Occupational Therapist resume example

• Entry level

  Newly licensed OTR/L with two Level II fieldwork placements, inpatient rehab and outpatient pediatrics, over 24 weeks. Carried most of a full caseload by week ten, scored Section GG and wrote daily notes in Epic, and fabricated resting hand orthoses under supervision. Created a caregiver training checklist the rehab unit still uses. Looking for a hospital or IRF role with mentorship.

• Mid level

  Occupational therapist with seven years in skilled nursing and inpatient rehab, seeing 10 to 12 patients a day under PDPM. Focuses on self-care retraining after stroke and hip fracture, cognitive screening and home safety planning. Raised the unit's self-care Section GG discharge scores by 3 points and supervises two COTAs. Holds the CBIS credential.

• Senior

  Rehab director and OTR/L with fifteen years across acute care, inpatient rehab and outpatient hand therapy, certified as a hand therapist since 2016. Manages 26 therapists and assistants at three sites and owns productivity and Medicare compliance, with two targeted probe reviews closed without denials. Opened a hand and lymphedema clinic that grew referrals 30% in its first year.

• School-based

  School-based OTR/L serving 40 students across three elementary buildings under IDEA and Section 504. Writes measurable IEP goals for handwriting, keyboarding and classroom self-regulation, runs push-in fine motor groups with teachers, and logs service minutes for Medicaid billing. Coaches classroom aides on sensory strategies.

• Returning to practice

  OTR/L returning after four years at home with family, with six earlier years in acute care and skilled nursing. Kept an active state license and NBCOT certification, completed 36 continuing education hours on PDPM, Section GG and dementia care, and finished a refresher course in orthotic fabrication. Ready for full-time adult rehab work.

• New graduate

  OTD graduate from an ACOTE-accredited program with Level II fieldwork in acute neurology and an outpatient hand clinic. Passed the NBCOT exam in July and holds a state license. Applying for an acute care OT role with a structured new-graduate mentorship.

• COTA to OTR

  Certified occupational therapy assistant with five years in skilled nursing, now an MSOT graduate and newly registered OTR. Knows PDPM documentation and OTA supervision from the assistant's side, and seeks a staff OT role on a SNF or inpatient rehab team.

• Sending one resume to every practice setting

  Fix: Acute care wants discharge recommendations and early self-care. Inpatient rehab wants Section GG gains and team conference work. Pediatric clinics want standardized testing and parent coaching, and hand clinics want orthoses and post-op protocols. Lead with the setting the posting names.

• Naming interventions without the task they restored

  Fix: "Provided therapeutic activities" says nothing about the patient. Name the occupation instead: dressing without help, bathing with a tub bench, cooking safely with a written checklist. Then add the measure that showed the change, such as a COPM rating or grip strength.

• Hiding home and equipment recommendations

  Fix: Home safety visits, equipment orders and caregiver training keep patients safe after discharge. Count them: home evaluations completed, equipment you recommended and families trained.

• Leaving out supervision of assistants and students

  Fix: If you supervised COTAs or rehab aides, or served as a fieldwork educator, say so with numbers. Supervision rules for OT assistants differ by state, so phrase it as supervision under your state practice act. It signals readiness for lead roles.

Match these against the job posting you are applying to: the free resume checker shows which keywords your resume is missing.

OTR/L

Put the credential after your name and list each license state and status under credentials.

NBCOT

Name the certification with the year earned in certifications.

ADLs

Write experience bullets that name the self-care task a patient regained, such as lower-body dressing or toileting.

Section GG

Mention it in an inpatient rehab or SNF bullet with the change in self-care or mobility scores you tracked.

Plan of care

Say how often you updated plans and the kind of goals you wrote.

Orthotic fabrication

Say what you made, such as resting hand or thumb spica orthoses, and how many in a typical month.

PDPM

Name it under your skilled nursing job with your productivity and EMR.

Pediatric OT

List the ages, diagnoses and standardized tests you used, plus any parent coaching you did.

Caregiver training

Count the families you trained and the discharge setting their relative went home to.

Fieldwork educator

Add the number of Level I or Level II students you supervised under the matching job.

• Completed seven occupational therapy evaluations a week on an inpatient rehab unit, presenting self-care goals at weekly team conference.
• Raised Section GG self-care discharge scores by 4 points for stroke patients by adding task-specific dressing and bathing practice each morning.
• Fabricated 120 custom thermoplastic orthoses in one year for tendon repairs, fractures and nerve injuries per surgeon protocol.
• Ran home safety evaluations for 45 patients before discharge and ordered tub benches, grab bars and raised toilet seats where needed.
• Trained 60 family caregivers in safe transfers and dressing before discharge, checking each skill with teach-back.
• Kept productivity at 88% in a skilled nursing facility under PDPM while closing every daily note in PointClickCare before the end of shift.
• Passed a Medicare Part B audit of 40 outpatient charts with no denials after rewriting the progress report template.
• Supervised two COTAs and three rehab aides, holding weekly case reviews and co-signing notes as the state practice act requires.

• Match the practice setting before anything else

  An acute care posting talks about discharge recommendations and early self-care, an inpatient rehab posting about the three-hour rule and Section GG, a hand clinic about protocols and orthoses, and a school about IEPs. Move the experience from the matching setting to the top and borrow the posting's names for assessments and equipment. Tailor your OT resume to this setting

• Open the letter with a patient's regained task

  Start with one de-identified example: a patient who went home cooking safely, or a child who began writing their name. Connect it to the employer's caseload, such as their stroke program or a district's autism classrooms. Then state your license status and the schedule you can work. Write an occupational therapy cover letter

• Rehearse a case and a productivity answer

  OT interviews often present a short case, such as a patient with hip precautions after a replacement or a child with poor handwriting. Walk through evaluation, goals, interventions and discharge. Expect questions about productivity targets and a patient who declines therapy. Practice occupational therapy interview questions

• Keep certification and license renewals visible

  NBCOT certification renews every three years, and each state license has its own continuing education rules. List your license states, their status and your NBCOT renewal year, plus continuing education that fits the posting, such as dysphagia, lymphedema or seating. Leave license numbers off; employers verify them with the state board. Check your OT resume before you send it