As new injuries begin to surface in the healthcare industry, the high demand for occupational therapy will be essential to the rehabilitation of many patients from young to old age. The practice of occupational therapy looks beyond just medications and prescriptions, but instead at the art of creating treatment through moral movement (“History of the Occupational Therapy Profession”). It was first introduced in the early 1900’s as a high demand treatment for wounded soldiers from World War 1. This first introduction helped the public become informed about the uses and benefits of occupational therapy. This led to the establishment of the AOTA, The American Occupational Therapy Association formerly known as the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy, on March 17th, 1917 (“History of AOTA Accreditation”). History will be repeating itself as more and more injuries begin to surface. According to Stop Sports Injuries, High school athletes alone account for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits, and 30,000 hospitalization each year (International, Inc. Advanced Solutions). Not only that, but according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2015, which occurred at a rate of 3.0 cases per 100 equivalent full time workers” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). With each passing day, more injuries begin to appear that will require rehabilitation, which is where the occupational therapists will come in.
An occupational therapist is an occupation in which helps patients with everyday activities through therapeutic uses. Occupational therapists are usually known to work with the elderly, disabled patients, or patients with mental illnesses. They will help these patients recover or improve their skills for a more independent and active life. Recovery begins once the therapists have evaluated the condition of the patient, and different goals or needs that the patient and therapist can work on together. By evaluating the patient, it allows the occupational therapists to create a process in developing a treatment plan to accomplish the patient’s goals towards living a more independent life (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Occupational therapists may also evaluate the settings that the patient may be frequently located for potential hazards. A request with the patient’s employer or family may be made to create changes in the environment to maintain the patient’s safety. What makes occupational therapy unique is that it is “the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations)” (“What is Occupational Therapy?”). Overall, the main purpose of an occupational therapy profession is to promote the well-being of our society.
When occupational therapy was first introduced, there was not any specific training required, but this began to change during World War 1. Many injured soldiers from the war required occupational therapy to enable them to resume their lives. The program started with six weeks of training along with a course that was three months long. (citation) This soon developed into a master’s degree entry level, which is the education level that is required as of today to become an occupational therapist. Those that are looking into an occupational therapy career typically go to school for their master’s degree or doctoral degree. In 2007, occupational therapists only needed a bachelor’s degree to be license which explains why there continue to be occupational therapists with just a bachelor’s degree. However, this is no longer possible. By the looks of it, the degree entry level is, in fact, moving rapidly towards a doctoral degree. All states, except Colorado, today require occupational therapists to have at least a master’s degree (“How Do You Become an Occupational Therapist?”). Even if it were still possible to become an occupational therapist with just a bachelor’s degree, it would also be very difficult considering that there are no longer any AOTA accredited undergraduate programs available in the United States. There are many graduate programs of study that are accredited by the AOTA, over 200 programs as of 2014 to be exact, which will prepare the aspiring therapists. Courses may include human anatomy, physiology, biology, psychology, sociology, exercise science, and more. However, many of the programs will first require for the applicants to have a bachelor's degree, specific coursework, and volunteer work in an occupational therapy setting. Both master’s and doctoral programs will require a minimum of 24 hours of supervised fieldwork (“Occupational Therapy: Teaching Creative Activities to All”).
After receiving the required education, one must have their licensure and certifications. Certification will be acquired by taking the NBCOT, the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, exam. To remain certified, therapists must continue taking education classes. Certification will be required before licensure comes into place. “All states require occupational therapists to be licensed,” (Goldhirsch). An occupational therapist can become licensed by applying for licensure with the state he or she chooses to practice in. Specialties are not required, but the option is available to any licensed occupational therapist who wishes to be specialized in a certain area. These specialties may include Gerontology, Mental Health, Pediatrics, Physical Rehabilitation, Sports Injury Rehabilitation, Driving and Community Mobility, Environmental Modification, Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing, Low Vision, School Systems, and many more. Each state is different, such as their licensing requirements, so it is extremely important to confirm any information regarding licensure and practice guidelines with the state board.
