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Category: News

Why Patient Confidentiality Is Important When You Become a Medical Office Administrator

medical office assistant training program

Anybody working in the medical sector should understand the importance of confidentiality. Because medical information is personal and private, it’s necessary for everyone in the field to know how to keep it secure and protected. Patients rely on medical administrators to maintain boundaries around what is said and shared, or accessible to others.

Protecting patient confidentiality is a sign of respect for individuals as well as a way to strengthen the trust that patients have in a medical office. This trust makes it possible for health professionals to properly provide services and interact better with patients. Read on for some more ways that patient confidentiality is essential in medical office administration.

Creating Trust When You Become a Medical Office Administrator

Building trust between patients and medical professionals is important for providing people with the health care that they need. Patients who trust that their information will remain safe from exposure are more likely to share details that can help improve their treatment. The information they divulge makes a big difference in the ability of practitioners to treat and diagnose medical issues. With patients who are comfortable divulging more information, less variables and unanswered questions exist that could influence treatment.

In addition, the more comfortable you can make patients feel, the more efficiently you will be able to accomplish tasks. If you are able to put people at ease by projecting a sense of safety and confidentiality as an administrator, it fosters a calmer, more cooperative environment where things run more smoothly.

Patients are more relaxed when they trust you will protect their information

Patients are more relaxed when they trust you will protect their information

Patient-facing Roles After Medical Office Assistant Training Programs

As a professional administrator after your medical office assistant training program, you may be the first face-to-face interaction that patients have upon entering the office. You will be expected to work with the public in a way that represents the integrity of the team handling their medical services. This is a powerful and important position to be in, where you can greatly influence each person’s perspective and assessment of how their information will be handled.

Using tactful and respectful language, refraining from divulging private information, and maintaining a professional tone can all help reassure patients that their privacy is a priority. In addition, keeping your workplace organized also projects a sense of respect. When files are organized and clutter is kept to a minimum, patients are more likely to be reassured that you won’t misplace a document containing their personal information.

When patients see that you are organized, they can trust that you are keeping their records safe

When patients see that you are organized, they can trust that you are keeping their records safe

Why Confidentiality Is Required in Medical Fields

Whether you are in multiple courses for medical administration or taking a medical terminology training course, you are likely already someone who values and respects people, as you are clearly motivated to help others through healthcare.

All healthcare providers, institutions and personnel must protect patient confidentiality. For example, when using patient data for medical research, professionals are required to omit information that could identify individuals. The same sentiment exists in a medical office, whether you are working in a hospital, clinic or other workplace. One of your key duties as a medical administrator is to keep sensitive records like x-rays, medical history documents or lab results limited to the patients themselves and the healthcare providers who need to see the information to do their work.

Do you want to become a medical office administrator?

Contact KLC College to learn about our courses!

How You Can Help Seniors Keep Moving After a PSW Training Program

As a personal support worker (PSW), you may have to provide supportive care to senior clients. Your responsibilities towards them might include ensuring their safety, monitoring their health, assisting with personal hygiene, or helping them with their medication.

One challenge you may encounter when working with older clients is coming up with different ways to keep them moving. You will have to find strategies that engage and stimulate them since movement and exercise have many proven benefits for seniors. They can help reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack and decrease the probability of falls by improving bone density and strengthening muscles.

Here are some ways you can encourage senior clients to move during your career as a PSW!

Talk to Your Clients to Understand What Activities They May Enjoy

Learning more about who your clients are after your PSW training program can help you discover creative ways to keep them active. One important thing that you can do to encourage your clients to move is simply to talk to them. Discovering different things about a client’s past can allow you to develop activities that might be of interest to them instead of just repeating the same generic activities every day. For example, if a client has a special spot that they used to run to when they were younger, you can offer to walk with them to that spot.

Talking to clients can reveal activities they may enjoy

Some of your clients might be former athletes, maybe some like to dance, and maybe some like to play croquet. What your clients used to do is very important in determining what they will want to do now in order to stay active.

