Occupational Therapy, OTD

Curriculum Sequence Philsophy Mission Expected Outcomes Curriculum The Profession Occupational Therapy Entry Option

Admission Guidelines Supervised Experience Clearances International Students Transfer Credit Degree Requirements

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Philosophy

The foundation of the occupational therapy program philosophy is a deeply held set of beliefs about:

• The profession
• Occupation
• Experiential learning
• Interprofessional collaborative practice
• Leadership
• Cultural competence
• Civic engagement

These beliefs correlate closely with the stated mission of both the university and the College of Health and Human Services. The occupational therapy program faculty support the university and school missions by engaging students in dynamic experiential learning methodologies, student-faculty scholarship activities, intentioned personal interactions, facilitated leadership opportunities, and service activities in the culturally diverse local community throughout the curriculum. To further operationalize its mission and philosophy, the program is designed to create a learning environment in which the curriculum itself maximizes the fit between students, their environments, and meaningful occupations through civic engagement.

Coursework, field experiences, and mentorship programs are designed to enable students to become ethical, contemporary occupational therapy practitioners who adopt the values necessary to:

• Work interprofessionally to contribute to the vitality and well-being of the community or individual served.
• Utilize evidence to inform professional reasoning and decision-making.
• Practice using a client-centered, occupation-based approach.
• Collaborate with individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations to identify culturally relevant personal and communal goals.
• Strive to maximize the fit between the individual and their personal, social, cultural, physical, virtual, and community environments.
• Serve as leaders in their community.

Mission

Aligned with the mission of the University, the mission of the Occupational Therapy Program is to: 

• Promote excellence by holding our graduates and ourselves to the highest standards of   ethical, evidence-informed, and client-centered practice.  We are committed to working interprofessionally to provide others in our diverse community to achieve what they want and need to do in their daily lives.  This approach will maximize the fit between individuals, groups, and populations  and their environments enabling all to engage in meaningful activities that create better futures.  Our graduates will be innovative critical thinkers and evidence-based practice scholars who are prepared to serve as leaders within their communities and the profession.  

• Engage, inspire, and empower our students to act with integrity to demonstrate ethical, professional, and civic leadership through:  

• • Multisensory teaching and learning approaches. 
  • Modeling and mentoring by faculty and mentors. 
  • Fieldwork and doctoral experiences in interprofessional community programs as well as traditional clinical settings. 
  • Experiential learning and leadership opportunities in student-run pro-bono clinics to help build graduates’ professional skill sets throughout their academic years. 

• Respect  the Chester and surrounding community by caring, honoring, and contributing to the vitality and well-being of our community through leadership in the client-centered pro-bono health and wellness clinics, civic engagement, and community-based fieldwork experiences. 

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates will:

• Demonstrate competency to practice as a client-centered entry-level occupational therapists in a wide array of delivery models and systems whose practice supports an enhanced fit between the person, their environments, and their engaged occupations. This perspective is consistently used in settings in which occupational therapy is currently practiced, as well as where it is an emerging service.
• Engage in evidence-based evaluations, select and apply appropriate occupational theory, and utilize client-centered interventions to achieve expected outcomes.
• Collaboratively plan and utilize client-centered, evidence-based occupational therapy interventions to address the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being and quality of life.
• Articulate and apply client-centered therapeutic use of occupations with culturally diverse individuals, groups, or communities for the purpose of facilitating performance and participation in activities, occupations, roles, and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the distinct roles and responsibilities of the occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant; and engage in client-centered collaborative service delivery with appropriate supervision of personnel.
• Communicate and engage with interprofessional teams to provide client-centered, culturally sensitive health and human services programs for persons, groups, and populations.
• Embrace the value of lifelong learning to engage in evidence-based client-centered contemporary occupational therapy practice.
• Uphold the ethical standards, values, and attitudes of the occupational therapy profession.
• Advocate for access to client-centered occupational therapy services that enhance the fit between humans, their environments, and the occupations in which they engage.
• Demonstrate active involvement in professional development, civic and community engagement, service learning, and advocacy.

