# Occupational Therapy jobs in Spain



## Sharonjulia

Hi All,

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Spain if it is a feasable option for us. I have a degree in Occupational Therapy and work for the NHS at the moment and we were wondering if anyone knew if the Spanish hospitals employ Occupational Therapists? 

Also are there any private companies that deal with working with the elderly in their own homes as I have experience working for the Royal British Legion assessing ex servicemen to enable them to function & stay in their own homes.

Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated


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## xabiaxica

Sharonjulia said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Spain if it is a feasable option for us. I have a degree in Occupational Therapy and work for the NHS at the moment and we were wondering if anyone knew if the Spanish hospitals employ Occupational Therapists?
> 
> Also are there any private companies that deal with working with the elderly in their own homes as I have experience working for the Royal British Legion assessing ex servicemen to enable them to function & stay in their own homes.
> 
> Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated


hi & welcome


I'm sure the hospitals do have occupational therapists, but you'd need to be fluent in Spanish & have your degree 'homologated' - certified as being equal to the Spanish degree

yes, there are lots of companies, including English ones, which deal with the elderly in their homes - around here though, the hourly rate is dreadful, and the work is far from regular or guaranteed, and is more along the lines of actually dealing with personal care needs


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## zilly

I am a physiotherapist and yes-this is absolutely correct.Because my Spanish was not absolutely fluent I was unemployable in the Health Service--so I worked privately.I guess this is a lot easier for a physio. though than an OT.Care work pays at about 5 euros an hour-minimum wage. I've never done it but friends have done-backbreaking and boring is the feed back on that.


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## zilly

Sorry--I just looked at my last post and didn't mean to sound so negative--I apologise! I really think that a lot comes down to your standard of Spanish.Also here the family still mainly looks after it's own members so the care culture is slightly different.Even for basic care you would need good Spanish and assessment work I would think very different. I would think that you would need to live here for a bit if you have not done so before to get the feel of the therapy and care services.
Whatever good luck--Spain is a beautiful and fascinating country-but work for everyone is difficult here at the moment. I hope all goes well.


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## Last_one_out

[apologies for jumping in on a 2 month old thread]

Ok, so for an OT with 15+ years experience, Spanish first language (and English fluent), registered OT in 3 countries (including Spain) but NO Spanish OT experience, what opportunities may be available in Madrid?

My wife has been looking, and so far has only found (sub?)minimum wage 'care' type roles. Ideally she'd be looking for work in Dementia/Mental Health/Nurology/Brain Injuries, or failing that, maybe hand injuries.

Any guidance appreciated.


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## jojo

Last_one_out said:


> [apologies for jumping in on a 2 month old thread]
> 
> Ok, so for an OT with 15+ years experience, Spanish first language (and English fluent), registered OT in 3 countries (including Spain) but NO Spanish OT experience, what opportunities may be available in Madrid?
> 
> My wife has been looking, and so far has only found (sub?)minimum wage 'care' type roles. Ideally she'd be looking for work in Dementia/Mental Health/Nurology/Brain Injuries, or failing that, maybe hand injuries.
> 
> Any guidance appreciated.



There is high unemployment in Spain, worse than the UK. so theres not going to be many jobs of that type available and those that are will have high number of applicants I would have thought. All she can do is search the internet and apply where she can

Jo xxx


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