Occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession that provides services to individuals from birth to death, in physical dysfunction and in mental health. The occupational therapy practitioner works with individuals to learn or return to functional ability to meet their self care needs in the area of basic skills, home and work skills, and play and leisure skills.
A certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) works under the supervision of an Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR). The COTA treats the patient according to a plan of treatment and documents the patient's progress in the medical record. COTA's with experience may supervise students in clinical fieldwork experiences.
Within the profession of occupational therapy, the occupational therapy assistant's primary duty is direct client/patient care, but may also work in the following capacities:
- Practitioner
- Educator
- Fieldwork Educator
- Activity Coordinator
- Faculty
- Entrepreneur
- Fieldwork Coordinator
Practice settings where COTA's are employed are varied and include, but are not limited to, hospital settings, public or private schools, nursing homes, community mental health centers, home-health care agencies, physicians' offices, orthopedic and hand therapy clinics, early intervention programs, private practice, inpatient/partial hospitalization/outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers, free-standing industrial rehabilitation, and work-hardening settings.
The American Occupational Therapy Association reports the following as emerging practice areas:
- Ergonomics consulting
- Drivers rehabilitation and training
- Design and accessibility consulting and home modification
- Low vision services
- Private practice community health services
- Technology and assistive device development and consulting
- Welfare-to-work services
- Health and wellness consulting
- Ticket to work services
- Addressing the psychosocial needs of children and youth
Job Outlook and Earnings
The Bureau of Labor Statistics with the U.S. Department of Labor indicates the job outlook for Occupational Therapy Assistants is expected to "grow much faster than the average" for all occupations through 2014. They also report that the year 2004 the median annual earnings were $38,430, with the middle 50 percent earning between $31,970 and $44,390.