After Completing Your PSW Training Program, Help Clients Get Outdoors

Going outside can work wonders for physical fitness and well-being. Taking a short walk helps your more sedentary clients, who may spend a fair amount of time indoors, get some much-needed fresh air. For people who have reduced mobility, assistance getting outdoors holds a great deal of value. With your help, clients can experience the benefits of sunshine, movement and friendly conversation.

Walking outdoors increases your clients’ quality of life

Being outside is also mentally stimulating. There’s plenty to see and hear. For clients who find they have quite a predictable daily routine, the presence of plants and other people can be refreshing and energizing.

Using nature to lift a client’s mood and energy levels can also have an effect on how motivated they are to be active in the rest of their life. If you cheer a client up with a bit of sun, they are more likely to remain active in general. If your clients get into the habit of moving regularly, their circulation and stress levels will improve, further promoting health and wellness.

Link Mobility to Activities of Daily Living for Clients

A difficult reality for some clients is that their autonomy might be declining. By helping them understand the relationship between movement and independence, you can encourage them to move.

Independence can be fostered through strengthening a client’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) within their abilities, which you’ll learn about in career college. For instance, if a client enjoys picking out their outfits and dressing themselves, you can link this ability to overall mobility and fitness. Encourage them to preserve the coordination, range of motion and strength required to perform tasks like pulling clothes out of a closet or buttoning up a shirt. When you remind clients of the practical application of fitness, exercise makes more sense to them as something they should prioritize.

Are you looking for a personal support worker college program?

Contact KLC College to learn more!

Want to Become a Child and Youth Worker? How Group Therapy Can Help Children

become a child and youth worker

Child and youth workers have a tremendously important responsibility. Providing services to emotionally troubled and disturbed children represents a challenging yet very rewarding career. There are several techniques and strategies that child and youth workers will use to address different situations at different points in their career.

One exercise that is commonly used with children is group therapy. The positive results of group therapy with children demonstrate that it can be an effective strategy. Read on to find out more about how you can use group therapy in your career as a child and youth worker!

How to Use Group Therapy After Child and Youth Worker Training

Group therapy is a popular form of psychotherapy. In a typical group therapy session, multiple children are led by one or more facilitator(s). Group therapy relies on the interaction between group members to create peer dynamics. These dynamics can be used to work on a variety of skills such as:

  • Building self-esteem
  • Learning to be an empathetic and active listener
  • Self-regulating emotions
  • Developing the social skills required to function well in a group
Group therapy can help children develop their social confidence

Group therapy can help children develop their social confidence

One benefit of group therapy that is often overlooked is that the participants can learn as much from each other through observation as they learn from the person facilitating the session. In child and youth worker training you’ll learn how to organize group sessions. With group therapy, you may see that when children can understand what other children are doing well and what they are not doing well, they can instinctively correct their own behaviors.

What to Consider Before Organizing a Group Therapy Session

Group therapy has benefits, but to see those benefits realized you’ll need to plan beforehand. When planning a group therapy session, there are two factors to keep in mind:

1. Do you have time? This might seem like an obvious question, but any counseling, including group therapy, takes time. Things are not usually resolved in one session. It is important to make sure that you and the children you are working with are available for a prolonged period. Long-term benefits happen because of long-term engagement.

2. Does your group have compatible personalities and goals? If you decide to organize group therapy after career college, you will have to be able to determine if the children in your group have similar personalities. If the group’s composition is too different, and children are working towards different goals, group therapy might cause more problems rather than fixing existing ones.

What Children Learn in Group Therapy Can Help Them Long Afterwards

Group therapy can be a defining experience for children. The skills that they pick up might greatly benefit them later in life. One thing that is often worked on in group therapy is interpersonal skills, or the ability to interact with others properly. For some children, this is extremely difficult. Group therapy gives them an opportunity to work on this skill in a controlled environment. It also gives them a chance to reflect on their behavior and make adjustments.

Group therapy can be a new beginning for children facing struggles

Group therapy can be a new beginning for children facing struggles

As mentioned, long-term benefits are the result of long-term engagement. Because the objective of group therapy is to develop skills that can be used throughout a person’s lifetime, the learning is extremely valuable. What children learn today in group session can be used tomorrow.

