, verifying client information, and confirming the purpose of the treatment. They record the client's progress, billing, and services rendered to be used by the occupational therapist.
Rehabilitation assistants and certified occupational therapist assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Rehabilitation Assistant | Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,219 | $53,296 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $40,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Napa, CA |
| Highest paying state | Illinois | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Health Alliance | Constellation Health Services |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Education |
There are a few differences between a rehabilitation assistant and a certified occupational therapist assistant in terms of educational background:
| Rehabilitation Assistant | Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Associate Degree, 81% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Occupational Therapy |
| Most common college | New York University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between rehabilitation assistants' and certified occupational therapist assistants' demographics:
| Rehabilitation Assistant | Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.1% Female, 73.9% | Male, 13.3% Female, 86.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 58.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% | 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 | 11% | 8% |