OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with State laws, assist in development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, direct activity programs, and document the progress of treatments. Generally requires formal training.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Observe and record patients’ progress, attitudes, and behavior, and maintain this information in client records.
• 2) Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
• 3) Monitor patients’ performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
• 4) Select therapy activities to fit patients’ needs and capabilities.
• 5) Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, and the care and use of adaptive equipment.
• 6) Evaluate the daily living skills and capacities of physically, developmentally or emotionally disabled clients.
• 7) Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
• 8) Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
• 9) Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients’ progress, attitudes and behavior.
• 10) Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect.
• 11) Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement and administer educational, vocational, and recreational programs that restore and enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments.
• 12) Design, fabricate, and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to equipment and environments.
• 13) Assemble, clean, and maintain equipment and materials for patient use.
• 14) Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions.
• 15) Perform clerical duties such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, and documenting health insurance billings.
• 16) Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
• 17) Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts, and games.
• 18) Order any needed educational or treatment supplies.
• 19) Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client’s abilities or progress.

Activities:

• 1) Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• 2) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 3) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 4) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 5) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 6) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 7) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 8) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 9) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 10) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 11) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 12) Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• 13) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 14) Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• 15) Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• 16) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 17) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 18) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Abilities:

• 1) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 2) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 3) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 4) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 5) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 6) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 7) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 8) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 11) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 12) Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• 13) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 14) Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• 15) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 16) Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without ‘giving out’ or fatiguing.
• 17) Stamina — The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.

Knowledge

• 1) Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• 2) Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 3) Therapy and Counseling — Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• 4) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 5) Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.