Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program

The Doctor of Occupational Therapy Distance Pathway program provides academic preparation beyond a generalist level, including advanced graduate knowledge, skills, and fieldwork/experiential opportunities. The OTD Distance Pathway is a full-time program offering a flexible hybrid delivery method for students at a distance completed over eight consecutive semesters including summers. The program combines opportunities for distance learning and immersive classroom sessions.

Program Emphasis

The OTD program at Western New England University is responding to the national and international call for changing the way healthcare is delivered, and the way healthcare professionals are educated by emphasizing:
• population health perspectives that focus on community health, wellness and prevention, and health literacy;
• innovative interprofessional practice models in traditional and community-based health settings that focus on collaborative teams;
• interprofessional education/practice research applications that permit faculty and students to develop as applied scholars of teaching and practice;
• practitioner, leader, and scholar roles and competencies to revolutionize the delivery of inclusive, equitable, client-centered, evidence-based, culturally-competent, and distinctive occupational therapy practice.

Program Outcomes

A. Academic Division Goals:

Develop and implement an innovative, entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program that prepares entry-level graduates for leadership roles in a global healthcare marketplace, by educating them to be: responsive to diversity; culturally sensitive; population health-focused; and outcomes-driven healthcare practitioners.
Ensure that a critical outcome of the OTD program is that graduates are provided with a conceptual framework and applied strategies to excel at client-centered, evidence-based, collaborative interprofessional practice, as a means to innovatively transform the way that clients receive care in current medical, educational and community-based settings
Academically develop and support a high-quality graduate occupational therapy faculty membership who will excel in teaching and mentorship, scholarship, and professional service roles in ways that will enhance the reputation of the Department, the COPHS, and Western New England University (WNE).
Enhance the image and visibility of the Department of Occupational Therapy within College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the WNE campus, and the larger external community.

B. Student Learning Outcomes:
By demonstrating the application of the curriculum design themes and threads, OTD Students will:

Interprofessional Practice/Education & Diversity Themes and Autonomy/Identity Thread:
·   Articulate the philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual foundations upon which the occupational therapy process is based.
·   Define the value of occupations to performance and participation in life.
·   Exemplify the profession’s core values/principles.
·   Design and provide competent, considerate, and collaborative occupational therapy services for diverse populations within both traditional and non-traditional settings.
·   Represent occupational therapy as collaborative members of intraprofessional and interprofessional teams.
Population Health/Cultural Competence Themes and Clinical Excellence Thread:
·   Apply clinical reasoning (procedural, interactive, narrative, ethical, scientific, pragmatic) to plan and deliver occupation-based and evidence-driven occupational therapy.
·   Design and provide direct and indirect services such as screening, evaluation, planning, intervention, consultation, advocacy, & policy/program development.
·   Demonstrate cultural awareness and humility in professional and interpersonal activities.
·   Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, and implement the corresponding practices necessary to focus on the quadruple-aim of health care, to improve the health of populations, enhance the experience and outcomes of individual clients, reduce the cost of care for the benefit of individuals and communities, and improve healthcare team wellbeing.
·   Utilize conceptual models to develop occupational therapy programs that are focused on prevention, wellness, primary care, health literacy, and reducing health disparities.
in existing settings and emerging practice settings.
Technology/Health Literacy Themes & Scholarship Thread:
·   Employ technology to engage students, collaborators, and consumers in coordination of services, to: improve access to care; reduce health disparities; support quality of life; and improve personal and population health needs.
·   Utilize specific learning platforms and other technology to foster health literacy by providing access to general health care information (e.g. library databases; on-line or cellular applications), and individual-specific health information (e.g. electronic health records or telehealth applications) in a variety of contexts.
·   Gather, analyze, and interpret the results of evaluations and scholarly projects that will provide benefit to individual consumers and the health of populations.
Multiple Curriculum Design Themes & Leadership Thread:
·   Synthesize knowledge from preparatory coursework to support the development of a doctoral experiential capstone project.
·   Engage in leadership development by collaborating with faculty and site mentors to integrate didactic learning, experiential education and scholarship experience in a community setting.
·   Complete an evidence-based professional paper and deliver a professional presentation (e.g., manuals; policy documents; publications) that represent the findings and recommendations of the doctoral experiential capstone project.

Admission Requirements

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education must be completed prior to matriculation into the OTD program.
An undergraduate GPA of 3.000 (4.000 scale) is preferred for admission. Candidates with a lower GPA are encouraged to apply and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The GRE is not required for admission, however, GRE scores for testing within the last five years will be considered if submitted.
Recommendations: applicants are required to enter a minimum of three evaluator names within their application; it is preferred that one recommendation be from a professor. Additional recommendations should be from individuals with knowledge of your educational and/or professional history. (Current WNE students are not required to provide recommendations.)
Personal Statement: applicants must submit the standard personal statement which should address why you selected OT as a career and how an occupational therapy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you to achieve your goals.
Observation Hours: No minimum number of hours; it is highly recommended that prospective students observe more than one practice area or population. Candidates must complete and upload signed observation forms within the Documents Section of their OTCAS application.

Prerequisite Coursework Requirements

Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (8 credits)
Developmental Psychology or Lifespan Development
Abnormal Psychology
Statistics or any research-based course

For a complete overview of the Admissions requirements, please visit www1.wne.edu/pharmacy-and-health-sciences/admissions/otd/admissions-requirements.cfm.

