What Does a Staff Occupational Therapist Do?

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Staff Occupational Therapist Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real staff occupational therapist resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Achieve advance clinical competency in UE splinting.
Implement ADL techniques and fabricate adaptive equipment for increase modified independence.
Provide accurate assessments/evaluation on rehabilitation patients.
Work contingent for Beaumont home care and at SNF's.
Perform screens & evaluations for upper & lower extremity splints.
Fabricate and modify a variety of hand and elbow splints.
Provide services as primary occupational therapist at a SNF within an interdisciplinary approach in a geriatric setting.
Assess and treat patients with neurological, orthopedic, cardiovascular, respiratory and psychological conditions in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Assist with start up of sub-acute units and provide skilled sub-acute therapy including community re-entry home safety evaluations for adult patients.
Focus is on improving clients overall independence and safety within their home environment through education, physical rehabilitation and adaptive techniques.
Develop and implement evidenced-based individualize care plans in an interdisciplinary environment.
Provide accurate assessments/evaluation on rehabilitation patients.

Staff Occupational Therapist Job Description

Between the years 2018 and 2028, staff occupational therapist jobs are expected to undergo a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 18%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if the thought "should I become a staff occupational therapist?" Has crossed your mind, maybe you should take the growth rate into account. In addition, the number of staff occupational therapist opportunities that are projected to become available by 2028 is 23,700.

On average, the staff occupational therapist annual salary is $73,477 per year, which translates to $35.33 an hour. Generally speaking, staff occupational therapists earn anywhere from $56,000 to $96,000 a year, which means that the top-earning staff occupational therapists make $33,000 more than the ones at the lower end of the spectrum.

As is the case with most jobs, it takes work to become a staff occupational therapist. Sometimes people change their minds about their career after working in the profession. That's why we looked into some other professions that might help you find your next opportunity. These professions include a music therapy internship, therapist, physical therapist, and student physical therapist.

Learn More About Staff Occupational Therapist Job Descriptions

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5 Staff Occupational Therapist Resume Examples

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Vincent Stephens Staff Occupational Therapist Contact Information Seven Hills, OH (370) 555-7201 vstephens@example.com Skills OTA Rehab Healthcare Treatment Plans Acute Care Family Education Special Education Cpse ADL Treatment Areas Employment History Staff Occupational Therapist 2020 - Present VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE REHAB SERV Seven Hills, OH Provided direct patient care 60% daily such as treatments, evaluations. Occupational Therapist Assistants 2014 - 2020 Aegis New York, NY Travel throughout region to any affiliated facility that requires the services of a certified occupational therapy assistant. Provided therapy services to patients requiring short-term rehab. Communicate verbally and in writing to appropriate facility staff for patients needs. Provide quality treatment to patients on the post acute rehab unit. Occupational Therapy Aide (Part-Time) 2012 - 2013 Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill Main, PA Contributed knowledge and experience in acute/sub-acute care facility. Hold membership on the Patient Care Committee, Falls Committee, and Peer Review Panel. Create treatment plans in such a way so that therapists at different facilities can interpret and implement those plans effectively Education Master's Degree Occupational Therapy 2013 - 2014 University of New Hampshire Durham, NH Bachelor's Degree Psychology 2010 - 2013 Pennsylvania State University Main, PA


John Jordan Staff Occupational Therapist Contact Info Charleston, WV (400) 555-6288 jjordan@example.com Skills Specific NeedsFacilityNeurologyCaseloadRehabPositive AttitudeTreatment PlansSpinal Cord InjuryRestore FunctionCota Employment History Staff Occupational Therapist 2020 - Present TEAYS RIVER INVESTMENTS MANAGEMENT Charleston, WV Designed and implemented ADL training as well as supervised COTA with Plans of care individualized for each patient. Establish goals, implement treatment plans, and administer standardized and non-standardized assessments. Team Rehab St. Louis, Missouri Performed multiple tasks effectively: responsibly assessing and documenting patient care. Staff Physical Therapist 2017 - 2020 CAMC Health System Charleston, WV Provide expert consultation and patient care in splinting, lymphedema management and assessment of patients with unusual presentation. Lecture at monthly stroke support group meeting on, Living After Rehab. Shared responsibility for patient care assignments to various PTs and PTAs, peer annual evaluations, and education. Registered Occupational Therapist 2013 - 2017 Amedisys Charleston, WV Evaluate and implement treatment plans in the community for patients that are temporarily home bound. Supervised and managed occupational therapy assistants and home health aides to ensure that treatment plans were carried out effectively. Provide input into patient care through senior advocacy with other health care professionals, patient care and treatments. Form used by all disciplines as a standardized approach to quarterly updates within OMC rehab department. Education Master's Degree Occupational Therapy 2012 - 2013 New York University New York, NY Bachelor's Degree Occupational Therapy 2009 - 2012 New York University New York, NY


