At work today another staff member cautioned me to wash my hands often, as there seemed to be a bug in the building. Back in school I remember the importance that was stressed with proper hand washing techniques, before and after treatment with each patient, before and after eating, and after any ADL's. As a teacher I remember teaching the ...

  Some time ago I wrote a blog about COTA salaries, and in it I mentioned that with the increased cost of schooling and decrease in salaries that soon we may see a shortage of people seeking to enter the field. Was that a bad prediction?   The cost of the two required years of OTA school can vary greatly. At the local community ...

  Just the other day I was talking with one of the nurses I work with, and we got into a discussion of wasted dollars in healthcare. One of the patients was upset because for three days in a row the lab nurse came to draw blood. Another patient was mad because they were being sent out to the hospital for a routine procedure that could have ...

  This is a topic I've covered before, but I've always wanted to show the emblem I was given after passing my national exam. It was actually enclosed in the envelope with my passing test results. My certification exam was completed under AOTCB (American Occupational Therapy Certification Board) which used to be a part of AOTA (American ...

  As a COTA you'll find some days can be a bit more stressful than others. I guess today was one of those days because I came home tired and frustrated, some from work, some from the drive home, some from a stop I had to make on the way home. Fortunately most days don't go like this. I really do enjoy being a COTA, but to let you know there ...

During this quarter we are learning about wellness and health promotion. The US as a whole is moving toward a preventative care medical model in hopes that this will decrease medical costs so the country can get out of debt. The AOTA also is following in this move showing that occupational therapists are the best professionals to take on ...

I have been a COTA now for seven years and it still never ceases to amaze me how much the full moon affects patients. On Friday night there was a full moon and the day was crazy. I had one patient not speak to me the entire treatment, all because we told her that flip flops were not appropriate footwear. A bunch of patients had increases in pain ...