The Reiki Cafe 

Hi,
Is anybody reading this an occupational therapist assistant? I am wondering if this is a field I may want to go into. If anyone has any information on the demand and salary level please let me know.
thanks,
peace,
Prosperity

Otoharo!

I worked along beside them all the years that I worked. They were a good lot. they were not sentimental, but practical and genuinely concerned to help. I liked them all.

finality

prosperity,

Hi.

I suspect there is a professional association of OTAs one can find on-line as they require some credentialling, I believe, and some states requite OTAs to be licensed in some fashion (though they will normally work under the supervision of the Licensed Occupatioonal Therapist).

A website for OTA job opennings would list the $$$ being offered and the credentials needed.

Cheers,

RC

Hi Finality,

That is good to know. I would need to go to school so I am being selective.

peace,

Prosperity

prosperity,

My sister is a COTA and loves the work. (hates the paperwork and there is a LOT of it) There are lots of different places a COTA can work not just hospitals or nursing homes.

Demand and salary are going to be dictated by the area you live in. My sister makes a decent living, not extravagant but decent. She has been a COTA for about 15 years and has a great reputation so finding work is not a problem for her but a lot of people in our area have gone on to other things after some restructuring of insurance/medical fees by the insurance companies a few years ago. (demand for their services went way down as insurance companies quit paying for a lot of things) Many COTA's work for large companies who do contract work with hospitals, nursing homes etc. (there are also OT's who contract privately so it is possible to work for an individual though a bit more risky since they may not have work all the time)

The state we live in requires two years of training then a certification test and licensing, also ongoing education.

Like RC says requirements are likely to vary by state. Check with your state licensing board for those. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. might be able to answer many of your questions.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Dear Rebecca,
Thanks for the info. What does the C stand for in COTA if I may ask?
peace,
Prosperity

Prosperity,

The 'C' stands for certified. (through national certification) After talking to my sister yesterday I found out that national certification is not always necessary. State licensing is usually enough.

She also told me that the program at the college she went to has closed down due to lack of enrollment and that the company she works for is always looking for OTA's (refer back to insurance/people quitting the business due to lack of work a few years back)

She suggested that you check out the American Occupational Therapy Assn.
Check the resources board.

Also, people sometimes think that OTA's only work in nursing homes and hospitals and that isn't always true. My sister worked for some time at the Washington State School for the Deaf and really enjoyed being there and working with the kids.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Dear Rebecca,
Thanks again for the info. I am in my early 50's and do not want heavy lifting. I am looking at many options at this point even accupuncture.
peace,
Prosperity

prosperity,

I don't think there is any heavy lifting involved. I could be wrong and will ask my sister about this.

Occupational Therapy is about helping people learn new ways to do things for themselves through various means and modifying their enviornment to accommodate them to be better able to remain independent.

Being in my 50's I totally understand not wanting a physically demanding occupation. There are days when lifting myself out of bed is enough labor for the day. :-)

There are some really good accupuncture schools out there though I think that the nationally accredited ones are 4 year programs. (there are also very good non-accredited ones but you have to be careful to really check them out. The one here is part of a chinese medicine school and was only accredited a few years ago but before accreditation you could get certified in 2 years, now it takes 4 and is significantly more expensive)

Good luck,

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca