Occupational Therapist - Per Diem

Occupational TherapistPer Diem

Listed compensation

$57.74-$83.72/hr

The week · per this posting

Schedule not stated in this posting — no days, weekends, call or nights given.

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 28m ago · Verified live

Job Description

About Us

Occupational Therapy is based on performing the meaningful activities of daily life. Therapists work to enable or enhance the ability of infants, children, or people of any age to complete the tasks that are pertinent to their life stage to the best of their ability. OT's help infants and children gain abilities in fine motor, feeding, visual-motor, sensory-motor, self-care, and overall developmental skills.

Occupational Therapy here at Valley Children’s Healthcare provides services in all inpatient areas throughout the hospital including Rehab, PICU and NICU, in addition to our Outpatient Clinic. Our OT's also offer support to several specialty clinics including, High Risk Infant Follow-up Clinic, Rheumatology Clinic, Neuromuscular Clinic, Hypertonicity Clinic, Comprehensive Hand Clinic, and Rehab Follow-up Clinic.

Our highly trained occupational therapists evaluate and treat a variety of diagnoses that may include: upper extremity/hand injuries, prematurity, feeding dysfunction, traumatic brain injury, Down Syndrome and other genetic diagnoses, Cerebral Palsy and other neurological disorders, developmental delay, autism, and sensory-motor disorders.

Job Summary

This position is accountable for the assessment, treatment, and management of patients with motor, sensory, perceptual, and/or cognitive impairments affecting functional independence and active participation in daily living.

Qualifications

Education

  • College Degree - 4 year In Occupational Therapy (required)
  • Masters Degree (required)
  • Doctorate (preferred)

Licenses and Certifications

OTR - Occupational Therapist Registered - NBCOT - National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy If license-eligible, can be hired under a "limited permit" per California OT Board requirements (required)

BLS - Basic Life Support - AHA - American Heart Association within 30 days of hire or transfer into position (required)

OTR - Occupational Therapist Registered - NBCOT - National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (preferred)

Work Experience

Minimum 18 months Pediatric experience. (preferred)

Skills and Abilities

Bilingual Skills Desirable

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Compensation Range

$57.74 - $83.72

Workshift

Varied (United States of America)

Position Exempt

No

FTE %

0

Scheduled Weekly Hours

0

Daily Hours

  • 8
  • Have Questions?
  • Call Recruitment Services at 559-353-7071 or email us at recruiting@valleychildrens.org
  • Disclaimer: Final compensation will be dependent upon skills and experience.

Key Responsibilities

The occupational therapist is responsible for the assessment, treatment, and management of patients with motor, sensory, perceptual, or cognitive impairments. They provide services across various hospital inpatient areas and specialty clinics to enhance functional independence in daily living.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Pediatric TherapyPatient AssessmentTreatment PlanningFine Motor SkillsSensory-motor SkillsVisual-motor SkillsPatient Management

Occupational Therapist Career Context

In California, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$116k (606 salary observations; 1,842 listings), vs ~$96k nationally (4,384 salary observations; 23,944 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$147k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $133k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 50 active Occupational Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 16% are remote, 32% have no call, 56% require no weekends.

Occupational Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is up 3.8% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Top contract/1099 Occupational Therapist Jobs

49 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution34 jobs

13
<$125k
7
$125k-145k
7
$145k-165k
5
$165k-185k
2
$185k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks32 jobs

401k / retirement match
91%
CME allowance
44%
Sign-on bonus
31%
Loan repayment
9%
Relocation assistance
9%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Occupational Therapist (OT)- South County

Home Care Providers Group · San Diego, California

$158k – $198k
#2

Occupational Therapist- Redding/Red Bluff

Home Care Providers Group · Yuba City, California

Salary Range: $95.00/…
#3

Occupational Therapist II, Acute

$58.71-$82.19/hr
#4

Occupational Therapist I - Per Diem - San Diego County Float

$50.72-$73.31/hr
+ 47 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Occupational Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 9,334 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Madera

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$407k
Typical market rent
$2,120/mo
Residents’ average commute
26 min
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Valley Children’s Healthcare logo

About Valley Children’s Healthcare

Hospitals and Health Care
Madera, California
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Per Diem Flexibility
Pediatric Specialty Care
Bilingual Skills Desirable