OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT

Qualifications

• Active and current licensed practitioner in the State of Texas.  License to be current and issued as defined under the guidelines established by the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners, Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.

• Graduated after successful completion of an occupational therapist education program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA), or successor organizations of ACOTE; and
• Is eligible to take, or has successfully completed the entry-level certification examination for occupational therapists developed and administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT).

See 42 CFR 484.4 – Personnel Qualifications for other restrictions

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT

Job Description

Position requires critical thinking skills as well as the ability to interpret assessments and document the information obtained during treatments. This job position also requires the ability to effectively communicate exactly what is expected during treatment sessions to avoid injury and achieve improvement in the patient's condition. Position also requires communication to the patient and/or family members the diagnosis, treatment plan and prognosis. This position requires lifting, stretching, bending, pulling, pushing, twisting as well as standing for up to 8 hours a day. The following is a basic description of the Occupational Therapists job. This job description is not all inclusive but reflects the general needs of the department.

• Carries out Plan of Care for patients established by Occupational Therapist, identifying the types of activities and specific goals to be accomplished

• Records a patient’s progress for modification of current plan of Care if necessary to establish and define new treatments goals as needed
• Knowledgeable and proficient in the use of MS Word/Excel/Access/PowerPoint or similar software.

• Instruct patients with various disabilities with different tasks that are appropriate for their age group or diagnosis.
• Demonstrate exercises that can help relieve pain for people with chronic conditions, such as joint stretches for arthritis sufferers
• Educate a patient’s family about how to accommodate and care for the patient
• Maintain updated treatment orders from referring physician

• Maintain continuing education hours as defined by the state of Texas Licensure board.

• Recommend special equipment, such as wheelchairs and eating aids, and instruct patients how to use that equipment
• Recommend and/or involve social services to assist the patient with ADL's
• Assess and record patients’ activities and progress for evaluating clients, for billing, and for reporting to physicians and other healthcare providers
• Recommend equipment to be utilized for therapy treatment or repair of existing equipment.
• Inform management of any dangerous conditions
• Participate in all regularly scheduled staff and departmental meetings
• Assist in the transitioning of patients from the lobby to the treatment room.  Extreme awareness of those sever patients that may use the transition process to “run” or “dart” away is necessary to insure that those patients are not allowed to put themselves in harm’s way.  Note location of all exits when transitioning patients and maintain a high level of alert to insure they do not “run” or “dart” outside of the building.
• Absence of a positive criminal background history.