Are you a certified occupational therapist assistant? Ready to upgrade your career from OTA to OT, leave behind the assistant title, and become a full-time therapist?
Starting out as an assistant is a great way to get into the occupational therapy field quickly. However, it’s a position that doesn’t always come with a lot of opportunities for career growth.
If you’re an assistant who loves the occupational therapy field but questions where to go next, consider that transitioning from OTA to OT might be the perfect fit for you.
Considering the move from OTA to OT
While some enjoy the freedom and lighter responsibility load that comes with being an assistant, others crave more control. Perhaps you find yourself eager to lend more personal insight and direction to the patients and cases you encounter. Or maybe you already know that you’d prefer to have your own practice. No matter how long you’ve been practicing, you can get the freedom, private practice, and control you want by investing in your education.
Benefits of a master’s degree
Returning to school for your master’s degree in occupational therapy will give you benefits that last a lifetime, including:
- The ability to own and open your practice
- Full control over patient cases
- A significant increase in pay. According to U.S. News, the median salary of an occupational therapy assistant is $62,940 as compared to the median salary of an occupational therapist which is $86,280.
Here at Concordia, we’re excited about providing practicing occupational therapy assistants with access to these benefits through our accredited, engaging, and challenging master of occupational therapy (MOT) program.
Highlights of the program
Our MOT program’s bridge format is a specifically tailored design intended for certified occupational therapy assistants like you. If you have at least one year of experience, this program can save you both time and money.
Earn your degree faster
Those with an associate degree can earn a bachelor of science in rehabilitation science (BSRS) and a master of occupational therapy (MOT) degree in four years. Furthermore, students with a bachelor’s degree can earn an MOT degree in approximately three years.
Flexible format
Accredited by the ACOTE, our bridge format is primarily offered online. You will have on-campus time one weekend a month once you enter master’s level coursework.
Hands-on experience
You’ll get to apply your classroom knowledge in the real world through extensive fieldwork. This hands-on learning starts from the beginning to give you enough practice throughout the program.
Here are a few more specific highlights that you’d gain from our program:
- Learning in state-of-the-art facilities
- Opportunities to enhance your education through global trips to Nepal and Nicaragua
- Active community partnerships with local non-profit organizations and healthcare providers
- Student and professional organizations
- Faculty-mentored research opportunities
- Interprofessional education (IPE) events encourage students to work through real-world scenarios with a diverse team of future health professionals
Beyond the academic rigor and professional development that our program offers, what truly sets our program apart from others is our Lutheran Christian worldview. We filter everything, from classroom lectures to lab work, through this lens to equip you to enter the workplace as a caring certified occupational therapist capable of genuinely caring for patients in both body and spirit.
If moving from an OTA to an OT is a career jump that you’ve considered before, we invite you to apply to our program. To get started, explore our application requirements to learn more about our process.
This post was originally posted on August 29, 2019. It has been updated to reflect current information.