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Occupational Therapy Assistants
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.
Also Known As:
Acute Care Occupational Therapy Assistant (Acute Care OT Assistant)
Certified Occupational Assistant
Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)
Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant (LOTA)
Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant (LOTA)
Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA)
Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)
Registered Therapist Assistant
School Based Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (School Based COTA)
Wages
Annual wages for Occupational Therapy Assistants in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
58,700
19% Change From 2024
Explore Occupational Therapist Assistants video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.
- Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.
- Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient.
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
- Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs that restore or enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments.
- Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games.
- Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client's abilities or progress.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.
- Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect.
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
- Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.
- Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.
- Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
- Attend continuing education classes.
- Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.
- Attend care plan meetings to review patient progress and update care plans.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Order any needed educational or treatment supplies.
- Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
- Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions.
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- 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.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- 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.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- 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.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")