Effects of Supplements

A Basic Overview

Occupational therapy (OT) is the 9th least stressful job in the U. S. A. According to a recent “U.S. News and World Report.” Occupational therapists work with disabled people to help them be more independent in daily life. Disabilities can be due to stroke or other medical condition, as well as congenital.

Patience and superior interpersonal skills are essential qualities of an occupational therapist. Many times clients will balk at doing therapy exercises at home (or even during therapy). They may become frustrated and angry that recovery is not coming as fast as they had hoped. This is where the OT must listen to and encourage the patient along the road to recovery.

Necessary Education

To work as an OT, an individual must have completed an accredited master’s program including a minimum of 24 hours of field work. After coursework is completed, the national licensing exam must be taken by all OTs wanting to practice. Successfully passing the exam gives the OT the right to add “Occupational Therapist Registered” or OTR after his or her name and signals to future employers and patients that the occupational therapist understands and is able to apply knowledge to the people requiring therapy.

Bachelor’s degrees are usually held in the sciences, liberal arts or social sciences, such as anthropology or psychology. Master’s degree classes include behavioral science, physical and life science, along with learning the application of the skills being learned.

At the present moment, there are no too many occupational therapy programs at the master’s level and even fewer at the doctoral level. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) has approved just 150 masters and combined bachelor/master’s degree programs and only four doctoral programs…

The top OT programs in the United States, according to “US News and World Report” are, from one to five: Boston College – Sargent, Washington University – St. Louis, USC University of Illinois – Chicago, Tufts – Boston, University of Kansas Medical Center.

Predicted Job Growth 2008-2018

Ranked in the top 50 best careers of 2010 by “U.S. News and World Report, ” occupational therapy as a field is projected to grow much faster than average.

A significant increase in job growth, 26%, is projected between 2008-2018. Just 105,000 OTs were working in 2008. In 2018, 131,300 OTs are expected to be working.

Average Earnings

The predominant location for occupational therapists to work is in hospitals. Other settings include schools, home health care services, self-employed in private practice, nursing homes and mental health/addiction facilities.

The median salary in 2008 for an OT was $67,780 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Top paid OTs made over $98,000 and the most poorly paid OTs made less than $42,000 a year.

Home health care services pays therapists well with a median salary of $74,510 every year. Nursing homes pay OTs less well at $72,790. School districts pay occupational therapist even less at $60,020 a year. In the future the occupational therapy jobs will be most abundant and will likely pay the best are jobs working with the elderly.

With the ever-increasing focus on health and medicine, occupational therapy jobs and travel nurse jobs are available around the world for qualified professionals.

Nurse Practitioner Jobs. A vast variety are available: Care-givers, nurses for clinics, hospitals, emergency-rooms, doctor practices, country doctor rooms, operating rooms, midwifery and working for agencies. They all require only one thing. You need to be qualified.

To qualify as a nurse, it takes a few years to go from nurse aid to staff nurse to duty nurse and finally to nursing sister. The lists of jobs are endless. It is entirely up to the person to decide how highly qualified they wish to be. For example if being a nurse aid suits you, you can remain at that level. Most people, however, wish to continue on up the ladder.

They can attain nursing degrees and become highly qualified and from there they can open nursing agencies having others to work for them. To work for a nursing agency, you would need to undergo a thorough evaluation at your interview as tardiness or sloppy work could well lead to a blot against the name of the agency and not just yourself.

As a nurse, you can basically qualify to get into any country. Everywhere people are looking for trained nursing staff. It is not always a highly paid job but it can well be depending on the needs of the country or organization. Some people for example, work as nurses in conflict areas and they are more highly paid and sought after.

It is useful to have medical training if you become a care-giver because even if you are only expected to be a companion to an old person for example, professional nursing training will always be useful in case of unexpected illness and being unable to reach a hospital quickly.

Some people want their Au-pairs to have nursing training and these can be wonderful jobs in that in some cases, the Au-pair will travel with the family or work for celebrities or other professional people and may get to see the world in a way they would not be otherwise able to afford, working and traveling at the same time.

