Both occupational therapists and physiotherapists provide their patients with time-tested, dynamic procedures that improve the patient’s overall health and well-being. Incredibly, physiotherapy’s roots can be traced back to the “father of modern medicine”, the Greek physician, Hippocrates – to about the date of 460 BC (Das). Around the same time period, another Greek physician, Hector, used hydrotherapy, or water treatment to improve his patient’s health (Das). Moreover, there is plenty of evidence from the writings of the Persians, Sumerians, Chinese, and Egyptians that describe the therapeutic effects of massage, exercise, and movement to help alleviate certain types of illnesses (Das). On the other hand, occupational therapy has blossomed quite recently, when the first OTs (mostly and crafts therapists) encouraged mentally and/or physically-challenged patients to participate in activities that involved the hands (Pappas). In the mid- to late 19th century, occupational therapy became an organized specialty, with a professional group forming the American Occupational Therapy Association in 1917 (Pappas).
Nowadays, the necessary training for OTs and PTs is quite rigorous. An OT requires a Masters Degree to practice in the US (Karplus) After graduation, the future OT must pass an exam, and then apply for a license to practice OT through the Office of Education and Registration in their state (Karplus). Afterward, the OT must pass “two levels of clinical fieldwork” (Karplus). Whereas the course focus is very different, the aspiring PT must complete a similar route of undergraduate, graduate, and clinical training.
An OT Assistant basically performs the same kind of work as an OT, but they are not permitted to perform patient evaluations (Karplus). A practicing OT Assistant must also have additional paperwork signed by a licensed OT (Karplus). An OT Assistant may help with the re-learning of eating, bathing, grooming, and dressing skills for hand and arm exercises for patients who may have had a stroke – among many other responsibilities (Karplus). On the other hand, PT Assistants are more inclined to help with lower body activities that involve strengthening, coordination, and flexibility exercises for walking (Karplus). Times are great for OT Assistants because the work is steady, and the pay is high. In fact, an OT Assistant can expect to earn a median income of nearly $80,000 per year (U.S. News & World Report).
Works Cited
Das, Prodyut. “History of Physical Therapy.” Physiotherapy-Treatment. 2009. Web. 14 Jul. 2016.
Karplus, Debra. “What It’s Like to Be an Occupational Therapist.” Young Money. 2014. Web. 14 Jul. 2016.
Pappas, Stephanie. “What is Occupational Therapy?” Livescience. 25 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Jul. 2016.
U.S. News & World Report. (n.p.). “Occupational Therapist.” 2016. Web. 14 Jul. 2016.