John Jordan Staff Occupational Therapist Charleston, WV (400) 555-6288 jjordan@example.com Experience Staff Occupational Therapist2020 - Present TEAYS RIVER INVESTMENTS MANAGEMENT•Charleston, WV Designed and implemented ADL training as well as supervised COTA with Plans of care individualized for each patient. Establish goals, implement treatment plans, and administer standardized and non-standardized assessments. Team Rehab St. Louis, Missouri Performed multiple tasks effectively: responsibly assessing and documenting patient care. Staff Physical Therapist2017 - 2020 CAMC Health System•Charleston, WV Provide expert consultation and patient care in splinting, lymphedema management and assessment of patients with unusual presentation. Lecture at monthly stroke support group meeting on, Living After Rehab. Shared responsibility for patient care assignments to various PTs and PTAs, peer annual evaluations, and education. Registered Occupational Therapist2013 - 2017 Amedisys•Charleston, WV Evaluate and implement treatment plans in the community for patients that are temporarily home bound. Supervised and managed occupational therapy assistants and home health aides to ensure that treatment plans were carried out effectively. Provide input into patient care through senior advocacy with other health care professionals, patient care and treatments. Form used by all disciplines as a standardized approach to quarterly updates within OMC rehab department. Skills Specific NeedsFacilityNeurologyCaseloadRehabPositive AttitudeTreatment PlansSpinal Cord InjuryRestore FunctionCota Education Master's Degree Occupational Therapy2012 - 2013 New York University•New York, NY Bachelor's Degree Occupational Therapy2009 - 2012 New York University•New York, NY

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Staff Occupational Therapist Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 27% of Staff Occupational Therapists are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Physical Therapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Patience, and Compassion.

We break down the percentage of Staff Occupational Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Patients, 27%
Designed and implemented treatment plans to help patients recover functional mobility in preparation for role resumption at home and within community.
Rehabilitation, 12%
Provided full range of occupational therapy services in an inpatient rehabilitation setting with largely an orthopedic population.
Physical Therapy, 10%
Conduct weekly occupational therapy evaluations as well as joint evaluations with physical therapy using standardized assessments.
Occupational Therapy, 7%
Provided home and school system occupational therapy evaluation and treatment services to children with developmental, neurological and genetic disorders.
COTA, 4%
Performed evaluations, provided patient treatment, supervised COTA
Direct Patient Care, 4%
Provide direct patient care to a variety of diagnosis: orthopedics, cardiac, general medical, and oncology.

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Some of the skills we found on staff occupational therapist resumes included "patients," "rehabilitation," and "physical therapy." We have detailed the most important staff occupational therapist responsibilities below.

Arguably the most important personality trait for a staff occupational therapist to have happens to be communication skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "occupational therapists must listen attentively to what patients tell them and must explain what they want their patients to do" Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that staff occupational therapists can use communication skills to "discharge planning and communication with facility nursing staff. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform staff occupational therapist duties is the following: patience. According to a staff occupational therapist resume, "dealing with injuries, illnesses, and disabilities is frustrating for many people." Check out this example of how staff occupational therapists use patience: "obtained good interpersonal skills, patience with great communication skills. "

Another skill that is quite popular among staff occupational therapists is compassion. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a staff occupational therapist resume: "occupational therapists are usually drawn to the profession by a desire to help people and improve their daily lives" This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "have received repeated commendations from supervisor, patients and referring practitioners for providing high-quality, compassionate care. "

In order for certain staff occupational therapist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "interpersonal skills." According to a staff occupational therapist resume, "because occupational therapists spend their time teaching and explaining therapies to patients, they need to earn the trust and respect of those patients and their families." As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "demonstrated excellent interpersonal communication skills with patients and interdisciplinary team and a strong professional nature as per ci report. "

See the full list of staff occupational therapist skills.

We've found that 73.4% of staff occupational therapists have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 21.4% earned their master's degrees before becoming a staff occupational therapist. While it's true that most staff occupational therapists have a college degree, it's generally impossible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every ten staff occupational therapists did not spend the extra money to attend college.

Those staff occupational therapists who do attend college, typically earn either a occupational therapy degree or a psychology degree. Less commonly earned degrees for staff occupational therapists include a health sciences and services degree or a biology degree.

Once you've obtained the level of education you're comfortable with, you might start applying to companies to become a staff occupational therapist. We've found that most staff occupational therapist resumes include experience from University of Rochester, Broward Health, and Health Alliance. Of recent, University of Rochester had 5 positions open for staff occupational therapists. Meanwhile, there are 2 job openings at Broward Health and 2 at Health Alliance.

