Nursing and COTA (Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant)

Name

Institution

Nursing and COTA (Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant)

Nursing

Registered nurses in the United States have been mandated with several duties that constitute their job description. Performing physical examinations and scrutinizing health histories of different patients is among the primary jobs that they have to accomplish. Nurses are also responsible for counseling patients, and promoting health in the public. The nurses also have to dispense medications, take care of wounds and perform other different interventions. Nurses cooperate with other healthcare professionals with the aim of coordinating care among the patients (American Nurses Association, 2014).

Nurses mostly work in the hospitals, where they interact with the patients at different levels. On one level, the nurses are attendants to the hospital patients where they administer medicine, and cater for their personal needs such as helping them out of bed and feeding them. Other nurses make home calls where they attended to patients, for example, the elderly. The nurses interact with patients and consult with doctors in matters concerning the medical profession. In addition, nurses work in private offices, and the clinics in the country.

The National Council Licensure Examination is the body overseeing the licensing state of nurses in the country. One of the main requirements that nurses require for practice in the country is a license. For one to attain the license, they need to have a diploma in nursing from hospital-based schools of nursing. On the contrary, they can attain an Associate Degree in Nursing from community colleges and hospital-based schools of nursing. The Bachelor of Science in nursing degree is eligible for one to become a registered nurse in the country (American Nurses Association, 2014). A master’s and a doctor of philosophy degrees in nursing are adequate requirements for one to acquire a license to practice the profession.

Statistics reveal that, by the year 2020, the nurses’ employment rate will have increased by 26%. Additionally, the data deduces that students with a bachelor’s degree in nursing will have among the best jobs in the country in a few years to come. In relation to records provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), the mean salary of a registered nurse is $69,110.

Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

The main job of an occupational therapist assistant is to improve a patient’s life. In a medical setting, patients are exposed to different experiences such as surgical operations, taking medications and psychology evaluations. All the aforementioned situations require a professional guide for the ultimate improvement of a patient’s life. Occupational therapist assistants help patients through their therapeutic sessions. In this case, they get involved in the exercising activities meant to assist the patients recover swiftly. Occupational therapist assistants are also involved in teaching patients on the use of various special tools that help them in their paths to recovery. It is also their duty to monitor the patients’ progress and make a full report of the situation, which they submit to the occupational therapists (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).

Occupational therapist assistants work in the hospitals, nursing institutions, and mainly in the occupational therapists’ offices. Physical, audiologists and occupational therapists are among the major employers of occupational therapist assistants. The job description highly involves interacting with patients on a recovery path. The education requirement for one to become an occupational therapist assistant includes attaining a diploma from high school and attaining an associate’s degree from a credible higher education institution. It is notable that each assistant needs to be registered under the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy upon passing the required exam. Statistics show that the demand for occupational therapist assistants is bound to rise significantly with over 40% by the year 2020. Data from the year 2012 reveal that the median pay for occupational therapist assistants was $53,240 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).

References

American Nurses Association. (2014). Nursing world. Retrieved on 19 April 2014 from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing/Tools-You-Need/RegisteredNurseLicensing.html

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). Occupational therapy assistants and aides. Retrieved on 19 April 2014 from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapy-assistants-and-aides.htm#tab-4