2. Introduction
O Occupational therapists help people of all
ages participate in life through the therapeutic
use of everyday activities, or occupations.
O They assess each patient individually to
determine their goals and then create an
intervention plan to help improve the patients
daily activities to reach their goals.
O Occupational therapy is applicable in a range
of settings, such as hospitals, outpatient
facilities, and schools, and can look different
from setting to setting.
3. History of OT
O Occupational therapy can be traced back to
the late 1700’s. Phillipe Pinel and William
Tuke developed new ways to treat people with
mental illness. Pinel called it “Moral Treatment
and Occupation”.
O These principles of maximizing function and
minimizing symptoms of a patients mental
illness were applied to hospitals around the
world by the 1860’s.
O In the chaos that followed the Civil War, moral
treatment was not used in American hospitals
and became less of a priority.
4. History of OT
O In 1917 the National Society for the Promotion of
Occupational Therapy was founded.
O After World War I and through the 1960’s,
occupational therapists were in high demand to
treat injured soldiers and develop programs to aid
in their recovery.
O The 1980’s and 1990’s brought about a new
change to OT. The focus became a patients quality
of life and occupational therapists became more
involved in education, prevention, screenings, and
health maintenance to help patients reach goals
and maintain independence. These principles still
apply to occupational therapy today.
5. Stats on OT
O Occupational Therapists have an average
annual salary of $78,810. (2014)
O An entry level Occupational therapist can
expect to make on average $69,00
annually.
O Occupational therapy is also ranked 17th
in Best Health Care Jobs.
O This profession is expected to grow by
14% in the future.
6. What it takes to be an OT
O To be an occupational therapist you must
earn a bachelor’s degree.
O You must then earn a master’s degree
from an accredited university.
O After earning a masters degree, you can
apply for licensure or continue your
education and earn a doctoral degree.
O Before applying for your license you must
pass the NBCOT, the National Board for
Certification of Occupational Therapists.
7. Why I want to be an OT
O I want to be an occupational therapist
because I want my job to be one that helps
and serves others.
O I like that occupational therapy focuses on
helping patients with activities of their every
day life.
O I want to help people not only learn to walk, or
move their hands but do those things in such
a way that they are able to live independently
and have the best life possible.
8. Characteristics of an OT
O Good communication and people skills
O Know how to solve problems
O Have physical strength
O Enjoy helping others
O Have organizational skills
O Have patience
O Compassionate and empathetic
O Creative
O Good writing skills
9. Characteristics of an OT
O I believe I have all of the characteristics
required to be a good occupational therapist.
O According to the O-net Profiler my dominant
personality traits are social, investigative, and
enterprising.
O I believe that these qualities would make me a
great OT because I interact well with others, I
can identify problems and find solutions, I am
creative, and I am confident in taking action
and making decisions.
10. Academics
O Undergraduate academic courses that are
beneficial to future OT’s and required by most
graduate programs as prerequisites include:
O Anatomy and Physiology
O Physics
O Statistics
O Psychology (Abnormal and Developmental)
O Sociology or Anthropology
O Medical Terminology
11. Grad Programs in OT
O Medical University of South Carolina
O Located in Charleston, SC
O East Carolina University
O Located in Greenville, NC
O Augusta University
O Located in Augusta, GA
12. Grad Programs in OT
Admissions
criteria
MUSC East Carolina Augusta
University
Minimum GPA
required
3.0 3.0 3.0
Volunteer hours
required
30 hours Not required for
application but
strongly
encouraged
60 hours
References 3 references: 1
from OT
practitioner who
supervised
volunteer hours,
2 others from
professors
2 letters of
recommendati-
on
3 references: 2
from
occupational
therapists and 1
from
professor/advis
or
GRE scores 60th percentile
or higher
50th percentile Minimum score
of 290
combined
Grad Programs in OT
13. Conclusion
O Occupational therapy is a career that I
hope to have one day. It’s history dates
back to the 1700’s, and since then
therapists have been helping people live
their lives and reach their goals. I aspire to
do this one day as well. I think
occupational therapy would be a
rewarding career, and its future is very
bright.