Do you want to become a child and youth worker?

Call KLC College and find out more about our program!

3 Interview Questions to Expect if You Want to Become an Educational Assistant

become an educational assistant

Are you a caring, patient, and positive individual who enjoys working with children? Do you have good communication and organizational skills? And more importantly, do you want to make a difference in a workplace that is fulfilling? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then a career as an educational assistant might be right for you.

Once you complete your training as an educational assistant and begin looking for a position, you will interview with administrators and hiring personnel from different schools and institutions. Hiring managers usually look for specific qualities in the candidates that they select. Check out the kind of questions to expect and how you can prepare for your next interview!

1. Why Did You Choose to Become an Educational Assistant?

One thing that interviewers will almost certainly want to know is what your motives are. A good way to prepare to answer a question like this is to ask yourself how your motivations align with what are likely to be the school’s goals (which will hopefully be to provide a high quality education). For example, you may believe children should have people around them who are truly dedicated to helping them reach their full potential. Or maybe you decided to become an educational assistant because you believe that a strong education system is central to the development of a well prepared generation of students. Whatever your beliefs may be, it is important that you are able to communicate them clearly and genuinely.

2. How Will You Contribute to Life in The Classroom as an Educational Assistant?

The role of an educational assistant is to provide the teacher with the support they require to make sure that the classroom is the best learning environment that it can be. Essentially, the educational assistant becomes an extension of the teacher, allowing for more individual support to be provided to each student.

The educational assistant helps provide children with more individual support

The educational assistant helps provide children with more individual support

So, if you should be asked about the ways that you can contribute to life in the classroom after education assistant training, you can explain that your responsibility will be to ensure that each child is treated as an individual and receives the attention that they need. You can also address the fact that you will be responsible for helping the teacher maintain a positive learning climate in their classroom. You must be sure that you are aware of what contributions you can make to create an optimal learning environment, which you can learn about in your education assistant courses.

3. What Would You Do if You Disagreed with a Teacher’s Methods?

Some interview questions might be more difficult. This is one that might catch you off-guard and for which you should be prepared. It is only normal that throughout the course of your career, you’ll occasionally disagree with a teacher. If that should happen, there are positive and constructive ways that you can deal with the situation. One thing that you should always keep in mind is that you must respect the teacher’s authority and experience. Another thing that you will want to remember is that most teachers are also life-long learners. So, you can tell the hiring manager how you would respectfully explain your point of view to the teacher. By doing so in a polite matter you might be able to learn from one another and offer students the best quality of education that you can.

You may be asked how you would handle disagreements with a teacher

You may be asked how you would handle disagreements with a teacher

Do you want to learn the job through educational assistant classes?

Call KLC College and get more information about our programs!

Why Gerontology Matters in Your Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

occupational therapist assistant course

Gerontology is the study of aging, and the various processes, aspects and challenges associated with it as adults reach the later stages of life. As an occupational therapy assistant, you can help members of this population reclaim or maintain their independence and quality of life, whether through assisting them with tasks like dressing, cleaning, moving into a wheelchair from their bed, or helping prepare meals.

In a medical context, geriatrics zeroes in on how to care for members of the elderly population properly and effectively. Occupational therapy can help older clients maintain as much of their independence as they can, even if their mobility is limited or they currently live in a long-term care facility such as a nursing home. Here’s why learning about gerontology is such an important step in succeeding as an occupational therapy assistant.

Occupational Therapy Helps Older People Maintain Independence and Avoid Health Risks

There are many ways in which occupational therapy can be a boon for your elderly clients, not the least of which includes how they can maintain their independence and personal freedom. This is especially since older adults may have various medical needs of a complex nature and require assistance from an occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant. Additionally, their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks may be impeded by age-related factors.

