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Occupational Therapy Aide Job Description Template

A good job description provides a solid foundation on which to build your hiring process. It gives potential applicants the information they need to make sound decisions regarding whether or not they should apply. It can also prevent misunderstandings and wasted time. To help you construct a strong, informative job posting, we have created the following Occupational Therapy Aide job description sample.

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Occupational Therapy Aide Job Summary

As an Occupational Therapy Aide at Oh My OT in downtown Healthy City, California, you will be involved in day-to-day patient services, including preparing rooms, scheduling appointments, cleaning and maintaining equipment, filing paperwork, answering phones and keeping informational displays well-stocked. We are seeking applicants who can work afternoons, Monday through Friday, and every other Saturday morning.

Occupational Therapy Aide Job Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Reception duties (including answering phones, greeting patients and scheduling appointments): 70 percent of workload.
  • Preparing rooms and laying out equipment: 20 percent of workload.
  • Cleaning and maintaining equipment and reception area: 10 percent of workload.

Occupational Therapy Aide Skills and Qualifications

  • Our aides do not have to be licensed, but a background knowledge of human development, medical terminology and occupational therapy is required.
  • High school diploma required.
  • One year of experience or associate’s degree preferred.
  • Friendly, outgoing demeanor required.
  • Experience working with young children preferred.

Company Profile

Oh My OT has been operating in Healthy City for more than 30 years. Our patients agree that we are one of the friendliest therapy offices in town. Our Therapists and Therapy Assistants undergo several hours of continuing education every year to keep up with the latest developments in the field, and we are always improving our methods in line with the latest research and technology. Many of our Assistants and some of our Therapists started out as Aides and stayed on at Oh My when they completed their education.

Writing a Job Description Best Practices

  • Whether you need to advertise an Aide, Assistant, Therapist or other opening, keep the following points in mind:

    • Use keywords to get your job description seen by more people. Remember to use standard expressions, such as occupational therapy, as well as common abbreviations like OT. Don’t forget your location keywords so local job-seekers can find your listing right away.
    • Create an employment landing page on your company’s website to increase your listings’ visibility on the web. Two ways web pages get marked as being reputable are by having other pages link to them and by having been around for a while. If you create an “employment opportunities” page on your site and post your openings there as they come up, that page will start to look authoritative as far as search engines such as Google and Bing are concerned. Add you occupational and location keywords to the employment page as well as to your individual job descriptions.
    • Use images, videos and employee testimonials to establish your office as a great place to work. Your company culture is an essential part of your total branding, and showcasing it is an excellent way to get new prospects excited about working with you.
    • Use your company’s authentic voice. This goes back to branding and company culture, too. It is all too easy to get caught up in the details of a job description and lose your brand’s voice in the process. Once you have all of your job description’s essential information written down, read it aloud and see if it comes across with the personality of your organization. If it has become stuffy and overly technical, rewrite it until it has the tone you are looking for.
    • Be upfront about compensation, perks, full-time or part-time status and expected work hours. If your employees need to rotate through working weekends, state this in the job description. If you can only offer part-time hours, be clear about that. If scheduling is flexible, job-seekers will want to know that, too. On the other hand, if you only need someone for Wednesday afternoons, say so in your ad. You don’t want to be half way through the interview process when you find out that your preferred candidate can’t work with your scheduling needs.

      The Occupational Therapy Aide job description sample above is a useful starting point for creating a job description that will attract and retain the talent your organization needs. Feel free to adjust it to fit your brand and circumstances.

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Occupational Therapy Aide Job Responsibilities

Carefully writing your occupational therapy aide job description helps to ensure you attract the best candidates for the job. One part worth paying special attention to is the job responsibilities section. This part of the job description outlines the duties expected in the role. It gives a clear overview of what an occupational therapy aide will do in a day. Many jobseekers look to this section to help them decide if the job is for them, which makes it essential to ensure it is well written.

The occupational therapy aide job responsibilities section needs to explain essential job duties, but you should not include every little task. Stick to just 6-8 items. Make things concise by including just key duties. You want this section to be the meatiest part of the occupational therapy aide job description, but you also don’t want to overwhelm the jobseeker. Precise wording and action verbs should help keep this section easy to read.

Here is an example of how to write this section:

  • Assist occupational therapists upon request with patient care
  • Conduct general office tasks, such as answering the phone and maintaining patient files
  • Transport patients within and outside of facility
  • Follow all outlined safety procedures and identify safety risks
  • Manage inventory and order supplies when needed
  • Maintain and clean equipment
Occupational Therapy Aide Job Specifications

While the job qualifications and skills section of your occupational therapy aide job description may not be as long as the job responsibilities, it is also important. It conveys the qualifications needed for the job, telling applicants if they have the education, skills and experience required. It also allows you to weed out those candidates who don’t qualify, saving you time. It is important to ensure this section provides details for the different occupational therapy aide job specifications it lists.

To include all pertinent qualifications and skills, you may want to consult with your hiring manager or other managers and employees who work closely with this position. They can give you a better idea of the actual requirements of the job. You should be as specific as possible and avoid generic terminology. Keep it brief yet thorough, and try to distinguish between required and preferred items in your list. This allows applicants to check their own credentials against the job requirements.

This is an example of how this section might look in an occupational therapy aide job description:

  • High school diploma or GED required
  • Current CPR certification for adults and children required
  • Strong knowledge of medical terminology
  • Ability to work various shifts
  • Willingness to travel
  • Experience or education in occupational therapy or nursing assistance preferred

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Writing Your Occupational Therapy Aide Job Description: Dos and Don’ts

Now that you know what sort of information to include, study these dos and don’ts before you complete the job description:

• Do create an accurate description. With something as specific as occupational therapy, it should be safe to assume that anyone meeting the educational requirements you have stipulated will understand basic industry terminology you may use. However, what constitutes and “aide” is a little more subjective. If you need someone with a very basic understanding of the principles of human development and occupational therapy to prepare rooms and greet clients, explain that in your job description. If what you are looking for is someone who has quite a bit of experience and can work with clients independently on a program you have designed, spell that out in your job listing.
• Don’t forget to state where the new employee will be working. It is important to include the city and state where your office is located, as well as pertinent information about working conditions. For example, is this opening at a clinic, a school or a local fitness center?
• Don’t forget to provide an easy way to contact the hiring manager. Contact information should be included in the text of the job description. Don’t start off by confusing your potential applicants and making it difficult for them to submit their application materials.
• Do use relevant keywords to help your ad get found in search. Think about what phrases you would use to search for an Occupational Therapy Aide position. You should include geographic keywords, as well as phrases such as occupational therapy, OT, PT, clinic, school and any other words specific to your practice, such as Early Intervention.

The more information you can include in your job description without causing confusion, the better results you can expect. Giving your potential applicants adequate details about what the job involves, in what environment the work is performed and what your office culture is like enables your ideal candidates to find your listing and apply.