Program Structure

The OTD program is a full-time program completed over 8 consecutive semesters including summers. The 109 credit curriculum will include:
• Level I Fieldwork (five 1-credit courses over five semesters)
• Level II Fieldwork (960 hours)
• Doctoral Experiential Capstone (640 hours)

The program combines opportunities for classroom learning, the development of performance laboratory skills, and on-site practice experience (i.e. Level I & Level II Fieldwork). The program integrates sequential course content with a series of five Level I Fieldwork experiences (Year 1 and 2), providing a strong foundation for Level II Fieldwork (Years 2 and 3), and the Doctoral Experiential Capstone (Year 3, Semester 8). Level II Fieldwork must be completed within 2 years of completing entry-level OTD coursework. The curriculum permits students to develop entry-level skills in current and emerging occupational therapy practice areas. The doctoral experiential capstone takes place at an off-campus site, and provides students with advanced skills beyond generalist practice in areas of leadership, research, advocacy and program development/implementation/evaluation.

The curriculum design includes four primary professional themes: Leadership; Scholarship; Clinical Excellence; and Autonomy/Identity. Evolving from these broad themes are the core interwoven threads upon which the curriculum is built. The threads are: Interprofessional Education/Practice; Information/Assistive Technology; Health Literacy, Diversity, and Cultural Competence; and Population/Community Based Health Practices. A series of course sequences are designed to tie the threads into a complete doctoral curriculum. The course sequences include: Occupational Performance (two courses each in Adult Practice, Lifespan, Children and Youth, and Population Health and Interprofessional Practice); Research/Evidence-Based Practice 1 and 2; Level I fieldwork 1 through 5; Level II Fieldwork 1 and 2; and Doctoral Experiential Development and Mentorship 1 through 4.

Accreditation

In December, 2019, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) granted the WNE OTD Program accreditation for the maximum length of time through academic year 2026-2027, for having achieved full compliance with the academic standards. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is located at 6116 Executive Blvd., Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org.

OTD Degree Requirements Year 1

Fall 1 Degree Requirements List

OTD 500	Occupational Therapy/Occupational Science	2 cr.
OTD 504	Foundations of Occupational Therapy Practice	2 cr.
OTD 506	Group Interventions & Therapeutic Use of Self	2 cr.
OTD 509	Functional Anatomy & Kinesiology	4 cr.
OTD 512	Evaluation: Occupational Profile and Analysis of Occupations	2 cr.
OTD 517	Occupational Performance: Mental Health	4 cr.
OTD 518	Level IA Fieldwork Experience	1 cr.

Subtotal: 17

Spring 1 Degree Requirements List

OTD 523	Assessment: Theory and Measures	2 cr.
OTD 525	Research/Evidence-Based Practice 1	3 cr.
OTD 527	Occupational Performance: Acute & Chronic Care OT	4 cr.
OTD 531	Clinical Applications of Neuroscience	4 cr.
OTD 537	Occupational Performance: Post-Acute and Outpatient OT	4 cr.
OTD 539	Level IB Fieldwork Experience	1 cr.

Subtotal: 18

Summer 1 Degree Requirements List

OTD 541	Doctoral Experiential 1: Needs Assessment & Program Development	2 cr.
OTD 544	Doctoral Experiential 1: Mentorship Seminar	1 cr.
OTD 545	Population Health & Interprofessional Practice: Children & Youth	2 cr.
OTD 547	Occupational Performance: Infants & Young Children	4 cr.
OTD 549	Level 1C Fieldwork Experience	1 cr.

Subtotal: 10

OTD Degree Requirements Year 2

Fall 2 Degree Requirements List

OTD 625	Transformational Leadership & Management	3 cr.
OTD 631	Doctoral Experiential 2: Proposal Development	3 cr.
OTD 634	Doctoral Experiential 2: Mentorship Seminar	2 cr.
OTD 635	Research/Evidence-Based Practice 2	3 cr.
OTD 637	Occupational Performance: Childhood & Adolescence	4 cr.
OTD 639	Level 1D Fieldwork Experience	1 cr.

Subtotal: 16

Spring 2 Degree Requirements List

OTD 645	Population Health and Interprofessional Practice: Adult & Aging	2 cr.
OTD 649	Level 1E Fieldwork Experience	1 cr.
OTD 651	Doctoral Experiential 3: Pre-Implementation Planning	3 cr.
OTD 655	Board Exam Preparation	2 cr.
OTD 653	Professionalism in OT Practice	2 cr.
OTD 654	Doctoral Experiential 3: Mentorship Seminar	3 cr.
OTD 657	Occupational Performance: Community-Based OT	4 cr.

Subtotal: 17

Summer 2 Degree Requirements List

OTD 675

Level II Fieldwork 1

9 cr.

Subtotal: 9

OTD Degree Requirements Year 3

Fall 3 Degree Requirements List

OTD 775

Level II Fieldwork 2

9 cr.

Subtotal: 9

Spring 3 Degree Requirements List

OTD 781	Doctoral Experiential 4: Implementation/Capstone	10 cr.
OTD 784	Doctoral Experiential 4: Mentorship Seminar	3 cr.

Subtotal: 13

Total Credit Hours: 109

OT.OTDE.OTD - Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Distance Pathway

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