During your career, you’ll be monitoring the progress of older clients under an occupational therapist’s supervision. You’ll help clients reach certain goals while keeping their safety a top priority. For example, you and the occupational therapist you work under can help these adults come up with strategies to avoid problems related to balance or mobility. This could include eliminating risks inside the home that could cause falls, such as rugs, unlit hallways, or stairs without railings. You’ll be helping find solutions to help older clients maintain or regain their autonomy, which is one of the most satisfying aspects of being an occupational therapy assistant. In order to better help you care for this particular population, you’ll learn about gerontology during your occupational therapy assistant program.

A priority is not only to help older populations reclaim independence, but to keep them safe

A priority is not only to help older populations reclaim independence, but to keep them safe

Working with This Population Can Boost Their Morale and Quality of Life

To become an occupational therapy assistant, it’s important to work towards a goal of improving clients’ quality of life and overall sense of happiness, as well as to help them make up for certain personal restrictions, such as mobility, preparing meals, or issues with motor skills. Working closely with a senior citizen in this way can also help build a solid relationship between you and the client.

This will also allow you to practice your strong communication and interpersonal skills in order to succeed in the field, regardless of the age of your clients. While an elderly client may not be able to care for themselves the way they used to, having a caring, empathetic occupational therapy assistant around to help them can improve their morale and make things that much easier for them.

Building a great relationship with a senior client can improve their overall sense of happiness

Building a great relationship with a senior client can improve their overall sense of happiness

Do you want to take an occupational therapist assistant course?

Contact KLC College for more information!

Thinking of a New Career? 4 Reasons Dental Assistant Training Is a Great Choice

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Want a career with plenty of rewards and room for professional growth? Then being a dental assistant might just be for you. Pursuing a new career as a dental assistant can be a fantastic option for the next step in your professional life, and there are many reasons why training to become one can be so fulfilling.

While at times challenging, becoming a dental assistant is an incredibly gratifying experience, and there are many reasons why it’s worth making the most of. Here are four ways a career as a dental assistant can be a great choice for you.

1. You Can Help Make Patients Less Scared of Visiting the Dentists’ Office

Patients often aren’t thrilled to go see a dentist—in fact, they can be quite scared of it in some cases. As a dental assistant, you can help calm those patients down and assist them in overcoming their fears, ultimately cultivating a more pleasant experience for them. Since you’ll be chatting with patients a lot, you can use your interpersonal skills and a relaxed attitude to help assuage their anxieties. That way, you’ll make them more comfortable as they wait for the procedure, which will ultimately encourage them to return to the dentist’s office to make sure their smile remains in good health.

2. You Get to Perform a Vast Number of Duties, Which Keeps Things Interesting

Dental assistants’ work days are ones with plenty of variety, and a number of tasks come into the equation. Among these tasks are sterilizing and transferring instruments, keeping and maintaining patient records, applying sealants, polishing the coronal area of patients’ teeth, and taking x-rays—all under a dentist’s supervision. This is especially pertinent as dental office procedures and radiography are important components of your dental assistant diploma program. Furthermore, dental assistants get to learn on the job, as trends, standards and techniques in the profession evolve over time. Given the diverse and hands-on nature of the job, there are rarely dull moments to be had while working as a dental assistant.

Taking x-rays on patients is one of many duties you could perform as a dental assistant

Taking x-rays on patients is one of many duties you could perform as a dental assistant

3. What You Learn in Dental Assistant Training Can Help You Educate Others About Oral Health

There are several major components of basic oral hygiene that cannot be stressed enough, with brushing and flossing chief among them. As a dental assistant, you not only get to teach patients the importance of oral health, but also show them how to brush and floss. To educate others not only about how important maintaining their oral health is, but how it can improve their morale and self-esteem, is a big part of what makes life as a dental assistant worth pursuing. You’ll have the satisfaction of know that you’re helping patients keep their mouths healthy.

4. You Can Not Only Help Improve Patients’ Oral Hygiene, But Their Quality of Life

To work in this profession, it’s important you have a compassionate personality and take great satisfaction in helping others. This is in addition to a desire to help improve their health. Not only does a dental assistant get to improve the state of patients’ oral health, but they improve their self-confidence and overall happiness as well. A healthy smile, after all, can do wonders for a patient’s sense of self-worth. With benefits like these, starting your dental assistant training can help you reap all kinds of professional and personal rewards.

