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Day in the Life
 Occupational
therapy assistants help patients develop, recover,
and improve the skills needed for daily living and working. Occupational
therapy assistants are directly involved in providing therapy to patients
and work under the direction of occupational therapists.
Occupational
therapist assistants need to have a moderate degree of strength because of
the physical exertion required to assist patients. For example, assistants
may need to lift patients. Constant kneeling, stooping, and standing for
long periods also are part of the job.
The hours and days that occupational therapist assistants
work vary by facility and with whether they are full- or part time. For
example, many outpatient therapy offices and clinics have evening and
weekend hours to coincide with patients' schedules.
Occupational therapist assistants may advance into administration
positions. They might organize all the assistants in a large occupational
therapy department or act as the director for a specific department such as
sports medicine. Some assistants go on to teach classes in accredited
occupational therapist assistant academic programs or lead health risk
reduction classes for the elderly.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
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