What is Bachelor of Occupational Therapy?
BOT stands for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. It is a job oriented undergraduate (UG) level course program. Bachelor of occupational therapy course in medical field is based on the field of Occupational Therapy. The course duration is 4½ years and on successful completion of this course, one will lead to a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy.
An occupational therapist is very much in charge for providing medical help or rehabilitation to the ones suffering from functional disabilities that help them from fully functional and healthy, independent lives where they work or at home. These patients has disabilities generally get from physical or mental illness, due to age, developmental problems, tension and emotional problems. Occupational therapy involves various exercises and physical and mental activities tend to challenge and thereby further improve and develop motor, judgment and problem-solving skills, cognition, hand functions and hand-eye coordination. Patients with physical limitations that cannot be treated or cured are taught how overcome with those limitations in order to manage daily activities and work-specific tasks independently, may be through physical or mental exercises, or may be by using specially designed devices.
Skills Required for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy candidates
- Planning and providing appropriate treatment and activities
- Giving advice and arranging support for family members, carers and clients
- Creating general administrative tasks, such as writing reports, making telephone calls, maintaining records and taking notes
- Analyzing with doctors, family members, carers and other professionals and keeping them updated
- planning further treatment and reviewing progress
- assessing treatment success at multi-professional case conferences/meetings
- Giving an advice for people on how they can approach daily tasks differently
- Adapting people’s environments, whether at home or at work Key skills for occupational therapists
- Patience
- Finding out with patient assessments of physical, communicative, interactive and cognitive skills
- Determination
- Enthusiasm
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- An interest in working closely with people
- Good team working skills
- Ability to find solutions to problems
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy: Top Colleges in India
Govt. Colleges for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
- Government Medical College & Hospital, Nagpur
- National Institute of Orthopedically Handicapped, Kolkata
- Government Medical College, Thrissur
- Sri C Achutha Menon Government College
- Govt Medical College, Kozhikode
- Govt. College of Nursing, Kottayam
- Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram
- Christian Medical College
- Kerala University of Health Sciences
- Government Medical College Kottayam
- Government Medical College Ernakulam
Private Colleges for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
- Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
- Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai.
- SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai.
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal.
- Topiwala National Medical College
- BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai.
- Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Sion, Mumbai.
- KMCH College of Occupational Therapy
- Christian Medical College
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy: Course Highlights
Given below are few of the major highlights of the course.
| Course Level | Undergraduate |
| Examination Type | Semester System |
| Eligibility | 10+2 or equivalent |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Admission Process | Counselling after Entrance Test |
| Course Fee | 2 Lacs to 10 Lacs INR |
| Average Starting Salary | 3 Lacs to 15 Lacs INR |
| Top Recruiting Fields/Areas | Nursing homes, Charities, Private and Government Hospitals and many more. |
Syllabus of Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
| BOT Syllabus – Year 1 | BOT Syllabus – Year 2 |
| Anatomy (Theory/ Practical) | Pharmacology |
| Physiology | Microbiology and Pathology |
| Biochemistry | Biostatistics and Research Methodology |
| Psychology-1 | Psychology-2 Developmental and Organizational Psychology) |
| Occupational Therapy-I (Theory & Practical) | Occupational Therapy-II (Theory & Practical) |
| BOT Syllabus – Year 3 | BOT Syllabus – Year 4 |
| Clinical Orthopedic & Rheumatology | Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry |
| Clinical Neurology | Community Medicine and Sociology |
| Bioengineering | General Medicine |
| Occupational Therapy in Orthopedics (Theory/ Practical) | General Surgery |
| Occupational Therapy in Neurology (Theory/ Practical) | Occupational Therapy in Mental Health (Theory/ Practical) |
| Occupational Therapy in Rehabilitation (Theory / Practical) | Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics and Developmental Disabilities (Theory/ Practical) |
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy: Duration
The Duration of the course is of 4 year and 1 year is of practice, but in few of the colleges, it is 4 ½ years of study and 6 months of practice. It is an undergraduate (UG) level course program which last for the period of 8 semesters long, each of the semester has 6 months.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy: Eligibility Criteria
- Must have completed 10+2 level education, from a recognized educational Board.
- Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or Mathematics should have been studied as the main subjects at the 10+2 level, with maintaining a minimum aggregate score of 50% (45% for SC/ST/OBC candidates) at the level of graduation.
- Students who are also appearing for their final 10+2 examination are also eligible to apply for the course on a provisional basis.
Core Course Subjects in Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Pharmacology
- Pathology
- Microbiology
- Orthopedics
- Surgery
- Medicine psychiatry
- Psychology
Career Options after Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
- Care manager
- Ergonomist
- Health promotion specialist
- Occupational therapist
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Advice worker
- Art therapist
- High intensity therapist
- Life coach
- Medical sales representative
- Play therapist
- Psychological wellbeing practitioner
- Social worker
- Special educational needs teacher
- Teaching assistant
Occupational therapists will have job opportunities in hospitals, clinics, health centres, private hospitals, government and rehabilitation centres, NGOs. More than one part of occupational therapists work part time.