As of 2017, the median annual salary of a licensed occupational therapist is about $83,425. Salaries can vary between states, for example, the current salary of an occupational therapist in Tennessee is about $77,335. However, nationally, the median salary can usually range between $76,417 to $90,895, and the median hourly pay can range from $37 to $44 (“Occupational Therapist Salaries”). The amount of time that occupational therapists commit to their work field can vary from hours to days. Although it may vary, full time occupational therapists commonly do not work more than 40 hours a week. Nonetheless, it can depend for each therapist. Some therapists may work a total of 8 hours a day while other therapists may tend to work outside of their normal business hours. Occupational therapists can be found working in many settings such as outpatient clinics, hospitals, schools, or nursing homes. There are a number of therapists who also work in more private settings where they care for patients in the patients’ homes.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of occupational therapists is projected to grow 27 percent from 2014 to 2024,” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Occupational therapy will most definitely be one of the aspects of society’s future. The job outlook itself is growing faster than the national average. Over 130,000 people have a career in occupational therapy, and this will continue to grow. The high demand is evident as 39.1% of graduates receive job offers only one month after graduating (“What Does the Future of Occupational Therapy Look Like?”). The question is, what is the reason behind this growth rate? There could be many possibilities as to why OT, occupational therapy, jobs are growing, and why the rate of OT’s is beginning to project even higher. The main factor of this growth is caused by the generation called “Baby Boomers”. The baby boomer generation are those who were born after World War 2. According to 2015 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, “There are 75.4 million baby boomers… and in 2011, folks born between the years of 1946 to 1964 began turning 65,” (Ortman). This generation makes up a good portion of our population. As they begin coming into retirement and require more care, it will affect the health care industry greatly. It becomes clear as to why the OT industry is growing rapidly. Of course, this is not the only reason why OT will continue to grow. Occupational therapy will be needed by ages young to old. Although it will be more beneficial to senior patients, seeing as their generation will need more medical attention than those of young age, the younger generation may face many injuries that will require occupational therapy for rehabilitation.
Many injuries are caused by the participation of sports. Stop Sports Injuries stated that, “Children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals. On average the rate and severity of injury increases with a child's age,” (International, Inc. Advanced Solutions). The risk of a child getting injured grows even higher with the child’s age. Because of the fact that sport injuries will continue to grow, the specialization of Sports Injury rehabilitation will always be available for occupational therapists. Most of the injuries the youth experiences come from sports. According to Stanford Children’s Health, “In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year, which cause some loss of time of participation, are experienced by the participants. Almost one-third of all injuries incurred in childhood are sports-related injuries.” (“Sports Injury Statistics”). Although these statistics cover the sports injuries alone, this data can give an insight to the amount of other injuries that are not caused by sports. Therefore, occupational therapy is important in the rehabilitation of these injuries, and it will remain to be important for the younger generations as the years pass by.
Speaking of importance, every therapeutic treatment is significant in the recovery of patients. When hearing the word “therapy”, people immediately refer to physical therapy. Although physical therapy is an important treatment, many other therapies are important as well, and this may cause people to misunderstand the different types of therapy such as occupational therapy. Physical therapy and occupational therapy are very similar and closely related since they do work with each other. However, occupational therapy is ideally intended to help patients in the process of recovering by improving their skills and activities in a person’s daily activities. A patient may not recover completely, but complete recovery is not the goal of occupational therapy. The end goal is to adapt to this new lifestyle, and patients can adapt by increasing the important functions that the patient may be limited to. It creates the independence that patients look for.
Occupational therapy became so fascinating to me during my eighth grade school year. During the school’s fall break, my family and I flew back to my hometown in Fountain Valley, California. A while back, my grandma had slipped and fell in which she had to undergo neuro surgery. Like any neuro surgery, the recovering process is difficult and can be stressful. My grandma stayed in this rehabilitation center where she received the help that was necessary for her recovery. Every day, she received therapy from both physical and occupational therapists. The whole time that we stayed in California, we would visit the center that she was recovering at. I would help feed her, help her walk, and help her go through her therapy sessions. My grandma could only speak Vietnamese, so I would translate in English to the therapists how she was feeling and if any task felt too painful to complete. I watched as the occupational therapists worked with my grandma, and I watched what the other therapists in the room were doing. I never aspired to be an occupational therapist in this very moment, but it led me to research the career. I thought long about what I wanted to do with my life until I came to a decision during my sophomore year that occupational therapy would be my future career.
From personal observations,
In conclusion, occupational therapy is essential to the rehabilitation of many patients from young to old age; there will be high demand for this occupation as new injuries begin to surface in the healthcare industry.