Occupational Therapy Aide - Career Information

Occupational Therapy Aide - Career InformationOccupational Therapy Aide - Career InformationAn occupational therapy aide (OT Aide) prepares materials and equipment for occupational therapists(OTs) and assistants(OTAs). He or she also helps patients get to and from treatment rooms. Occupational therapy involves rehabilitating individuals who havelost their ability to perform activities of daily livingdue to an illness, injury, or disability. An OT aide may also perform clerical duties such as answering phones, scheduling appointments, and filing patient records. Unlike an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant, an OT aide does elend provide direct patient care, but he or she helps facilitate treatment by providing support for those who do. Quick Facts About Occupational Therapy Aides They earned amedian annual salary of $28,330 or $13.62 per hour in 2016.In 2014, approximately 9,000people were employed in this occupation.Most worked in occupational therapists offices, nursing care facilities, and hospitals.Employment is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2024. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has declared occupational therapy assistant a Bright Outlook career because of itsexcellentjob outlook. How to Become an Occupational Therapy Aide To get an entry-level position, you will need just a high school or equivalency diploma. Your employer will provide on-the-job training that will last from a few days to a few weeks. You will learn how to set up equipment and keep treatment rooms germ-free. WhatSoft SkillsDo You Need to Succeed in This Career? These are some of the soft skills OT aides need to succeed in this field Active Listening Strong listening skills will allow you to understand, and therefore, follow instructions from occupational therapists and assistants. It will also help you care for your patients.Verbal Communication You must be able to clearly convey information to your colleag ues and patients.Interpersonal Skills In addition to excellent listening and speaking skills, you must be able to understand non-verbal cues, coordinate your actions with others, and show empathy and sympathy.Service Orientation You must have adesire to help people. Detail Oriented Attention to detail is imperative, especially when it comes to following therapists instructions, keeping treatment rooms clean and tidy, and helping patients complete forms. Roles and Responsibilities Job announcements on Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com show that Occupational Therapy Aides perform the following tasks Assiststaff occupational therapists in their treatment of assigned patientsPrepare the treatment area, patient,and equipment for treatmentMaintaina safe, clean environmentPerformongoing inventory of equipment and materials to ensure adequate supply. Notifies department manager of ordering needsParticipates in all infection control, departmental equipment training, organizational safety, a nd fire safety programs Differences Between an Occupational Therapy Aide and an Occupational Therapist Assistant OT aides and assistants differ from one another significantly regarding their educational requirements and job duties. OT aides need only a high school or equivalency diplomawhile OT assistants must earn an associate degree from an accredited training program. Assistants must be licensed or registered by the state in which they want to work. There is no such requirement for aides. Occupational therapist assistants help patients do therapeutic activities under an occupational therapists supervision. OT aides are responsible only for tasks that are indirectly related to patient care. What Will Employers Expect From You? Here are some requirements from actual job announcements found onIndeed.comand SimplyHired Must maintain confidentiality of all proprietary and/or confidential informationAble to lift, transfer, and guard patients safely with appropriate assistance w ithout likelihood of injury to the patient or oneselfExcellent communication (both oral and written) skillsMust have basic computer and office equipment experienceCapable of following standard procedures and detailed instructionsKnowledge of basic medical terminology desirable Is This Occupation a Good Fit for You? Holland Code SRC (Social, Realistic, Conventional)MBTI PersonalityTypes ISFJ, ESFJ,ESFP, ISFP Take thisquizto find out if you should become an occupational therapy aide. Related Occupations OccupationDescriptionMedian Annual Wage (2016)Minimum Required Education/TrainingPhysical Therapy AidesPrepares and cleans treatment rooms, maintains equipment and supplies, and performs clerical tasks for physical therapists$25,680HS or Equivalency Diploma + on-the-job trainingPharmacy TechnicianHelps pharmacists fill prescriptions$30,920HS or Equivalency Diploma + on-the-job training or postsecondary training programPsychiatric AideMonitors patients in a psychiatric facility and helps them with tasks of daily living$30,970HS or Equivalency DiplomaMedical AssistantTends to administrative and clinical tasks in a doctors office$31,540HS or Equivalency Diploma + postsecondary training SourcesBureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 (visited September 11, 2017).Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor,O*NET zugreifbar(visited September 11, 2017).

