Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant

Prava Therapy; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 39,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

Prava Therapy is seeking a Part-Time Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant to bring meaningful, occupation-based care to memory care residents. You’ll work with our OT team to support ADL and IADL goals in a dementia care setting.

The role emphasizes tailoring activities to the person, adapting tasks to the environment, and fostering independence through practical, everyday routines in a community setting.

Qualifications

• Must be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).
• Experience in memory or dementia care preferred.
• Comfortable with evening ADL interventions.

Responsibilities

• Provide ADL/IADL intervention within the plan of care.
• Incorporate therapy into real evening routines.
• Support dressing, grooming, toileting, positioning, mobility-related ADLs.
• Use cueing, sequencing, environmental modification, and compensatory strategies.
• Identify environmental barriers to engagement.
• Collaborate with caregivers and staff to improve carryover.
• Help preserve independence and dignity in dementia care.

Skills

Memory care

Dementia care

ADL/IADL intervention

Real-world ADL training

Creativity

Education

COTA certification

Job description

We don't just work bankers' hours.
Because residents don't live bankers' hours.

Part-Time COTA | Memory Care | Come Practice OT Where Life Happens
Memory Care | Part-Time
The best OT session might not look like a therapy session.
It might look like getting dressed for dinner.
Finding the dining room.
Brushing your teeth.
Participating in an activity.
Navigating a familiar routine.
Helping someone successfully complete something they've done their entire life.
That's where OT belongs.
At Prava, we're looking for a Part-Time Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant who wants to bring meaningful, occupation-based therapy into Memory Care communities.
And we're looking for someone who understands that when you're working with someone living with dementia, the environment, the routine, and the way we approach the person can matter just as much as the intervention itself.
We don't just work bankers' hours.
Because residents don't live bankers' hours.
For this position, we're particularly interested in a COTA who sees the value of evening ADL intervention.
Why?
Because that's when real life happens.
Getting ready for dinner.
Dressing.
Grooming.
Toileting.
Positioning.
Transitioning into the evening.
Preparing for bed.
These aren't just tasks.
They're occupations.
And they can be incredibly meaningful therapy opportunities.
We don't expect the resident to fit the therapy.
We adapt the therapy to the resident.
Someone with dementia may not be able to tell you what is making a task difficult.
That doesn't mean there isn't a reason.
Maybe the environment is overwhelming.
Maybe the routine has changed.
Maybe the instructions are too complicated.
Maybe the task needs to be broken down differently.
Maybe the resident needs a familiar cue.
Maybe we need to change our approach, not ask the resident to try harder.
That's where great OT comes in.

Your role

You’ll work alongside our OT team to provide meaningful, occupation-based care to residents living with dementia.
You’ll have opportunities to:

• Provide ADL and IADL intervention within the plan of care
• Incorporate therapy into real evening routines
• Support dressing, grooming, toileting, positioning, mobility-related ADLs, and other meaningful occupations within your scope
• Use cueing, sequencing, environmental modification, and compensatory strategies to support participation
• Identify environmental barriers to successful engagement
• Support residents in maintaining familiar routines and meaningful roles
• Partner with caregivers and community staff to improve carryover
• Help preserve independence and dignity—even when independence looks different than it used to
• Build relationships with residents and learn the person behind the diagnosis
  

We believe dementia care should start with the person.
Not the diagnosis.
Not the behavior.
Not the impairment.
The person.
What did they love to do?
What routines are familiar?
What makes them feel successful?
What helps them feel safe?
What can we change about the environment?
How can we make participation possible?
Those questions matter.

We're looking for a COTA who:

• Loves working with older adults living with dementia
• Believes occupation is at the center of OT
• Understands the importance of routine, environment, and meaningful engagement
• Gets excited about real-world ADL training
• Is patient, creative, observant, and adaptable
• Builds relationships naturally
• Believes dignity should never be sacrificed for efficiency
• Wants to practice creatively and clinically
• Doesn't believe every therapy session needs to happen in a therapy room
  

If you've ever thought, “This is what OT is supposed to be,” you'll probably like Prava.
Because we don't just want to treat a resident.
We want to help the person continue to live their life—with the abilities they have today, in the environment they call home.
And sometimes the most important therapy of the day happens after 5 p.m.
Come practice OT where life happens.
Come practice Prava.