OT vs OTA

Do you want to know more about OT vs OTA? Are you unable to differentiate between these two? Many students want to explore the occupational industry. They know it is a wonderful profession. It can offer enhanced job satisfaction and better growth possibilities. The salary is an added benefit. Both the Occupational therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistant come under the category of the occupational career. When some prefer OT, others find OTA more helpful.

OT vs OTA — Career Information

Both these professions deal directly with the patients and caretakers. They will offer therapeutic intervention and safety instructions. When an occupational therapist (OT) has more responsibilities, occupational therapy assisant’s (OTA) duties are limited. In this article, we will help you to know the difference between the two.

Professional Responsibilities

As stated earlier, an OTA has limited responsibilities. They work under the supervision of the AOTA. However, an OT will be responsible for the delivery of all the services to the clients. Once the OTA will have more experience and they will have a better position to handle the duties, the supervision level of OT will start changing. An OTA is expected to do four types of supervision. These are close supervision, general supervision, routine supervision, and minimum supervision.

The OTA will supervise the occupational technicians, therapy aides, and volunteers. However, An OT will not require any supervision to provide services. They will be accountable and responsible for all aspects of the OT service delivery.

Evaluation Assessment

The evaluation assessment is primarily done by the OT. Also, an OTA can do the same job depending on the experience level. They can gather preliminary data based on the observation. Once the assessment is done, the OT and OTA will develop an intervention plan depending on the evaluation result. An OT will implement the result to the client.

An OTA will have a role in the evaluating process. However, they will not be allowed to do it independently. An OT will supervise the interventions and assessment of the OTA. But that does not mean that OT is the boss and the final deciding body.

They both work as a team. In some conditions, an experienced OT learns from an experienced OTA. They communicate and work as a team to facilitate the work and handle things more effectively.

Fieldwork Supervision

Both an OTA and an OT can supervise the fieldwork of the students. An OT with one year experience can supervise OT level II students and OTA with one year experience can supervise OTA II level students.

Educational Difference

For OT, you will need a master’s degree or OTD. After passing a licensure examination, you can practice the OT. For an OTA, you will need an associate degree after passing the school. You will not need a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Also, you do not need to pass the licensure examination.

Wrapping It Up

When it comes to OT vs OTA, you can say that both these professions come together to offer a flawless experience to the clients. So make sure if you are pursuing occupational therapy, you remember the points in this article. They are an inseparable part of the occupational therapy domain. You can choose any of these professions depending on your education and work preference.