OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that help restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to disabled persons.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Complete and maintain necessary records.
• 2) Evaluate patients’ progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
• 3) Test and evaluate patients’ physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
• 4) Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental and physical capabilities.
• 5) Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate those impaired because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
• 6) Recommend changes in patients’ work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.
• 7) Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs and coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities.
• 8) Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination and perceptual skills, using computer programs.
• 9) Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability.
• 10) Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students and nurses and other medical staff.
• 11) Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
• 12) Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work and school skills and adjust to handicaps.
• 13) Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
• 14) Advise on health risks in the workplace and on health-related transition to retirement.
• 15) Conduct research in occupational therapy.
• 16) Provide patients with assistance in locating and holding jobs.

Activities:

• 1) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 2) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 3) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 4) Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• 5) Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• 6) 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.
• 7) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 8) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 9) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 10) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 11) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 12) Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• 13) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 14) Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• 15) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 16) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 17) Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
• 18) Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• 19) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 20) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 21) 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.
• 22) Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• 23) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 24) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 25) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 26) Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• 27) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 28) Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Abilities:

• 1) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 2) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 14) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.3) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 4) 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.
• 5) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 6) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 7) 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).
• 8) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 9) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 10) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 11) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 12) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 13) Time Sharing — The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
• 14) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Knowledge

• 1) 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.
• 2) 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.
• 3) 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.
• 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) Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.