OT assessments

Should OTAs be allowed to do assessments, particularly with peds?

Considering we have had exposure to & practiced with many types of assessments, recently the Miller Functional & Participation Scales in peds, the answer would be yes, OTAs should be allowed to do assessments... as long as service competency is proven. I believe we will be qualified to do assessments once we get into the workforce & prove service competency. Service competency means that regardless of whether the OT or OTA performs an assessment, the skill level is equivalent & the outcomes are the same.

Standardized assessments have very specific instructions for administering & scoring. Non-standardized assessments have guidelines for administering & scoring, but they are more subjective & rely more on clinical skill, judgement & experience. Service competency would confirm that the OTA is capable of performing the assessments & getting the same results as an OT.

Also, according to AOTA's Standards of Practice, an OT "initiates and directs the screening, evaluation, and re-evaluation process and analyzes and interprets the data..." and an OTA "contributes to the screening, evaluation, and re-evaluation process by implementing delegated assessments and by providing verbal and written reports of observations and client capacities to the occupational therapist...". OTAs doing assessments would help out the OTs, giving them more time to complete evaluations on more clients.