Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Text-Only Resume Examples
Years of Experience
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Raymond Ortiz
123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY 12345
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Profile
Attentive Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 7+ years of experience. Work focused on assisting patients with basic stretches and exercise activities to restore health and return to daily life.
Professional Experience
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, ABC Hospital, New York, NY
2019 to Present
- Carefully adhere to occupational therapist’s treatment plan and schedule for each individual
- Complete regular assessments of patients’ mobility levels
- Actively engage with and educate clients’ spouses, guardians, and family members at all stages of the recovery process
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant PRN, EFG Rehabilitation, New York, NY
2015 to 2019
- Helped guide and support patients’ return to daily life activities
- Maintained detailed records of each person’s challenges and advancement toward health goals
- Revised treatment method and setting based on patient responses and energy levels
- Instructed and oversaw several occupational therapy aides and volunteers
Education
Associate Degree – Occupational Therapy Assistant
Kingsborough Community College, New York, NY, 2015
Key Skills
- Activities of Daily Living
- Occupational Therapy
- Patient & Family Relations
- Patient Assessment
- Physical Mobility
- Reporting & Documentation
- Treatment Planning & Scheduling
Joseph Corbin
123 Carpenter Street, Philadelphia, PA 12345
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Profile
Energetic Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 5+ years of experience. Help patients work toward and achieve greater physical mobility to improve their daily quality of life.
Professional Experience
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, LMN Rehab, Philadelphia, PA
2019 to Present
- Collaborate closely with and under supervision of occupational therapist to set and implement viable plans of care
- Continually monitor individuals’ progress toward health goals, and revise care plan to help optimize outcomes
- Attend regular case meetings to review patients’ progress with the broader health team
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant PRN, OPQ Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
2017 to 2019
- Assisted clients in performing therapeutic activities and using rehab equipment safely and effectively
- Provided regular updates on patients’ progress, advising on further updates to treatment plan
Education
Associate Degree — Occupational Therapy Assistant
Philadelphia Community College, Philadelphia, PA, 2017
Key Skills
- Activities of Daily Living
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Equipment Instruction
- Occupational Therapy
- Patient Monitoring
- Physical Mobility
- Treatment Planning & Updating
Jasmine Brown
123 W 15th Street, Minneapolis, MN 12345
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Profile
Motivated Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 6+ years of experience. Skilled and versatile communicator who builds positive relationships with patients, family members, colleagues, and administrators. Committed to ongoing professional development and education.
Relevant Experience
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, RST Rehabilitation, Minneapolis, MN
2019 to Present
- Motivate and coach individuals to successfully carry out occupational therapy activities
- Gather and evaluate information on patients’ current health status and response to previous care measures
- Help define and develop new healthcare quality improvement measures
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant PRN, UVW Rehab, Minneapolis, MN
2017 to 2019
- Educated clients on effective use of special equipment for assistance with daily self-care activities
- Provided valuable input on possible changes in treatment for each patient
Volunteer, XYZ Learning Center, Minneapolis, MN
2016 to 2017
- Worked with people with learning disabilities, helping them gain skills and tools for greater personal independence
Education
Associate Degree — Occupational Therapy Assistant
Minneapolis Community & Technical College, Minneapolis, MN, 2017
Key Skills
- Activities of Daily Living
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Health Information Assessment
- Occupational Therapy
- Patient & Family Relations
- Patient Support & Motivation
- Special Equipment Instruction
- Treatment Planning
Tips for Writing a Better Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
1. Speak to your collaborative skills
To be an effective certified OTA, you must collaborate closely with an occupational therapist. Success in the role is often measured by how well you work together to help patients return to daily life. Speak to your collaborative skills on your resume, and you’ll make it easier for hiring managers to envision you fitting in well at their healthcare organization.
Examples
- Carefully adhere to occupational therapist’s treatment plan and schedule for each individual
- Collaborate closely with and under supervision of occupational therapist to set and implement viable plans of care
2. Don’t use jargon
When you use a long, unwieldy word when a short word would do, that’s jargon. A classic example: People use the words utilize or utilization when they should use use. Jargon is especially tempting for people in the medical profession, where there are plenty of long words that don’t have a shorter substitute. These medical-specific terms have a place on your resume, as long as they apply to your background and goals. The problem is when you let words that should be short and simple become words (often ending in “–tion”) that are long and clunky.
Grammar expert Patricia T. O’Conner defines jargon as “pseudo-technical terms that are supposed to lend the speaker an aura of expertise…. you can use it to discuss things you know little about, and without saying anything.” But you don’t need language to give you expertise. You already have it. You knowledgeable about your field, and have plenty to say about your experience. So you don’t need to rely on jargon for your resume.
Example
- Educated clients on effective use of special equipment for assistance with daily self-care activities
3. Use the correct narrative tense
When writing job descriptions, many job seekers mistakenly use the third-person narrative tense (“Collaborates with the OT…. Assists patients…”). But this makes for awkward and strangely distant reading on the hiring manager’s part. It’s as if a candidate named Jimmy were to come in for an interview and say, “Jimmy is glad to meet you. Jimmy would be excited to work for your company.”
A resume is just the written form of how you’d describe yourself. You’re writing about yourself and the things you do, not anyone else. Therefore, you should use the first-person tense (“Collaborate with the OT…. Assist with patients…”). When you’re drafting your resume, a good way to be sure you’re using the correct verb tense is to start every sentence with “I,” then delete it and capitalize the first letter of the verb that follows.
Example
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, RST Rehabilitation, Minneapolis, MN | 2019 to Present
- Motivate and coach individuals to successfully carry out occupational therapy activities
- Gather and evaluate information on patients’ current health status and response to previous care measures
- Help define and develop new healthcare quality improvement measures
Key Skills Hiring Managers Look for on Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resumes
Collaboration is a central skill for certified occupational therapy assistants, but it’s just one of many. Below is a list of additional skills you might showcase on your resume.
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Activities of Daily Living | Cross-Functional Collaboration |
| Health Information Assessment | Occupational Therapy |
| Patient & Family Relations | Patient Assessment |
| Patient Monitoring | Patient Support & Motivation |
| Physical Mobility | Reporting & Documentation |
| Special Equipment Instruction | Treatment Planning & Updating |
Common Action Verbs for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resumes
Certified occupational therapy assistants do more than assist. They also educate (patients), document (treatment progress), and advise (on changes to plans of care). In the list below, you’ll find these and other strong resume verbs you can use to relate your varied work.
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Achieve | Adhere |
| Advise | Attend |
| Collaborate | Document |
| Educate | Engage |
| Guide | Implement |
| Improve | Instruct |
| Maintain | Monitor |
| Optimize | Oversee |
| Restore | Review |
| Revise | Support |
How to Align Your Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume With the Job Description
What healthcare facilities or patient groups have you worked with in your career so far? When you find a certified occupational therapy assistant job posting that shares attributes with your background, reference that in your profile to make your resume more relevant to the hiring manager.
For example, if the posting is for a job working with geriatric patients, and you have four prior years’ experience with that age group, you might update your intro line to something like “Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 9 years of experience including 4 years working with geriatric patients.”
