A Registered Occupational Therapist can expect to earn upwards of £18.50 per hour, depending on experience. Depending on the role, you may be required to work or be on call during the evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. However, there are opportunities to work Monday to Friday.
Skills and values
There are a range of skills and values that are needed for a nurse Occupational Therapist. These include:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Good verbal, literacy, numeracy and digital skills
- Good organisation skills
- Good observational skills and excellent attention to detail
- Work using your own initiative and good team player
Entry requirements
You will need a degree on Occupational Therapy and be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC). To get onto an undergraduate course, you will need at least 5GCSE’s (A-C or 9-4) including Maths & English; 3 A Levels (or equivalent). It may also help if you have some experience of working in a health or social care setting too – this could be through a work placement, volunteering or as part of a traineeship/apprenticeship. If you already have a degree, you may be able to qualify through the postgraduate entry route.
What roles can I do to gain experience?
Volunteering or work experience.
Care assistant.
Opportunities to develop
An excellent starting place is to become an occupational therapy support worker – they help the OT give practical support to their service users. You may take up further training and become a specialist in a particular area.
What's next
Specialise in a particular area such as Mental Disabilities, Aging patient-related issues, or patient motor skills.
Continue learning through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.
Find out more about this role from real people.
