Educational: Entry to the occupational therapy
course is after 10+2 with PCM (physics, chemistry and biology). Some institutions
may opt for an entrance examination and may select candidates on the basis of
performance in the entrance test.
Occupational Therapists undergo several years of schooling in Medical subjects,
Psychology, and Occupational Therapy. Besides ongoing practices in clinical/
paraclinical subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Microbiology/
Biochemistry, Medicine and Surgery (mainly diagnostics and not actual practice
of Medicine and Surgery) in addition to Occupational Therapy interventions,
therapists are needed to undergo at least 6 months of compulsory internship
in various clinical setting, e.g. Orthopedics/ Rheumatology/ Hand Surgery,
Neurology, Paediatrics, Burns/ Plastic Surgery, Geriatrics, Psychiatry, etc.
The occupational therapist enters the field with a bachelors, masters, or
doctoral degree. Occupational Therapists in India and around the world, usually
enter practice with a Bachelor's degree of 4 years. In order to become licensed,
he or she must earn this degree from an accredited program, and must pass
a national certification exam. In the U.S., while most Occupational therapists
are already entering the profession with a Master's degree, from 2007 onwards
all colleges/ universities will be mandated to offer only Master's level degrees
as the entry-level qualification to practice Occupational Therapy. There are
also programs in the US that train Occupational Therapists at the doctoral
level at the entry level for the profession.
Those who complete an Associate Degree or
Certificate program in Occupational Therapy can become an Occupational therapy
assistant (OTA) or aide to the Occupational Therapists. They get most of their
training on the job.
Personal Attributes:
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An eye for detail
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Service mentality
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A scientific bent of mind, liking for machines and
equipments
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He /she also needs to be empathic towards the pain of the
patients
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He /she needs to have good communication skills and be able to build rapport with the patients to elicit better
results
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Ability to work hard
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A logical bent of mind and honesty toward the
profession
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Team Spirit
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Alertness of mind
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Willing to work even at odd hours
