The journey to recovery, especially from a severe injury or illness, is long and hard. Getting every bit of help is crucial to guaranteeing a complete recovery or as next to complete as possible. Aside from regaining physical movement, there’s also mental and emotional catching up to do. Occupational therapy is the key as it encompasses all areas of recovery.
Why is it so in demand?
According to statistics, occupational therapy is the third ranked career for 2016, behind biomedical engineering and dentistry. This may not be a definite figure as only time will tell, but it highlights the importance of the field. The reason for the growing popularity is based on necessity. When you look at the baby boomer population, there’s no question that it’s aging and with this comes disabling conditions, most of them chronic. Since there’s no way to turn back the clock the only solution is to give the aging populace the tools to continue living as independently as possible. This is even more important for single member households since there’s no one to help.
Aging population aside, getting people back on their feet helps employees reduce the number of missed days, so career isn’t affected and employers get their due. With desk jobs becoming the norm in many jobs, there’s an increasing number of people developing back problems and repetitive strain injury. Without care, they can become chronic and will worsen with time.
What’s the pay like?
Wage differs based on location, experience and skill. However, the median annual salary is $77,000 and depending on the variables mentioned it can spike up to $95,000. In addition, most therapists receive sick leave, paid vacation, dental and health insurance and retirement plan contributions. Working in a private practice may see earnings increase.
How do you start a career?
Like most careers in health care, occupational therapy requires a university education and a minimum of 1,000 hours of on-the-job training. Tests administered by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists must be passed along with a national certification exam offered twice a year. Local provinces also have their own requirements.
Occupational therapists work in different settings; hospitals are just one. Everything depends on location, training, experience and workforce shortage. The one aspect shared by all therapists is that the career outlook is favorable not just for 2014 but for the next five years at least. That’s more than can be said for other professions.
Canada currently has a high demand for occupational therapists. However, as with any job, it takes time to find an opening. Self-employment is a sound avenue if the restrictions posed by working in a hospital setting are difficult to work around. Private clinics, nursing homes and working in the homes of clients are other opportunities.
Few careers really benefit people in need, but occupational therapy is one that goes beyond mere medical treatment. If you have the urge to help your fellow man this is the field to pursue. There’s scope for growth, monetary rewards and job satisfaction; what else could you ask for? In case, you friends are also looking for a good career option, do share this post with them. It will help them know about the merits associated with career in occupational therapy.
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- This General Adult Rehab Set of Occupational Therapy Quick Reference cards is comprised of 16 double-sided pages
- Makes a great holiday, birthday or graduation gift!
- Durable pages made of plastic - laminated on both sides and are waterproof. Each page is about half the thickness of a credit card
- Catana Brown PhD OTR/L FAOTA, Virginia C. Stoffel PhD OT FAOTA, Jaime Munoz PhD OTR/L FAOTA
- F.A. Davis Company
- Edition no. 2 (02/05/2019)
- Wine Glass Goblet Two Sided Good Day Bad Day Don't Even Ask OT Occupational Therapy Therapist
- 10oz Wine Glass Measures 7" H 2.5" D
- 20oz Wine Glass Measures 9" H 2.5" D
Last update on 2020-03-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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