Since salary is important to some staff occupational therapists, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at New York University, Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Lumberton, and Memorial Hospital. If you were to take a closer look at New York University, you'd find that the average staff occupational therapist salary is $82,324. Then at Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Lumberton, staff occupational therapists receive an average salary of $80,679, while the salary at Memorial Hospital is $79,994.

View more details on staff occupational therapist salaries across the United States.

We also looked into companies who hire staff occupational therapists from the top 100 educational institutions in the U.S. The top three companies that hire the most from these institutions include NovaCare Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy Associates, and Encompass Health.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious staff occupational therapists are:

University of Rochester5 Staff Occupational Therapists Jobs
Memorial Health Systems Corporation2 Staff Occupational Therapists Jobs
Memorial Health2 Staff Occupational Therapists Jobs

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What Music Therapy Internships Do

In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed. They may also assist and work with clients under the supervision of a therapist. Moreover, they must understand and adhere to the facility's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take music therapy internship for example. On average, the music therapy interns annual salary is $36,633 lower than what staff occupational therapists make on average every year.

While their salaries may differ, one common ground between staff occupational therapists and music therapy interns are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like patients, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A staff occupational therapist responsibility is more likely to require skills like "rehabilitation," "cota," "direct patient care," and "acute care." Whereas a music therapy internship requires skills like "mental health," "individual therapy sessions," "group therapy sessions," and "substance abuse." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

Music therapy interns tend to reach similar levels of education than staff occupational therapists. In fact, music therapy interns are 4.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Therapist?

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

The next role we're going to look at is the therapist profession. Typically, this position earns a lower pay. In fact, they earn a $17,534 lower salary than staff occupational therapists per year.

While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both staff occupational therapists and therapists are known to have skills such as "patients," "rehabilitation," and "discharge planning. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, staff occupational therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy," "occupational therapy," "cota," and "direct patient care." Meanwhile, a therapist might be skilled in areas such as "social work," "group therapy sessions," "crisis intervention," and "mental health." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, therapists earn a lower salary than staff occupational therapists. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. Interestingly enough, therapists earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $55,972. Whereas, staff occupational therapists have higher paychecks in the health care industry where they earn an average of $73,237.

When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, therapists tend to reach higher levels of education than staff occupational therapists. In fact, they're 20.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How a Physical Therapist Compares

Physical therapists are health care professionals who diagnose and treat patients with health conditions and limited ability to move and perform daily activities. They help in restoring physical function and mobility and teach how to properly use therapeutic exercise techniques. They also help promote overall wellness and encourage healthier and more active lifestyles. They design a recovery plan unique for every patient, provide treatment and therapy to help improve and manage their condition. They provide care to all kinds of individuals, from newborns to people at the end of their life.

The physical therapist profession generally makes a lower amount of money when compared to the average salary of staff occupational therapists. The difference in salaries is physical therapists making $407 lower than staff occupational therapists.

Using staff occupational therapists and physical therapists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "patients," "rehabilitation," and "physical therapy," but the other skills required are very different.

As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from staff occupational therapists resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "cota," "otr," "program development," and "patient treatment." But a physical therapist might have skills like "quality care," "physical therapy treatment," "restore function," and "compassion."

Interestingly enough, physical therapists earn the most pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $74,879. As mentioned previously, staff occupational therapists highest annual salary comes from the health care industry with an average salary of $73,237.

Physical therapists are known to earn lower educational levels when compared to staff occupational therapists. Additionally, they're 7.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 16.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Student Physical Therapist

A student physical therapist assists physicians in handling patients in a medical facility or a similar setting. As students, they typically follow directives and work under the supervision of a physical therapist. Besides assisting in treating patients, a student may also perform various clerical tasks such as filing paperwork, producing reports, running errands, managing schedules, responding to inquiries, and answering calls and correspondence. They may also coordinate with other hospital personnel and attend meetings, all while adhering to the medical facility's policies and standards.

Student physical therapists tend to earn a lower pay than staff occupational therapists by about $474 per year.

While both staff occupational therapists and student physical therapists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, rehabilitation, and physical therapy, the two careers also vary in other skills.

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "cota," "direct patient care," "home health," and "family education" are skills that have shown up on staff occupational therapists resumes. Additionally, student physical therapist uses skills like patient care, physical therapy assistants, adaptive, and orthopedic diagnoses on their resumes.

Student physical therapists reach lower levels of education when compared to staff occupational therapists. The difference is that they're 18.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 9.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Updated October 2, 2020