At Missouri College you will receive a solid foundation in the skills needed to become a successful occupational therapy assistant. You will gain the knowledge, skills and ability to assist with interviewing, assessing and planning, and treating patients in order to create an environment in which the patient can gain self-reliance. As an occupational therapy assistant, you, under the supervision of a registered occupational therapist, will work with a team of other health care professionals to create and apply meaningful treatment programs to assist an individual in assuming and resuming life roles that have been lost because of illness or injury. As an occupational therapy assistant, your team will work cooperatively to communicate information to patients and their families to meet their physical, emotional, social and cognitive needs in order to support occupational role performance. Certified occupational therapy assistants are in demand.
Many attractive jobs are available in both urban and rural areas.
Demand for your skills will continue to grow as you gain fulfillment from helping others lead more productive lives. The Role of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Occupational therapy is a health care profession dedicated to promoting independence in daily living activities in persons who because of illness, injury, psychological, cognitive problems or the aging process have had their life roles disrupted. As an occupational therapy assistant, you, along with other members of the health care team, will work with individuals to enhance performance in daily activities such as self-care, work and leisure tasks. Upon completion of the academic portion of the training program you will be assigned to two eight week fieldwork sites. Under the direct supervision of a qualified OTR or COTA, you will gain practical experience in working with persons needing treatment for disease or disability.