BSc in Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy,

Trinity College,

What does an occupational therapist

do? • As an occupational therapist you enable people

to do the activities that are important to them regardless of their physical or mental ability.

 These activities may be • work or school related• self-care related• leisure related

Occupational therapists facilitate a

diverse range of people to learn new

or better ways of achieving

satisfaction in day to day living

through involvement in meaningful

activity or occupation.

Examples of the kinds of things occupational therapists might do include:

• Improve the play and movement skills of a baby or child with a disability.

• Work with a disabled or elderly person to modify their home environment to suit their needs so they can manage independently and safely.

• Assess the driving ability of someone with a disability.

• Visit work places to assist people to modify their jobs and design better work areas to suit their needs.

• Help people select equipment and appliances, such as wheelchairs, assistive technology and dressing aids, to increase their independence.

• Assist people with mental illness (e.g. depression or schizophrenia) to learn necessary life skills, such as cooking, banking, etc.

• Estimate costs for future care in medical-legal disputes.

• Travel to Third World countries to set up rehabilitation programs.

• Research the health effects of participation in meaningful occupations.

Occupational therapists can work in:

• Hospitals

• Rehabilitation units

• Schools

• Community health centres

• People’s homes

Occupational therapists work alongside

• Social workers• Physiotherapists• Speech and language therapists • Nurses• Psychologists• Doctors• Teachers• Architects

What kind of person do you need to be ?

• If you are social, compassionate, patient, analytical and a problem solver, then you might be the kind of person who would make a good occupational therapist.

• If you are considering applying for the course, you should visit an occupational therapist at work.

Salary Scale

• Occupational Therapist– €32,738 - €43,614

• Senior Occupational Therapist– €43,527 - €51,525

• Occupational Therapist Manager– €52,788 – €63,227

Salary

– Internationally many entrepreneurial occupational therapists enjoy healthy incomes in the private sector.

– Sometimes occupational therapists have moved into related areas where the ceilings on salaries are much higher, particularly in management, administration or consultative positions.

BSc in Occupational Therapy

• Four year degree course• 40+ places• 505 points random selection (2005)• One science subject required • 10% mature students > 23 years• Classes between Trinity Centre for

Health Sciences St. James Hospital and Trinity College campus

BSc in Occupational Therapy

• What subjects do you study?

– basic sciences such as anatomy, psychology and physiology

– medicine, paediatrics, orthopaedics and psychiatry

– theories and practice of occupational therapy

– clinical skills and fieldwork

work

play

Self-care

leisure