Occupational Therapy Assistant

[bluebonnetgirl]

 Beth R

7:18am   #30373  

 

Has anyone’s child pursued an Occupational Therapy Assistant degree?   It is a 2 year degree with excellent pay (average $60,000) and benefits.

Our local community college will be offering this degree in 2020.  My child graduates in 2021, so good timing.

My kiddo is interested in art therapy, but that is a masters level degree and the pay is $45,000,  which is $15,000 less and 4 more years of college.

I have read that occupational therapy assistants can utilize art therapy in their job.  True?

Would love to learn more about this degree and career.

Edited February 10, 2019 by bluebonnetgirl

[mjbucks1]

I am a physical therapist (I work one day/week), but I obviously work with OTs and COTAs.  Occupational therapists work in a wide variety of settings, from schools, to clinics, to nursing homes, to private industries.  In each setting they may be working on different goals with patients.  In a skilled nursing center they might be working with a patient to make adaptations to allow them to care for themselves more easily at home.  In school, they may be working on fine motor skills to improve writing/keyboarding.  

I would have your daughter ask herself a few questions:  What interests her in art therapy?  Does she have a motivation to improve the lives of others?  Does she enjoy art and wants to share that joy with others?  Does she enjoy science (at least anatomy, etc).

I could definitely see art being incorporated into occupational therapy, but it would also require so much more than that.  And art therapy may not be appropriate for every patient depending on the goals of the patient and the deficits they currently have.

Most people I know in therapy really enjoy their jobs.  It often requires problem solving, and we generally get to spend significant amounts of time with patients, developing great relationships with people.  But, it can also be challenging.  Not everyone enjoys therapy and this can make the job difficult.  Also, COTAs (occupational therapy assistants), must work under an OT and must consult them prior to changing a treatment plan (although we all USUALLY have good working relationships and this is not usually an issue).

One other thought is that since the program is new, it MIGHT not be accredited.  Most accredidation does not happen until the first class graduates.  It usuallu is not a problem, but it is something to take into consideration.

Being in rehabilitation is a great profession and very flexible for people like me who want to homeschool!!  I think it COULD be a good fit for someone who has an interest in art therapy.  It is helpful to try to do some observation of OTs/COTAs if possible, but I know around here it has become difficult for anyone under 18 to get observation hours due to HIPPA regulations.  But hopefully she can find a place that will allow her to observe and get a feel for what COTAs and OTs do.

I am happy to try to answer any additional questions as needed!

[Storygirl]

We have looked a bit into OTA and PTA programs for DD17. PTA is likely her area of interest, though she is not sure of anything yet.

I know that someone has to be in the first class of a program, but I would be hesitant to choose that for my daughter. I know that for the PTA program we are looking at, the students must be prepared for the licensing exam, and the statistics on how many in each class have passed the exam are an important part of evaluating how successful the program is. For a new program, this would be an unknown. Also, there are a lot of clinical rotations, so I would expect that the relationship the school and faculty has with the organizations is important, and that those aspects might go better with an established program, versus one that is just getting started.

I do have the impression that OTA (and PTA) jobs are likely to increase, as the population ages, so that job prospects look good.

One of the cons that we are considering is that if DD decides after a few years of working that it is not the career for her after all, the training is so specific that she would likely need to retrain for a different type of job. Whereas a bachelor's degree is more versatile. This is not a deal breaker for us, but it's something to consider.