An occupational therapist aide works for an occupational therapist, and provides them with basic assistant functions in their job. The specific duties of an occupational therapist aide include preparing the treatment room and the patients themselves, talking to patients and arranging new meetings, as well as rescheduling meetings when clients request it. An occupational therapist aide would typically have very little involvement in the actual therapy and treatment process, and would work largely in the background.
Becoming an occupational therapist aide isn’t difficult, as the job doesn’t hold any high educational requirements. The most that’s expected from candidates are personal skills, such as the ability to take important decisions quickly and accurately, as well as manage schedules effectively and in a way that benefits the occupational therapist’s personal time the most. Additionally, a good occupational therapist aide must have a friendly personality and be able to communicate with patients well enough.
Occupational therapist aides don’t earn that much by most standards, with an average annual salary of between $23,000 – $38,000. The job also has some commonly high demands attached to it, which can further serve to make it an unattractive choice for many people – in many cases, the responsibilities given to an occupational therapist aide aren’t seen as compensated completely by the salary received, and the overall morale for the job hasn’t been very high in recent times according to surveys.