Occupational Therapy Schools

Define Occupational Therapy

Before we define occupational therapy, or list some of the best occupational therapy schools, let's consider some interesting facts...

Many people nowadays are looking for Occupational therapy schools. This is not surprising considering this is one of the best job opportunities out there today.

But don't just take our word for it.

For example, in the excellent book "Best Jobs for the 21st Century," occupational therapists are ranked #179 out of "The 500 Best Jobs Overall." This is a well respected book, and, in fact, won the distinction of being "One of the Top 3 Career Books of the Year."

You may be wondering what criteria the authored used to arrive at this ranking.

The ranking is a combination of three factors: annual earnings, percent growth, and annual job openings.

Let's dig deeper so you can appreciate just why so many people are becoming interested in occupational therapy schools:

Occupational therapists enjoy:

• Annual earnings (average): $51,370

• Percent job growth of: 33.9%

• Annual Openings: 4,000

Those are some really impressive numbers, especially when you consider that you only need a bachelor's degree to become an occupational therapist. And, if you already have a B.S., then you can generally complete an occupational therapy program in only 2 more years of study.

Moreover, this is a very flexible occupation. Up to 20% of occupational therapists only work part time, and over 5% are self employed.

Now, before we get into occupational therapy schools let's first...

Define Occupational Therapy

Many people wonder what exactly does an occupational therapist do. Well, look no further because we'll give you a good overview of this job. OK, let's define occupational therapy.

Occupational therapists are professionals who are involved in rehabilitative programs, with the aim of helping individuals to regain the ability and skills needed to live daily -- in short, helping people become independent again. This may require helping disabled people regain vocational and other homemaking abilities.

A day in the life of an occupational therapist may include such tasks as: planning and organizing programs in hospitals and community settings; such programs are often geared toward helping patients adjust to handicaps or other limiting factors.

Occupational therapists also help teach patients skills needed to participate in group settings, or other therapeutic activities and programs. Occupational therapists often need to maintain records; assist nurses and other medical personnel to ensure the progress and well being of a patient with respect to therapy. Occupational therapists help patients use specialized medical equipment, such as braces or splints.

And good occupational therapists are keen at recommending beneficial changes in a patient's living or work environment that is consistent with the patient's handicaps, conditions, or capabilities.

As you can see, we choose to define occupational therapy more or less based on what these professionals do in the course of an average day.

If you look over these responsibilities you probably won't be surprised to hear that the most neccessary skills needed for this job are: effective at instruction (for groups and individuals); strong verbal communication abilities; good active listening skills; understanding of the human body, injury, diseases, diabilities, etc; and, overall, being a good "people person."

Occupational Therapy Schools

Finding good occupational therapy schools is crucial to ensure your success, and fortunately, we here at Accredited Online University have done all the hard work in finding some of the best ones out there.

The best part of it is that you can request absolutely free information from these schools to see if this profession is right for you. These request forms are short -- only take a couple of minutes -- and they come with no commitments or strings attached.

Why not take a few minutes out of your day now to give our recommended occupational therapy schools a visit?

It could change the course of your career and start you down a fulfilling path in life.

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