Why work as an Occupational Therapist’s Assistant?

Seeking a role as an Occupational Therapist Assistant?

If you want a rewarding career with plenty of job opportunities across Australia, being an occupational therapist’s assistant can give you all that and much more.  As an allied health worker, skills such as yours will continue to be required for decades into the future, as more of Australia’s population continues to age.

A career in the allied health sector is ideal for anyone who wants to focus on helping other people to live their best life, as they move into their elderly years. You will work with a diverse range of patients who due to injury, illness or disease require your expert help to relearn skills that will help them to live a productive life or will make their daily lives a little easier.

At NCA, we offer a Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance (Occupational Therapy) – HLT43015 targeting the aged care sector, giving you all the knowledge, skills and expertise that is needed to work under the direction of a registered Occupational Therapist.

An occupational therapist’s assistant works with elderly patients who suffer from sensory, physical or cognitive disabilities. Using a treatment plan that was created by a registered occupational therapist, you will help to rehabilitate these patients, helping them to recover from their impairment, and improve their quality of life, to the very best of their ability. 

Main goal is to help your patients perform as many of their personal self-care needs as possible, given their disability or cognitive impairment, as well as enjoying their leisure time and being more productive in their day to day activities. Ultimately, your goal is to help your patients live independently once again, but this goal must be tempered with the realities of their disabilities.

Occupational therapist’s assistants can work anywhere in Australia from large cities to small towns and remote regions. You will find jobs in both private and public hospitals, as well as rehabilitation centres, and aged care and residential care facilities. Since your work is crucial to helping our elderly population lead productive and happy lives you will find opportunities just about anywhere in Australia.

Your day may start with assisting the registered occupation therapist to design treatment plans for new patients or making changes to existing patient’s treatment plans. You may then spend some time helping a variety of patients to use adaptive tools that help them to be more independent in their daily lives. You may move on to assessing the type of assistance needed by another patient, educate and guide family members of other patients on the rehabilitation of their elderly relative, and assess the adaptions that are required for a patient to remain living independently at home. 

​The demand for aged care allied health workers will inevitably continue to increase in Australia, providing a secure career for qualified individuals who want a rewarding career. This type of work attracts people who want to focus on helping others to live their best lives, improving their quality of life as much as possible, and who want to work with a diverse range of patients who suffer from physical, sensory or physical disabilities. It’s a very rewarding career with plenty of job opportunities for the right-minded people!

Other Allied Health Courses you may be interested in:

• Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance – HLT43015
• Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance (Physiotherapy) – HLT43015