See if you can pass this test...
If you can, you may be on your way to a rewarding health care career!
THE TEST...
Answer the following questions. Answer honestly. When you have finished, count the number of true answers, then check your score below. It’s amazing how much you can learn about your future.
| 1 | I try to understand my own and other people’s behavior. |
_True | _False |
| 2 | I have an ability and interest in biology and psychology. |
_True | _False |
| 3 | I enjoy creative problem solving. |
_True | _False |
| 4 | I interact easily with people of all backgrounds. |
_True | _False |
| 5 | I have at least one creative hobby. |
_True | _False |
| 6 | I can think on my feet. |
_True | _False |
| 7 | I enjoy helping people. |
_True | _False |
| 8 | I have good communication skills. |
_True | _False |
| 9 | I have patience with myself and others. |
_True | _False |
| 10 | I will work hard to make a good salary. |
_True | _False |
If you answered True to:
- 9, you should definitely contact Housatonic Community College to
get started on your rewarding career in Occupational Therapy.
- 6 - 8, come to an information session at HCC and learn more about
Occupational Therapy.
- 4 or more, consider a career in Occupational Therapy. Talk to your Guidance Counselor.
Congratulations!
You passed the test and . . .
You just took the first step toward a rewarding career in Occupational Therapy.
What it’s all about?
Occupational Therapy combines your interests in creative arts, sciences, psychology, communication and the helping professions.
Occupational Therapy is the use of purposeful activity to achieve functional outcomes. Achieving functional outcomes means to develop or restore the highest possible level of independence of an individual who is limited by a physical injury or illness, a dysfunctional condition, a mental illness, a cognitive impairment, a psychosocial dysfunction, a developmental or learning disability or an adverse environmental condition. Occupational therapy services include assessment, treatment and education directed toward enhancing performance of daily activities and the promotion of health and wellness. |
Consider exploring this career option:
• Would you like to teach, but prefer working with children one on one (particularly in special education)?
OTAs are employed in public and private school settings where they help optimize children’s learning abilities.
• Are you thinking about recreation as a career, but are more interested in helping people one on one?
OTAs use activities in a very specific way to assist patients in recovery from social, emotional and physical problems.
• Do you have a strength in the sciences and an interest in helping others?
OTAs work one on one with people in rehabilitation facilities, acute care hospitals and long term care facilities (and they don’t have to draw blood!).
• Are you thinking of an arts career but are concerned about not being able to make a good salary?
OTAs use art, music, drama and functional activities to help people regain function.
• Are you interested in helping people with social or emotional problems, but don’t have the resources to go to school for a Masters in Psychology or a Bachelors in Social Work?
OTAs look at the whole person (physical, social environmental, spiritual and emotional aspects) when they plan treatments to assist their recovery. OTAs provide valuable services in psychiatric hospitals and mental health clinics.
• Do you have interest and abilities in creative problem solving and want to help people?
OTAs use their own creativity in assisting patients to overcome their own unique challenges.
• Are you a person who wants to make a difference in the lives of others?
OTAs make a real difference in the lives of patients in long-term care settings as they assist people with physical, mental and emotional disabilities to be all that they can be.
OT is rewarding creative work with a wide variety of employment options.
The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Housatonic Community College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).
Upon successful completion . . .
Successful completion of the OTA program allows students to sit for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Passing this exam means the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Most states require licensing, which is generally based on the results of the certification examination.
A Bargain
All of the four-year institutions in CT now require students to complete a five and a half- to six-year program of study to become an OTR. With an average tuition of $18,000 per year, a six-year OTR degree costs more than $108,000! Currently, there are only three schools in Connecticut offering the two-year OTA program.
The OTA program at Housatonic Community College gives you the opportunity to start that career and earn a very respectable salary (up to $30,000 plus per year) with only two years of study.
For more information see the program page, download the application packet, or contact:
Mickey Reed
OTA Program Director
(203) 332-5214
OR e-mail: mreed@hcc.commnet.edu
Housatonic Community College
900 Lafayette Boulevard
Bridgeport, CT 06604