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Occupational Therapy Program Director: Amy Brzuz, OTD, OTR/L
INTRODUCTION The Occupational Therapy Program offers opportunities for indepth study of, and clinical experiences with, clients of all ages who have limited capacity to perform to their expectations in their everyday lives or 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 Program engages students in teaching and learning to enable them to demonstrate excellence in all aspects of the evaluation and intervention. This process is grounded in the application of occupation, and the use of reasoning and creative problem solving. The program is designed to foster life-long learners who: • adapt to ever-changing professional environments, • contribute to the knowledge base of the profession, • provide leadership in the profession and society, • acknowledge the importance of holism in their own lives and in the lives of their clients, • work collaboratively, respecting diversity within the global community, and • value engagement and involvement within the community. Gannon’s Occupational Therapy program is reflective of and consistent with the University Mission in preparing our students to be global citizens by emphasizing a strong foundation in liberal studies and a dynamic program curriculum that promotes professionalism and experiential learning. Inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, students receive a value centered and ethically based approach to life and learning, that emphasizes faith, leadership, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. Every occupational therapy faculty member is committed to excellence and continuous advancement in teaching, scholarship, and service. The faculty as a whole is committed to supporting University and professional commitments in these three areas to prompt and promote excellence in the Occupational Therapy program.
GOALS OF THE PROGRAM The goals of the Occupational Therapy 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 to: • develop quality entry-level 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.
PROGRAM OF STUDY The post-baccalaureate program of study begins in the summer semester of the entering year with three required and foundational OT courses done in an online distance education format, with up to five required on-campus lab days for GOCCT 503 Occupational Analysis Lab. Full-time, on-campus graduate course work starts in the fall semester and continues for three (3) years, with the summer between the first and second years off. The summer and fall semesters of the third year are spent in full-time clinical internships, followed by a capstone semester in the spring. (See the Curriculum below.) Upon completion of the program a Master of Science 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; 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 of these organizations will do early evaluations of the criminal record as a means of determining if the student would be allowed to practice occupational therapy.
