AOTA responds to The Examiner article, "Occupational Therapy: You shouldn't need a degree for that"

The Examiner, Jan. 31, 2018

"Occupational Therapy: You Shouldn’t Need a Degree for That"

I am responding to the Jan. 31, 2018, Op-Ed by Garrett Watson and Shoshana Weissman, “Occupational Therapy: You Shouldn’t Need a Degree for That,” which contains factual errors.

The piece begins by saying, “Last August, the American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA] introduced a mandate requiring entry-level occupational therapy assistants to obtain bachelor’s degrees.” This is incorrect. The mandate was introduced by the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy (ACOTE®) which is a separate organization from AOTA. It goes on to say, “The AOTA is responsible for accrediting occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants…” Again, accreditation is under the purview of ACOTE, not AOTA.

The assertion that “occupational therapy is representative of the kind of middle-skill, middle-income jobs that have been slow to grow in the wake of rapid digitalization and globalized markets” is not supported by the data, or by the experience of occupational therapy practitioners themselves. In fact U.S. News & World Report recently ranked occupational therapist as No. 11 and occupational therapy assistant as No. 60 on its list of the Best 100 Jobs for 2018. Occupational therapy assistant was also ranked No. 8 on its list of Best Health Care Support Jobs for 2018. The ranking takes salary and future growth into account. The profession is consistently ranked highly among all professions, not just in health care. For more, visit AOTA's Job Outlook page.

Occupational therapists and assistants use evidence-based practice to address cognitive, physical, and social challenges among individuals across the lifespan to promote independence despite illness and injury. Their interventions work. For example, research shows that occupational therapy is the only spending category that reduces hospital readmissions and it can reduce nursing home admissions.