Occupational Therapist Job Description

Looking to learn more about what an occupation therapist does? Or are you looking to find and hire the right occupational therapist (OT) for your business?

Below is an example of an occupational therapy job description. If you are looking to craft your own job description, this sample OT job description can give you a starting point. This example was written with the hospital and skilled nursing facilities in mind, but can be adapted for other settings.

Sample Occupational Therapy Job Description

Title: Full-time Occupational Therapist

Position Reports to: Director of Rehabilitation

Job Summary

The occupational therapist is responsible for empowering patients to participate more fully in daily tasks when this ability is compromised by a health condition. Occupational therapy is medically prescribed and involves skilled evaluation, treatment, and discharge.

A qualified candidate should have two years of experience in this practice area. He or she must be licensed to provide occupational therapy in the state of employment. Masters and doctoral preparation are preferred as are OTs who are registered and in good standing with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

Job Duties

Evaluation/Re-evaluation: Assesses the client’s functional abilities, including physical, emotional, cognitive and sensory components to evaluate the necessity of skilled occupational therapy intervention.

A patient’s history, context, and goals for treatment should be taken into account when determining a treatment plan.

Treatment: Helps the client achieve goals set forth in the treatment plan by providing neuromuscular re-education, therapeutic activity, therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, self-care/home management training, development of cognitive skills, sensory integration techniques, wheelchair management, and wound care.

Modalities utilized may include biofeedback, paraffin baths, whirlpools, iontophoresis, electrical stimulation, and ultrasound.

Discharge: Ensures safety at discharge and continuation of progress by providing, home exercise programs, family/caregiver instruction, recommendations for assistive equipment and recommendations for continued therapy in a less restrictive setting. Discharge planning should begin at the evaluation and continue through the course of treatment. Planning and coordination for discharge should occur in conjunction with physicians, social workers, other health care workers and the client and family members.

Supervision: Supervises occupational therapy assistants, occupational therapy aides, and occupational therapy students in accordance with standards set by American Occupational Therapy Association, the state of employment, and by the facility.

Contribution to healthcare team: Communicates with the health team through effective documentation and charting in patient and department records. Maintains patient confidence by keeping information confidential, keeping the work environment safe and clean, and adhering to infection control and other safety policies.

Maintenance of the occupational therapy department’s integrity: Maintains professional expertise through continued education as necessitated by licensure and as appropriate for provision of specific treatments.

Develops occupational therapy department by annually reviewing best practices. Complies with federal and state professional requirements.

Skills/Competencies

Skills:

• Administer and evaluate standardized assessments
• Select and oversee evidence-based interventions
• Effectively document the occupational therapy process in compliance with state and federal regulations

Competencies:

• Effective verbal and written communication
• Teamwork
• Patient-centeredness
• Dedication to compliance
• Dedication to best practice
• Listening and collaboration
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Further Resources

Another helpful resource in understanding the role of an occupational therapist and finding language to describe a specific position is the NBCOT Professional Practice Standards found here.

Monster, the job search platform, gives this example.

Guidelines for Supervision, Roles, and Responsibilities During the Delivery of Occupational Therapy Services, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, November/December 2009, Vol. 63, 797-803. doi:10.5014/ajot.63.6.797