Working at schools is another great job for nurses. A school nurse must always be on hand and ready for any emergency at either boarding schools, hostels or at a school with daily pupils. It is surprising how many children become sick at school, have injuries from sports or horsing around and the school nurse is a good back up to have with a well-equipped surgery. If you are looking for nurse practitioner jobs, feel free to read further.

In some countries, nurses are not only expected to do no harm and assist people but are also required to do abortions. This very controversial subject can become a matter of great consternation to a nurse who is pro-life and feels forced to perform such a distasteful duty regardless of her personal feelings.

Many people enjoy nursing handicapped children or working with geriatrics. It is said that if a nurse cannot practice geriatric nursing, she is not a nurse at all. It requires great patience and skill to cope with the needs of the elderly and a little love and attention does not go amiss. If you think about it, we are all going to grow old and possibly need care and there is many more elderly today than ever before.

To become a qualified nurse, you will need to attend a nursing hospital and if single, you will be able to take advantage of special hostels for nursing staff which are usually available on the hospital site. It is hard but rewarding work and the beauty of these jobs is that there are always vacancies and you should never find yourself out of a job.

With the ever-increasing focus on health and medicine, nurse practitioner jobs and travel nurse jobs are available around the world for qualified professionals.

General Overview

The main role of the occupational therapist is to assist people who have been injured or who have been disabled since birth to recover or learn the skills using adaptations that will help them be more independent in everyday life. Occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy are often confused. OT deals mainly with fine motor skills, such as using hands; physical therapy deals with the big muscle groups and associated skills, such as walking. Occupational therapy was rated the ninth least stressful job in America by “US News and World Report.”

Patients may make slow progress towards their goals. They may ignore instructions to practice therapy at home. Sometimes they even resent the time spent going to therapy and are angry that they even have to be there. In all of these situations, the occupational therapist must remain patient and try to motivate the patient and give him or her a view of what the future could be like if they follow through with instructions from the therapist.

Required Education

All OTs in the United States have gone through a master’s-level program that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). To graduate a pre-service occupational therapist must demonstrate his or her knowledge in a clinical setting for at least 24 hours. This field work is supervised. After graduating with a master’s degree, the next step is passing the national certification test. If passed, this test entitles the therapist to use the title “Occupational Therapist Registered” or OTR after his or her name.

Students who plan to continue their education in an OT master’s program can get undergraduate degrees in sociology, anthropology, psychology, liberal arts, biology or anatomy. Other similar bachelor’s degrees also go well with a master’s in occupational therapy. The actual OT courses include study of the behavioral sciences, physical sciences, life sciences and applying OT theory.

At present, ACOTE accredits four doctoral programs and 150 master’s and combined bachelor’s/master’s OT programs in the United States.

The top five occupational therapy programs in America, as ranked by “U. S. News and World Report” are as follows: Boston College Sargent, Washington University St. Louis, University of Southern California, University of Illinois Chicago, Tufts University Boston and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Job Growth Expectations

Ranking as one of the top 50 best careers of 2010 by “U. S. News and World Report, ” occupational therapy is predicted to grow faster than other jobs. This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Work with the elderly in the OT field will be a large part of the increase.

Between 2008 and 2018, the number of OTs is expected to rise by 26%. In 2008, 105,000 people worked as OTs. By 2018, 131,300 people are expected to be working as OTs.

Pay

Mental health facilities, home health care services, public and private schools, hospitals and nursing homes are the main places where occupational therapists find work. A few work for themselves.

The average OT salary in 2008, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was $67,780. The bottom 10% of therapists earned below $42,820 and the top 10% earned over $98,310 per year.

The average salary of an OT working in home health care services is $74,510 a year. OTs working in nursing homes earned about $72,510 a year and those doing occupational therapy in schools earned considerably less at $60,020 per year.

With the ever-increasing focus on health and medicine, occupational therapy jobs are available around the world for qualified professionals.