What is Their Role?

“To be internationally recognized, by all relevant stakeholders, as the premier organization for certifying occupational therapy practitioners.”

The agency is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland and has about thirty to forty employees. It was founded in nineteen eighty six. Every state in the US requires an initial certification from NBCOT before they will grant a license to an occupational therapist. This is true as well in Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

Because they are associated with years of exemplary service by the NBCOT, certifications are accredited by the American National Standards Institute or ANSI. The Board also received an accreditation from the National Commission on Certifying Agencies or NCCA.

A board of directors governs NBCOT ; this board is made up of professional Occupational Therapists Registered. Members of the public and Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants are also board members. This board provides the management and the strategic vision for the agency. Board members are nominated and elected by the OTR and COTA members.

NBCOT maintains complete impartiality in their duties regarding the certification process. A link to their impartiality statement can be found on page six of the follow along PDF manual. In general, the statement acknowledges the importance of impartiality in the certification process. The procedures, policies, and structure of the organization itself are designed to handle any conflict of interest claims. They ensure that the process is objective for everyone.

WHAT IS THEIR ROLE?

NBCOT is also responsible for maintaining a professional code of conduct and ethical behavior by occupational therapists. Their job is to promote these standards and ensure that they are maintained by every therapist.

This code of conduct must be followed by every certified occupational therapist and any applicant for the exam. Professionals and “would be” occupational therapists must disclose any disciplinary action, as well as legal or criminal actions against them. The

code requires that they do so within sixty days of the violation. To report such violations, notify the agency by email.

NBCOT also produces and enforces the “Procedures for the Enforcement of the NBCOT Code of Conduct.” The Board has jurisdiction over and can sanction occupational therapists who are currently certified. This group includes those:

• who have applied for OTE-D- Office of Training and Development at the FDA or

Food and Drug Administration.

• who have applied for certification;

• and who have applied for Early Determination Review or -E-D-R.

The NBCOT develops and maintains the practice standards for OTR and COTA. These standards are the quality standard baseline for occupational therapy. I will talk about them in greater detail in a later chapter. The standards are what the organization expects from professionals in the OT field; they are used by many administrators to evaluate their occupational therapy professionals and to recommend development and discipline.

In this regard NBCOT is responsible for maintaining a list of any disciplinary action they take. This is called the NBCOT Disciplinary Action Summary.

NBCOT has authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to grant Certificates for Health Care Workers. They can grant these certificates to occupational therapists entering the country to practice professionally. The credential is called a Visa Credential Verification Certificate, or VCVC. There is a five hundred dollar fee for this service.

A VCVC must be renewed every five years, and the therapist must notify NBCOT if their immigration status changes. You should apply to renew your VCVC at least three months in advance. If you need a duplicate certificate, you can submit a VCVC Duplicate Certificate Request Form. This will cost one hundred dollars.

If you live in the digital world and want a digital version of the paper certificates, NBCOT has them. These digital certificates are called badges, and you can put them on