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Senior Occupational Therapist
HealthcareYou're the OT with enough experience to specialize — hand therapy, pediatrics, neuro rehab, driving rehabilitation — and you're the one complex cases get referred to. You mentor junior OTs, contribute to evidence-based practice, and handle the patients who aren't responding to standard protocols. The clinical depth is real, and so is the documentation burden.
Salary Range
Low
$90k
Median
$105k
High
$125k
10-Year Growth
12%
US Workers
30K
Education
Master's or Doctorate in OT + specialty certification (CHT, BCPR, etc.) + 5-8 years experience
Environment
indoor
Tools & Technical Skills
- ▸Specialty certification (CHT, BCPR, SCLV)
- ▸Advanced assessment tools
- ▸Evidence-based treatment protocols
- ▸Clinical supervision
- ▸Research & program development
- ▸Cognitive rehabilitation techniques
- ▸Driving rehabilitation assessment
People & Mindset Skills
- ▸Clinical reasoning
- ▸Mentoring
- ▸Leadership
- ▸Communication
- ▸Analytical thinking
- ▸Creativity
- ▸Continuing education discipline
Learn the skills
Courses and certifications to get you job-ready
Specialty certification (CHT, BCPR, SCLV)
Clinical supervision
What you'll actually do
- 01Manage a caseload of complex patients who need specialized OT interventions
- 02Mentor and clinically supervise junior OTs and OTAs
- 03Develop evidence-based treatment protocols for your specialty area
- 04Perform specialized assessments — hand function, driving readiness, cognitive rehabilitation
- 05Collaborate with physicians and other therapists on interdisciplinary care plans
- 06Present at case conferences and contribute to facility-wide quality improvement
- 07Keep up with continuing education that your certification board demands — it never ends
Related Shifts
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