High-School Buddy, Job Connection

High-School Buddy, Job ConnectionHigh-School Buddy, Job ConnectionBlaine Helmick got help from an old friend to score a new job.Blaine Helmick never thought he would land his next job through social networking.The IT director for a hospitality company in Orlando, Fla., had been with his former company for nine years and was ready for a change. He joined Ladders Job Search Consultation Program and received advice that he didnt expect - join LinkedIn.Im not a social-networking kind of guy, Helmick said.But he was open-minded, and he tried to contact someone at Disney by seeking referrals through his extended network on LinkedIn.He was kind of hesitant to do that because he only knew a few CEOs, said Mallory Labriola, Helmicks personal job-search consultant through Ladders program.Like Helmick, many of Labriolas clients in the $100K-plus market tend only to think about other high-level executives as possible networking contacts. By contrast, Labriola said, mid-level connections can be just as valuable, especially when professionals use social networking to leverage them.I would really stress to him that you dont only use connections that are high-level, Labriola said. With every lower-level contact, you get another 200 people as well.There were several layers of contacts between Helmick and his target, and when one of them - the father of an old high-school pal - saw his resume, the man just couldnt reisepass it along. He wanted Helmick for himself.His friends dad worked for the president of Technomedia Solutions - another hospitality organization in Orlando that offered Helmick a lot of upside.Helmick was learning quickly that the world of social networking is a small one.You never know who your buddy from high school knows, he said. I never thought that social networking would have contributed the way that it has.Helmick wound up interviewing for the Director of Information and Creative Technologies position at Technomedia and got the job.Helmick said hes v ery pleased with his results Technomedia has a lot of room for growth and he is performing a larger variety of creative multimedia installations to a bigger list of prestigious customers.The top three takeaways from his job search ?Go into it with an open mind.Hire a consultant.Be responsive to criticism and direction.Had he not done all three of those, Helmick said he wouldnt have been in the position to advance his career.While he wont be joining Facebook any time soon, Helmick did admit that the experience has given him a new outlook on that type of medium.My mind is definitely changed about the power of social networking, he said.Helmick said hes also sold on the Job Search Consultation Program because the outside help of a professional broadened his strategy in a way that wouldnt have occurred to him.Its all about building out your network regardless of that persons current position, Ladders Labriola said.As for Helmicks old high-school buddy, I told him on his next trip down here I will be treating him to an exorbitantly expensive dinner, he said.

Recruiter Reinforces Our Resume Advice

Recruiter Reinforces Our Resume AdviceRecruiter Reinforces Our Resume AdviceRecruiter Reinforces Our Resume AdviceWeve addressed the keys to effective resume writing more than once on this blog, but there are some things worth repeating, especially when they come from outside sources who walk the saatkorn steps on the web that we walk, and their advice is just as valuable.Take Steven Coyne, an independent recruiter who runs The Job Hunter Groups Blog. He once wrote a timeless post for RecruitingBlogs.com, titled 3 Reasons Ill Read Your Resume, that underscores a trio of points we wholeheartedly agree with1. Read every word of the job description and apply only if youre qualified for the job.Give me what I want by writing a short and concise cover letter. It should include a short summary of your experiences that match the job description. If they dont match, dont apply Doing this will help keep your job search focused and prevent you from doing a lot of unnecessary work by applying t o more jobs for which youre not qualified.More on This Topic The Hazards of Resume Promiscuity2. Make your resume easy and breezy to read.Ditch the distracting fonts, the picture of yourself, and the extra words you dont need. In Coynes words Do not ramble Get right to the point. Recruiters quickly grow tired of trying to find information that indicates your qualifications. As for including a picture Who cares what you look like? Many hiring managers or recruiters make stupid assumptions about your looks anyway.More on This Topic Create an Attractive Resume Employers Will Notice3. Use important phrases from the job description.If some of your experience matches the wording in the job description, make it stand out in your resume. This one reason alone will encourage me to call you, Coyne writes. Ill know you read the job description and made sure that you made changes that improve your chances to get a call from me.