In huge rehabilitation centers, occupational therapists may work in large rooms which are spacious equipped with machines, tools, and other devices generating noise.
Those providing with home healthcare may spend time lots of time or each appointment. Therapists also feel very tired and stress such as back strain from lifting and moving clients and equipment.
Occupational therapists, in present time, are increasing on supervisory roles. By having assistants and supervisors who work more closely with clients will be under the guidance of a therapist, the cost of therapy should be always modest.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy: Admission Process
- Some of the institutes also provide direct admission based on the students marks at the 10+2 level.
- Admission for aspirants is based on their performance in a conducted entrance examination, followed by a interview round of counselling.
- The round of counselling consists of two additional rounds they are group discussion followed by a personal interview, and therefore the students general aptitude for the course conducted will be also considered.
- Few of the institutes conduct their own private entrance examination for providing admission, the process generally may be different in various colleges/universities.
Entrance Examination for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Given below are few of the major common entrance examinations conducted for admission to the course:
- All India Entrance Exam
- CMC Vellore Entrance Exam
- SVNIRTAR NIOH Common Entrance Test
- Manipal University of Occupational Therapy Entrance Test
Top Recruiters, Job Profiles & Salary of Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Graduates
Recruiters for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
- Rehabilitation Centers
- Multispecialty Hospitals
- Nongovernmental Organization
- Teaching to Under & Post Graduates
- In Industry for rehabilitation of Injured worker
- Private Practice/Private clinics
- Mental Hospitals
- Geriatric homes/Old age Homes
- Centers for Physically and Mentally Handicapped Children
- Schools
- Community health centre
- Occupational health centre
- GP practices / primary care
- education establishments
- housing associations
- industrial and commercial organizations
- clients homes
- prisons
- social services and council departments
- residential and nursing homes
- charities and voluntary agencies
Job profiles for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Jobs that are available in front of BOT graduates are-
- Occupational Therapist
- Rehabilitation Specialist
- OT Consultant
- OT Nurse
- Instructor/Teacher
- Social Worker
- Marketer (supporting equipment/devices)
- Government Hospitals
- Private Hospitals
- Mental Hospitals
- De-Addiction centres
- Rehabilitation Clinics
- Nursing homes
- NGOs
- International Welfare Bodies
- OT Colleges/Training Institutes
- Special Schools
- Supporting equipment/devices manufacturing companies
Salary for Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
The salary of occupational therapists are always encouraging. They work on full time or part time basis in hospitals/rehabilitation centres to earn excellent salary. Graduate in occupational therapists get starting salary ranging between Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,500 per month. Moreover, with one or two years of experience, salary increases. In the private hospitals and NGOs, the pay is much higher.
Top 50 Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in India
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Mumbai
- Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai
- Topiwala National Medical College
- BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai.
- Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College Mumbai.
- All India Institute of Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mumbai.
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Delhi
- Hamdard Institute of Medical and Research.
- Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.
- Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi.
- ISIC Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, New Delhi.
- Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Bangalore
- Premji Occupational Therapy & Rehabilation
- Rise and Shine Occupational Therapy Center
- School of Empathy
- Garden City Science and Management Studies College Bangalore
- Acharya Institute of Health Sciences
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Chennai
- S.R.M. College of Occupational Therapy, Chennai.
- Meenakshi College of Occupational Therapy, Chennai.
- Santhosh College of Occupational Therapy, Chennai.
- Ramachandra Institute of Education and Research, Chennai.
- Government Medical College Chennai
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Hyderabad
- Vidya Vikas Institute of Technology
- Sri Sai Occupational Therapy
- Matrusri Institute of Studies
- Vivekanandha School of Studies
- Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Mysore
- JSS Academy and Research
- Maharajas College
- University of Mysore
- Mysore Medical College
- All India Institute of Speech and Hearing
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Pune
- Sancheti Healthcare Academy
- B J Government medical College
- Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University
- Armed forces Medical College
- Symbioisis Institute of Health Sciences
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Jaipur
- Biyani School of Nursing & Para-medical Science – Jaipur.
- Apex University, Jaipur.
- Rajasthan University of Health Sciences Jaipur.
- RUHS College of Medical Sciences, Jaipur.
- Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur.
- Dr SN Medical College & Hospital
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Vishakhapatnam
- Andra Medical College
- Maharaja Insitute of Medical Sciences
- Vishaka Government Degree College
- GITAM Institute
- Government Degree College
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Coimbatore
- Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore.
- Indira Gandhi College of Distance Education, Coimbatore.
- KMCH College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore.
- P.P.G. College of Physiotherapy, Saravanampatti, Coimbatore.
- RVS College of Arts and Science
Top Colleges offering Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Cochin
- Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences
- Government Medical College
- Model Engineering College
- Amrita School of Medicine
- Government Ayurveda College of Medicine
