Occupational therapy is a profession which involves assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, and occupation of the individual.
First the major focus of occupational therapy is to make the environment that the patient is comfortable with for the patient to get cure. They treat and educate these mentally, physically or morally challenged patients. But the main objective of Occupational Therapy is the treatment of those who are mentally-challenged.
Even Occupational Therapists make sure that the mentally or physically-challenged patients they are treating are administered in the right treatment and can enjoy their life happily.
The main course in Occupational Therapy is Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (BOT). It is an undergraduate course which is designed to give students a complete knowledge about physical therapy and rehabilitation procedures.
The main focus of the Bachelor’s program in Occupational Therapy is to create professionals who improve the living standard of those patients who are mentally or physically challenged.
Why it is called Occupational Therapy?
The title comes from an old-school idea of occupation, which simply refers to whatever “occupies” someone’s time. Here people work to understand what is meaningful for each specific patient—and then we do everything we can to help them return to those activities.
What kind of children they deal with?
Many people are first introduced to occupational therapy through a referral for their child. Occupational therapists work with children of all ages in neonatal units, schools, and outpatient settings.
Common diagnoses we see in childhood include:
- Autism
- Cerebral Palsy
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Motor Disorders
- Rare Diseases
Eligibility Criteria (UG & PG) of Occupational Therapy
For undergraduate courses:
- The aspiring candidate must have passed 10+2/ Senior Secondary with a minimum of 50% percentile. (45% for SC/ST/OBC)
- Must have Chemistry, Physics and Biology/ Mathematics as main subjects during 10+2/ Senior Secondary.
- Candidates appearing for their 10+2/ Senior Secondary Examinations can also be given Provisional admissions to the course.
For Postgraduate courses:
Aspiring candidates who are will to pursue Masters in Occupational Therapy (MOT) must satisfy the following eligibility criteria:
- The candidate should satisfy all the criteria required for B.Sc. in Occupational therapy.
- The candiust be a graduate in Occupational Therapy.
- The candidate must have at least 6 months of job/ internship experience.
Entrance Exams
- KMCHCOTEE– KMCH College of Occupational Therapy Coimbatore organizes the KMCH College of Occupational Therapy Entrance Examination (KMCHCOTEE). KMCH College of Occupation Therapy is one of the top Occupational Therapy institutes in India, and a student needs to give these entrance examinations to get admission in the course.
- CMCVEE- CMC Vellore Entrance Examination (CMCVEE) is organized by the Christian Medical College, Vellore for aspiring students to get admission into the B.Sc. in Operation Therapy course at that college.
- AIIPMREE– All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Entrance Examination is held to get admission in the All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mumbai.
Scope of Occupational Therapy in India and Abroad
Although there are various career prospects after a person finishes up his Bachelors in Occupational Therapy. But after completing the course, an Occupational Therapy graduate can apply in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes or certain NGOs.
Nowadays, due to the rise in the number of old-age homes, graduates can also find jobs at these old-age homes. Though it is a fact that about one out of every three occupational therapists works part-time.
A student can even opt to go for masters and doctorate to further improve his knowledge of the subject. The annual mean wage of an Occupational Therapist in the United States of America can range from around $50,000 to about $75,000, and the market in the United States of America is expected to grow about 28% in the next five to ten years. But in India it is bit less which is around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per month.
Course Subjects
Occupational therapy is closely linked to medical studies and in fact, many key medical concepts are taught to students who pursue Occupational Therapy. The following subjects are taught to a student when a student pursues Occupational Therapy in his studies:
- Psychology
- Physiology
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Microbiology
- Pathology
- Clinical Orthopedics
- Rheumatology
- Biostatistics
- Bioengineering
- Sociology
Career in Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy graduates can find jobs in various rehabilitation centers, hospitals, or private care clinics, and due to healthcare being such an important industry, jobs are available in abundance. And some Occupational Therapists even do work part-time. Many NGOs have also started hiring Occupational Therapists.
Top Recruiters in Occupational Therapy
These are various job opportunities for students graduated from occupational therapy courses apart from job offers from hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, healthcare clinics, private clinics and old age homes.
The top recruiters that hire Occupational Therapists are: –
- Max Healthcare Group
- Tickles India
- The Wings Learning Centre
- Nirmaya Hospital, New Delhi
- Occupational Therapy Centre, Delhi
- Apollo Hospital Group
- Fortis Healthcare Group
Job Profiles
Mentioned below are some careers that Occupational Therapists tends to. Though you may look at, along with it a brief job description is given.
| Job profile | Description |
| OT Consultant | OT Consultants work in an Occupational Therapy facility and assist the patients, helping them in their daily routines and activities. |
| Occupational Therapist | Occupational Therapists are specialists that use particular activities to make the environment around the patient more comfortable by using particular activities to treat them from mental or physical illnesses. |
| Speech and Language Specialist | A Speech and Language Specialist is a person who assists and administers treatment for patients who deal with difficulties in conversing with other people. |
| Consultant | The job of an OT Consultant is to understand the illness of each patient and suggest treatments according to his or her illness. |
Average Salary
Occupational Therapists get paid a fair amount of money. Given below is the average salary for each job profile in India. These remunerations may substantially increase if the student chooses to pursue the course abroad in countries like the USA, the UK and Canada.
| Job profile | Average salary |
| OT Consultant | Rs. 4.5 Lakhs per annum (Approx.) |
| Occupational Therapist | Rs. 7.5 Lakhs per annum (Approx.) |
| Speech and Language Specialist | Rs. 6 Lakhs per annum (Approx.) |
| Consultant | Rs. 9 Lakhs per annum (Approx.) |
Conclusion
Occupational therapy has an important role to play in the care of people with a life-limiting illness. This paper aims to review the available occupational therapy literature in order to develop a greater understanding of the role and practice trends of occupational therapists working in this area. However, knowledge gaps remain concerning the scope of the role and how best to engage clients in meaningful occupations at the end of life.
These were the following basic detail about occupational therapy or OT. This OT is not similar to Operation Theater so to clear your doubts regarding this the whole article is for you. But this branch of OT deals with rehabilitation which mean to re-educate. It is a complete process of giving life to someone who is unaware about his/her life because of underlying diseases. I have mentioned some recruiters list along with job scopes in various places. Though your profession won’t deal with medicines but still you can cure various patients of various aspect.