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What is the common patient load for an occupational therapist?

How many people would I be helping each day? Would I have to stay extra hours to work with some patients? Would I work with the patients on a daily basis?
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David’s Answer

Your patient load will depend on your work setting. I have worked in a skilled nursing facility where I had around 11-15 patients a day. I had some regular patients but the rehab manager set the schedule so I never knew exactly who I would work with. I also worked at a rehab center where I had a consistent caseload of around 6 patients, spending much more time with each patient. Most recently I did home health and was paid per patient and I saw up to 5 patients per day. In most facilities, you clock in and out so are not allowed to work more than your 8 hours so you have to fit your patients in that time; in fact, if the facility patient count is low you could have been sent home early. In my home health job, I could spend as much time as I wanted (but at least 45 minutes) per patient but if you were a salaried home health OT, you would have less flexibility.
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Beth’s Answer

Like David said, your caseload depends on your setting. You will know when you accept the job what the expectations are and if you are paid hourly, salary or by the case. If you are hourly, your employer will not want to pay overtime, so you will be expected to be out on time. With salary and case by case, treatment time is 30-60 min, plus documentation. If you choose to work longer you can.
In an outpatient clinic, you could see 1-3 people per hour, in rehab hospital you will see 1 -2 people per hour, home care you will have 1 person per hour and driving time. There may be times you do a group class with 4-8 people.
Caseload expectations and hours are things which help you decide which job to take.

Beth recommends the following next steps:

Volunteer or observe at OT clinics in the area.
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Rachael’s Answer

This varies depending on your setting, work schedule, whether you provide individual or group therapy, and company “productivity” numbers. You basically need to know the hours you work, how long patient sessions are (15m, 30m, 1hr), and how much billable time the company expects you to have during the time you’re clocked in to figure this out. Also if you are in an outpatient setting, clients might cancel. In acute care patients stay 3-5 days so the case load will change as people are admitted and discharged. If you are providing group therapy, you will be able to work with many more people.
For a general idea- a full day of outpatient adult rehab you may see about 8 patients for one hour each. Group therapy may be a case load of 20-40 spread over several groups.

Rachael recommends the following next steps:

Research “case load” for the specific setting you are interested in.
Ask a potential employer about their productivity expectations.
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Christi’s Answer

As stated previously, it depends on your setting. I work in hand therapy and the expectation is to see 12 patients in an 8 hour work day. We see the same patients for approximately three months or so at a time. Some will need less therapy and some will need more.
This is also a salary position so you are not paid for overtime if you have additional notes that did not get finished by the end of your work day.
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