Not only can you help improve patients’ knowledge of oral health, but also their self-esteem

Not only can you help improve patients’ knowledge of oral health, but also their self-esteem

Do you want to take career college courses?

Contact KLC College to find out more!

Telephone Etiquette for Medical Office Administration Training and Beyond

medical office administration training

Navigating a telephone call can be a challenging and intimidating exercise. As a medical office administrator, placing and fielding calls is an important part of the job. You may have to book, cancel, or reschedule an appointment with a client; deliver a message on behalf of your office; or take a call from another department in the same building.

Regardless of who is calling, appropriate telephone etiquette must be maintained. An administrator serves as a liaison between the medical office and many other people, including patients and doctors. Your ability to effectively maintain and manage communication helps bolster the medical office’s reputation and ensures that it runs smoothly.

But what exactly is telephone etiquette? Read on for some practical tips!

Hold the Phone, Am I Doing This Right?

Telephone etiquette might sound like an ambiguous expression. So, for clarity’s sake, let us define it: telephone etiquette is attitude and mannerism projected by a person during a telephone conversation. If you want to become a medical office administrator, you’ll have to develop good telephone etiquette so that the medical office operates efficiently and those calling remain satisfied with the service your office provides. Remember, as a medical office administrator, you are quite literally the voice of your place of work. By being polite on the phone you help improve the reputation of the entire medical office and make patients feel understood and respected.

Understanding good telephone etiquette is important for administrators

Understanding good telephone etiquette is important for administrators

A Few Tips You Might Learn in Medical Office Administration Training

There are many ways that a person can develop and improve their telephone etiquette. Here are a few that you can try:

1. Smile! This is definitely counter-intuitive. However, while you are not visible to the other person on the line, your facial expression has considerable influence over your tone and inflection. So, let them hear you flash those pearly whites!

2. Again, in the same way that your smile can inform your tone, your posture can affect the levels of energy that you project. You might want to sit up and straighten your back now.

3. Some syllables get lost in telephonic conversation. And although being incapable of hearing precisely what a person is saying is frustrating, it is also rather embarrassing to have to ask someone to repeat themselves. So, ar-ti-cu-late!

4. The follow-up. Yes, the phone call you’re having is the most important one, but never undermine the importance of following up a conversation, especially if you suggest that you will do so. Being unreliable is against good telephone etiquette policy and it reflects poorly on the entire medical office.

5. Know when the conversation is over, but be professional. Ask the person on the other end of the line if they have any questions and make sure they know how to reach you. Then, simply thank them for their time and say goodbye.

With these tips and more, you can improve the quality of your services after medical office administration training and help build the reputation of your place of work. And remember, many of the people who are calling a medical office may be feeling unwell. You’ll have to be patient and try to display some compassion for them. Similarly, you could be talking with many older individuals who may be hard of hearing. In such situations, take the advice above and enunciate clearly and speak at a higher volume if necessary. If the person on the other end of the line asks you to repeat yourself, do so in a friendly and patient manner.

Remember, people don’t usually call a medical office if all is well…

Remember, people don’t usually call a medical office if all is well…

Are you interested in becoming a medical office administrator?

Contact KLC College to learn about our vocational training programs!

Master Inventory When You Become a Pharmacy Technician

pharmacy technician diploma programInventory is a common responsibility for pharmacy technicians. This is especially so in retail pharmacy, but also occasionally in health centres and hospitals. Inventory can be a challenging task, as it demands that adequate levels of stock be kept to serve patients, while minimizing excess or unnecessary stock. Properly managed inventory keeps patients safe, prevents waste and manages costs.

With the right management systems and use of technology, inventory can be kept balanced and organized. When everything is in order, pharmacy operations run smoothly and patients are able to access the medications that they need. Read on for some of the ways you can master inventory in your career!

Using Perpetual Inventory Systems When You Become a Pharmacy Technician

A perpetual inventory system keeps constant track of inventory. This is as opposed to a periodic system, which only occasionally counts inventory. Computerized perpetual inventory systems are very common, as they’re able to track turnover continuously and predict what drugs will be needed and when. These systems are also able to notify you and other staff members of errors that pop up, or automatically order medication according to programmed reorder times.

