Why Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is concerned with promoting health and well-being through enabling optimal participation in life roles and relevant environments or contexts as well as in society at large.

Occupational therapists enable people to engage in occupations (meaningful activities such as those associated with work/school, play/leisure, self-care, rest/relaxation) by addressing impairment of body structure and function, analysing and adapting occupations, empowering them to access needed societal resources, advocating for them, and creating physical, social, attitudinal environments and promoting legislative environments that optimise participation.

What Will I Do?

Occupational Therapists find themselves involved in a range of tasks and activities in any given week, depending on where they work and the clients/service users they work with. After graduation occupational therapists may choose to focus in a particular area such as in hospitals in hand therapy or neurological rehabilitation or in schools with children with disabilities, in private practice in medico-legal work, or they may work in community settings drawing on a broad range of skills.

Occupational therapists work with individuals across the life span whose ability to do the things they need to do, want to do and or have to do is compromised in some way. To give you an overview of the things you may be likely to do in this profession, let’s take a look at a few different scenarios.

When working with a child with coordination difficulties, an occupational therapist would talk to the child and parents about goals they would like to achieve such as riding a bike and improving handwriting skills. The therapist would assess the child’s performance in these areas to identify the issues with that performance and then address these issues. This may require making changes to the task (handwriting), the environment at school or home that impacts on handwriting performance and help the child to acquire improved handwriting skills (such as holding their pencil differently, forming letters and number better). In the case of bike riding this may involve helping the child to problem solve appropriate strategies to master bike riding, practicing this task with strategies in mind, starting in an environment that is relatively flat, safe and distraction free and then working up to riding on a bike track. The therapist would also work with parents and teachers to assist the child to allow greater participation in his/her roles as student and player.

Occupational therapists may visit and evaluate school environments to assess whether children with mobility issues can access spaces necessary for educational, social and school based self-care activities or assist teachers develop appropriate classroom environments for children with autism spectrum disorders who are overwhelmed by too much sensory stimulation. Students who are finishing high school or special school, and who have disabilities such as cerebral palsy, can be assisted by an occupational therapist who can help them to examine suitable training and employment options or make the transition to higher education where accommodations may be required within the university environment.

When occupational therapists work with adults, they will work directly with their client and or partners/carers/family members to assess and identify the therapy goals. Therapists will evaluate their client’s ability to undertake daily tasks such as meal preparation, showering and dressing, managing money and planning their day as well as being able to function within their workplace and enjoy community access. This may involve assessing skills relating to memory, cognition and perception as well as sensori-motor skills related to upper limb movement and the client’s ability to use assistive technology. The impact of the environment and it’s effect on the person’s ability to maximise their participation in life and community is also critical. In collaboration with the person and carers/family members interventions will be developed to allow their client to more fully engage with the tasks and activities necessary for participation in important life roles such as worker, parent, self carer etc. This can be achieved through skill improvement, learning adaptive strategies, task modification, the introduction of assistive technology or environmental changes that which will enable performance and optimise participation.

Other examples of work with adults include occupational therapists who provide a range of services to workplaces such as injury prevention and management, health promotion and rehabilitation including a Return to Work Program for injured workers. Within a workplace, an occupational therapist may analyse workstation layouts, worksprocesses, systematic tasks and activities to identify risks and evaluate the environment and its impact on a person’s performance. Health and well being and prevention services are also provided such as education of workplace employees in manual handling or other safe work practices to prevent injury, absenteeism etc.

Some occupational therapists may work in aged care environments to ensure the accessibility of the physical environment, as well as assessing the adequacy of meaningful activities in which residents can engage and providing individual or group session to promote social engagement for residents.

Who Will I Work With?

Wherever occupational therapists work, teamwork is critical. Occupational therapists are key members of a health care, school based and community teams, bringing a focus on occupational performance and participation. In hospital teams other members may include doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dieticians, and social workers. School based teams might involve teachers, teacher aides, psychologists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists and guidance counselors. The team composition varies depending on the needs of the clients and the work context.

Where Will I Work?

If you pursue a career as an Occupational Therapist, you’ll find a wide variety of workplace options available for you.

Government and non-government hospitals and health care services are large employers of occupational therapists but there are also many other workplaces in which you will find people involved in this profession. Other settings include private practice or community-based settings, schools, industry/workplaces, rehabilitation services, nongovernment organisations such as charities, associations for people with disabilities, city councils, aged care facilities, respite service providers.

What Type of Career is it?

Diversity and opportunity abound when you choose ocupational terapy as a profession. With such a wide variety of work settings, and so many different types of clients, you will find that you have a wide range of workplace choices. There are a range of employment opportunities with an increasing demand, in line with the expanding area of work practices. There is a skill shortage in the area of occupational therapy and demand for therapists in all work sectors. Opportunities for career advancement and development are also plentiful, including areas such as clinical specialties, careers in research or in academia, clinical education, project management or general management.

Most importantly though, occupational therapists share in the satisfaction of partnering with clients and families to optimise their participation and live meaningful fulfilling lives.

How Much Will I Earn?

With such a wide variety of workplaces and areas of employment, salary levels vary. A graduate from occupational therapy can expect to earn a starting salary of approximately $55,000 if employed by Queensland Health, with incremental progression.

What Qualifications and Skills Do I Need?

People considering a career in occupational therapy will need good communication skills and the ability to work effectively with teams. If you enjoy relating to others, diverse work days and solving practical problems as well as the idea of belonging to an active and growing profession is appealing to you, then Occupational Therapy may be a great career option for you.

The necessary qualifications can be obtained via two program options:

• The first option is a four year undergraduate Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Program. Entry requirements include completion of grade 12 (with senior English and either senior chemistry, biology, or physics). In recent years, the OP level for entry has ranged from 3 - 6.
• The second option is a two year, six semester Graduate Entry of Masters of Occupational Therapy Studies program. This requires prior completion of a relevant bachelor degree in a field such as health, education, social, physical or biological sciences. Pre-requisites exist with regard to courses and GPA and can be obtained from the UQ website.

Why Study at UQ?

UQ is proud to offer students excellence, innovation and best practice. You will be taught by world class lecturers and researchers and the UQ Division of Occupational Therapy is recognised as a leader in occupational therapy research and practice. Particular areas of expertise include pain, acquired brain injury, health literacy, evidence based practice, work, injury prevention and management, environmental design and modification, and occupational engagement and participation for children and families. Employers - both nationally and internationally - recognise the strength of the UQ program and our graduates are eligible to practice all over the world. The two UQ programs are accredited by OT Australia (National) and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.

Future Pathways

Opportunities also exist to pursue an academic and research based career by undertaking a research higher degree such as a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy.

Occupational therapy optimises people’s occupational performance and participation. The University of Queensland’s Bachelor Degree in Occupational Therapy is an excellent degree to equip you for a fulfilling and rewarding career.

To view a short clip on this career visit Health@UQ.