OTD-Occupational Therapy Doctorate

INTRODUCTION

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate program offers opportunities for in-depth study of, and clinical experiences with clients of all ages who have limited capacity to perform to their expectations in their everyday lives or who are at risk of developing a limiting condition. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist individuals to achieve their maximum level of independent living and quality of life through remediation of, adaptation to, or prevention of physical, cognitive, perceptual or mental health functional limitations.

Occupational therapy utilizes the consultative process in addition to direct intervention and works with populations and systems as well as individuals.

MISSION

The Occupational Therapy Doctoral program transforms students into culturally and socially responsive practitioners, prepared to pursue clinical excellence and professional leadership through advanced, evidence-based knowledge, skills, and clinical reasoning, scientific inquiry and creative program development, for the provision of occupation-based service to clients, families, and communities in nontraditional, as well as traditional settings.

GOALS OF THE PROGRAM

The goals of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program reflect the missions of the university, college, and program. In essence, these are to educate self-directed students who, upon graduation, will become quality professionals, contribute to the body of knowledge of the profession and provide leadership for the profession and society. This will be accomplished through incorporation of the liberal studies component of the student’s bachelor’s degree into graduate, professional education in occupational therapy. Accordingly, the goals of the program are:

• Develop quality occupational therapists whose practice is guided by occupational science and clinical reasoning.

• Create life-long learners who will contribute to the body of knowledge of the profession.

• Foster student attitudes and professional behaviors consistent with the missions of the university, college and program.

• Assist the student to develop the skills necessary to provide leadership roles in the profession and society.

• Provide students with the skills and problem-solving abilities to adapt and respond proactively to a changing health care system and society.

• Provide professional resources, services, leadership and scholarship to the profession and community.

• Foster an academic community in which its members participate actively in the development of self and society.

• Provide opportunities that prepare the student to be a self-directed life-long learner and encourage evidenced-based professional practice, independent inquiry, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, self-reflection, and self-assessment.

• Provide an opportunity to identify and develop an area of advanced practice that is developed and refined in the experiential component or “internship” and the culminating project.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate program of study in Ruskin, Florida begins in the summer semester of the entering year with three required and foundational OT courses. The first-year summer courses are online and include DOCCT 811, DOCCT 815 and DOCCT 818. Full-time, on-campus graduate course work starts in the fall semester and continues for 3+ years, with the summer between the first and second year off. The summer, fall, and spring semesters of the third year are spent in the class or in fulltime clinical internships, followed by a capstone semester in the final summer (see curriculum). Students must complete Level II fieldwork and experiential requirements within 18 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program.

Upon completion of the program an Occupational Therapy Doctorate degree is awarded and graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination administered by the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT; https://www.nbcot.org). Individuals with certain types of criminal records (felonies) may be barred from practicing occupational therapy at the national or state level. Individuals with criminal records should contact NBCOT (http://www.nbcot.org) and the occupational therapy licensing board of the state where they would like to practice prior to applying for admission to any OT program. Both organizations will do early evaluations of the criminal record as a means of determining if the student would be allowed to practice occupational therapy.

ACCREDITATION

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline. org. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

DOCTORATE REQUIREMENTS

Students develop a doctoral capstone experience and complete a culminating capstone project. The objectives for each of the areas are determined collaboratively between site mentors and faculty, each designed to enrich a student’s depth of study in a specific area.

Clinical Experiences (Fieldwork I, Fieldwork II, and Capstone Experience) Fieldwork I: Early fieldwork experiences, which include 40 hour weekly or week-long experiences, are provided locally or within a reasonable proximity to the student’s permanent residence. Each of three Fieldwork I experiences are a component of professional level course requirements for Psychosocial OT, Pediatric OT, and Physical Disability OT courses in the curriculum. Fieldwork II: fieldwork placements for the two 12-week full-time fieldwork experiences are available throughout the U.S.A. The student must successfully complete all coursework and successfully complete Level II fieldwork placements prior to the commencement of the doctoral capstone experiential component. The doctoral experiential component is a 14-week, integral part of the program’s curriculum design and shall include an in-depth experience in one or more of the following focus areas: advanced clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, and advocacy, education, or theory development.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The program is designed as a full-time course of study. Students are not able to transfer into the program, and transfer credits will not be accepted. Work experience will not be accepted as credit.

• Students in the final year of completion of a bachelor’s degree may apply to the program or students who have completed a bachelor’s degree. Baccalaureate degree must be from an accredited college or university.

• Cumulative prerequisite course Quality Point Average (QPA) of 2.8 or better (4.0 scale). No grade below “C” will be accepted

• Overall undergraduate QPA of 2.8 or better (4.0 scale)

• All prerequisite courses must be completed within five years preceding entrance into the graduate program. Prerequisites must be completed by May 15 of the year the student enrolls. Additionally, the student’s degree must be conferred with a final official transcript by May 15 of the year that they enroll.

• GRE’s are not required.

Prerequisite Course Requirements for entry into the OTD program include the following:

• Intro to Psychology (course or equivalent)

• Psychopathology or Abnormal Psychology (course or equivalent)

• Intro to Sociology or a course in diversity (course or equivalent)

• Developmental psychology throughout the lifespan or equivalent (course or equivalent)

• Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (total of 8 credits) (course/course or equivalent; course/course or equivalent)

• Physics (one semester survey or two semester full sequence) (course or equivalent; course and course or equivalent)

• Statistics (course, course or equivalent)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS

• Prospective students will apply using the OTCAS – Occupational Therapy Centralized Application System. OTCAS provides a full-service web-based application and admissions process for prospective occupational therapy program applicants. To learn more, please visit: https://www.otcas.org.

• Prior to matriculation in the program, students must complete their bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer experience in an OT setting; two different sites are preferred. Documentation must be submitted from the clinical volunteer site.

• Deadline for applications is April 17; applications received after this deadline will be reviewed if space is available in the program.

• Students must have demonstrated efficiency in using tools common to distance education. This might include a learning platform, special courses, or job experience. Attachments to the application providing evidence of proficiency will be requested and reviewed.

• A review of the OTCAS application is completed by the admissions committee.

• Qualified candidates may also be interviewed by the admissions committee comprised of the OTD program faculty, adjuncts or community OTs.