Mastering this technology will help lower your own work load and that of the entire staff. A computerized system can work with portable devices and acts as a second opinion, double checking amounts and needs before you have to. When you become a pharmacy technician, you will have responsibilities like taking prescriptions, labelling, giving instructions and processing payments. With a perpetual inventory system you can make these responsibilities go by much more quickly and efficiently.

Computerized systems improve accuracy and organization

Computerized systems improve accuracy and organization

Learn Turnover Rates and Expiry Dates after Pharmacy Technician College Courses

An inventory turnover rate is calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold by the average inventory. Failing to keep track of turnover rates in any industry will affect efficiency and profit, but in pharmaceuticals, it can also mean that patients don’t get the medications they need. This is a serious issue, so it’s important that you keep an eye on it.  Factors affecting turnover rates of drugs include location and time of year. For example, as a student in a pharmacy technician diploma program, you probably know that during flu and cold season in Canada, flu and cold medicine is in high demand. Similarly, a pharmacy located next to a pain clinic will experience faster turnover for pain medications.

Expiration dates are an important consideration in managing inventory, as ordering too much of something can mean that your stock expires before it is sold. Medications have specific expirations that you’ll need to be aware of in order to increase revenue and keep patients safe. For example, epinephrine generally expires after 1 year, so it must be ordered carefully with that in mind.

Understand the Pharmacy Revenue Cycle to Better Manage Inventory

The pharmacy revenue cycle is the step-by-step process that ensures patients and providers are billed properly so that the pharmacy generates revenue. It consists of such things as patient access, clinical documentation, coding, billing, denial management and reimbursement. By optimizing this cycle, pharmacies can potentially increase their revenue.

Making sure data is accurate is a big part of a successful revenue cycle

Making sure data is accurate is a big part of a successful revenue cycle

Improving data integrity and eliminating errors, for example, help optimize the cycle. Keeping accurate billing data, medication codes, and receipts also help prevent transactions from falling through the cracks. By reducing errors during the revenue cycle, you also help pharmacies better track inventory. Because you’ll complete a pharmacy placement during your pharmacy technician program, you’ll have the experience to help ensure errors are kept to a minimum.

Are you interested in a pharmacy technician college course?

Contact KLC College for more information!

How to Stay Calm at Work After Education Assistant Training

educational assistant courseWhen you work with children as an education assistant, your days are never boring. Children, of course, can experience a wide range of emotions and they’re often not afraid to express them. As an education assistant, you’ll need to learn how to keep calm even when you may be surrounded by children who are anything but.

Stay calm and collected is not only good for your own mental health, but it also helps the children you work with understand the value of positivity. There are a number of strategies you can use to make sure the day goes smoothly. Here are some ways you can stay calm on the job after becoming an education assistant.

Get to Work Early, and Take Deep Breaths Before Class Starts

The period when you arrive at work but the school day hasn’t yet begun is ideal for finding a moment to practice some strategies and exercises for keeping calm. For example, you can sit down at a desk or other comfortable spot and perform breathing exercises, perhaps while listening to calming music. You can even practice mindfulness or meditation to help you stay calm and positive. However you choose to relax, do something at the beginning of the day so that you feel better prepared for whatever challenges may arise later on. That way you can approach the rest of the day with a sense of calmness and focus.

Be sure to take deep breaths before class, and practice meditation or mindfulness

Be sure to take deep breaths before class, and practice meditation or mindfulness

To Become an Educational Assistant, Have a Plan of Action with Students

If you love working with children, you’ll understand that every child is different and has their own distinct behavioural traits, learning styles, and challenges. In fact, taking an individualistic approach to each child is something you’ll learn the importance of in your training to become an educational assistant. Therefore, if for any reason students are disruptive or act out, make sure you work with the teacher to have a plan for how you’re going to manage the situation, and subscribe to it from that point onward. By planning beforehand you will feel like you’re in control of the situation when students do become emotional or disruptive.

Stay Positive Around Children and They’ll Stay Positive in Turn

In your education assistant training, you’ll learn how to use your communication skills effectively with children and how best to meet their individual needs. Speak in a friendly, relaxed tone at all times with students, and encourage them to succeed. Remaining positive tends to rub off on children and can be a subtle way of encouraging them to stay positive too. If they don’t immediately respond in kind to your calm demeanour, try not to become angry or emotional. Simply stay positive and talk to the children in a calm and soothing voice. By maintaining a positive attitude, eventually your rapport with the children will improve. Keep with your plan to remain measured at all times, and remember that this can sometimes be a marathon, not a race.

Staying positive around children can improve your rapport with them

Staying positive around children can improve your rapport with them

Do you want to take an educational assistant course?

Contact KLC College to find out more!

Why ADLs Will Come up in Your Career After an Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

become an occupational therapy assistantMany of us take activities of daily living (ADLs) for granted, but what happens when life circumstances suddenly cause us to need help with them? This is where occupational therapy steps in to help people with their ADLs.

ADLs are usually separated into two categories: basic and instrumental. The former often consists of tasks like dressing, grooming, bathing, and eating, while the latter represents more complex tasks such as preparing meals, doing laundry, shopping for groceries, and driving. This is by no means an exhaustive list of ADLs, but you can certainly anticipate encountering them in your career.

After completing your occupational therapy assistant (OTA) program, you’ll be working to help individuals perform these daily tasks more easily. If you can help someone to regain their independence and try overcoming their circumstances, you can help lead them to a happier and freer life. Here’s why ADLs will be a major component of your responsibilities if you’re seeking a career as an occupational therapy assistant.

Occupational Therapy Assistants Help Patients Regain Their Independence

Whether through injury, illness, disability, or chronic condition, the ability of children, adults, and seniors to perform daily tasks can be greatly impeded. As an occupational therapy assistant, you’ll be expected to carry out the OT’s treatment plan to ensure the patient can regain a sense of freedom despite their limitations, and help put it into action — even if it means teaching them alternative strategies to perform tasks to compensate for their circumstances.

Under the supervision of an occupational therapist, you will be providing patients with therapeutic activities that can help improve their functioning and ability to complete certain tasks. To become an occupational therapy assistant is to help people reclaim their self-sufficiency, and doing so successfully will be a great source of satisfaction for you, the OT supervising you, and the patient.

Help patients regain their independence after occupational therapy assistant training

Help patients regain their independence after occupational therapy assistant training

ADLs Will Come Up When Patients are Relearning Tasks Through Injury or Disability

Some patients are in need of occupational therapy through an injury to their extremities and/or an illness that has caused them to need to relearn skills that once came so easily. As a result, these patients will need assistance with basic and/or instrumental ADLs, and the OTA will be responsible for teaching them how to carry out those tasks again.

After your occupational therapy assistant program, you may also work with the disabled, such as helping children with autism with social interaction, or those with any other developmental or physical disability. You will learn about neurological and communication disorders in your program, as well as various other aspects of the profession, to better understand how to give optimal treatment and activities that best suit these patients. It’s important not only to regularly monitor how patients progress with these activities, but to also offer positive reinforcement and encouragement along the way.

KLC College’s occupational therapy assistant program includes a work placement

KLC College’s occupational therapy assistant program includes a work placement

You’ll Cater to a Variety of Needs When You Become an Occupational Therapy Assistant

People often need occupational therapy for coordinating their motor function, but also for their cognitive and/or sensory function, or other psychosocial factors. You may interact with patients with various physical limitations early in your career as well, since OTA programs often include a work placement component in environments like a hospital, physiotherapy clinic, and/or a long-term care facility.

Examination results for each patient will be different, and some may need more help with rudimentary tasks such as personal hygiene, eating, or using the bathroom, while others may be in more need of assistance with going to places outside their home, caring for their pets, or even communicating and socializing with others. Either way, there’s a learning curve for each patient, but adapting to it successfully will help them along the road to recovery.

Want to enroll in an occupational therapy assistant course?

Contact KLC College to find out more!