Curriculum

The design of the Widener University occupational therapy curriculum identifies the major themes and threads of the program’s mission and philosophy, while demonstrating the close alignment between the program’s, college’s, and university’s missions. The desired outcome is the transformation of students into concerned practice scholars who think critically about human services issues and are engaged citizens who serve as leaders in their professional and civic communities. The curriculum is organized around five client-centered themes that reflect the program’s philosophy.

• Interprofessional collaboration
• Community/civic engagement
• Evidence based practice
• Professional reasoning
• Leadership

It is further enriched through two curricular threads:

• Understanding and maximizing the person, occupation, and environment fit
• Client centeredness

Additionally, the curriculum model for the doctor of occupational therapy layers foundational knowledge sequentially—semester-by- semester—drawing on concepts explored from previous courses and student experiences. An emphasis on active scholarship and community involvement creates a well-rounded, comprehensive, and dynamic academic experience for students. A culture of leadership is woven throughout the curriculum, introducing students to topics ranging from professional identities and missions to codes of ethics and skills building.

The Profession

The American Occupational Therapy Association defines the role of the occupational therapist as assisting people across the lifespan to participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Occupational therapists are skilled health care professionals who use research and scientific evidence to ensure their interventions are effective.

Occupational therapy enables people to function in all of their environments, including home, work, school, and community, by addressing the physical, psychological, and cognitive aspects of their well-being through engagement in occupation and utilizing a holistic perspective. This includes assisting people to regain function after illness or injury through retraining and adaptations as part of an interprofessional or intraprofessional team. Services include evaluations in any or all of the client’s environments that could lead to further intervention and education for family members or caregivers to maximize independences in all areas of activities of daily living (ADLs).

Occupational Therapy Entry Option

At this time, there is are three entry options into the doctor of occupational therapy program at Widener University.

Applicants holding a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from Widener or another university may apply to the program under the entry-level OTD track. Students often include recent graduates and students seeking a career change. Students are encouraged to contact the program early to assess the need for completion of prerequisite coursework. Courses taken in preparation for entry may be completed at Widener or at another university or college.

Accelerated 3+3 Program

Undergraduates who are admitted to the graduate occupational therapy program after their junior year are considered to be 3+3 students.  The courses they take in their senior year count toward both their fourth undergraduate year and their first year of the graduate degree.  Applications for the graduate program are completed in the fall of junior year.  A baccalaureate degree is conferred upon a successful completion of the first year of graduate study. 

This option is only available to students majoring in anthropology, fine arts, psychology, and sociology.  Students wishing to be considered for the 3+3 program must identify their interest by the end of their first undergraduate year.

4+3 Program

The 4+3 option allows students to complete all required courses for their academic major and all pre-requisite courses for the graduate program in four years.  It provides a less intense class schedule for students as they finish undergraduate study in the traditional four year span.  Applications for the grauduate program are completed in the fall of senior year.  Students who complete their undergraduate study at Widener University will be given preference on admission to the graduate program.

Admission Guidelines

Admission guidelines are established by the faculty in compliance with university standards for graduate programs. Admission to a graduate program of study will be restricted to students who demonstrate the capacity for graduate-level studies through a satisfactory grade point average (GPA), faculty and clinical supervisor evaluations/recommendations, interview outcomes, and a submitted essay.

Students are required to have a 3.0 cumulative and prerequisite GPA and a ‘C’ or better in all the prerequisite courses.

The program will only accept applications for students not entering through the 3+3 or 3+4 Program via the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS), www.otcas.org. The soft deadline for completing applications via OTCAS is November 15 of each year, with a firm deadline of January 15 of each year. Applicants will receive notification of the receipt of application materials from OTCAS and will be kept apprised of the status of any outstanding materials. The review of applications takes place from November to April. Applicants will be notified when the decisions are made.

The following prerequisite courses are required for all domestic applicants:

• Anatomy & Physiology I w/ Lab (human preferred), 4 credits
• Anatomy & Physiology II w/ Lab (human preferred), 4 credits
• Statistical Methods, 3 credits
• Lifespan–Human Development (or equivalent), 3 credits
• Abnormal Psychology (or equivalent), 3 credits
• Sociology (any course) or Anthropology (preferably cultural), 3 credits

Three letters of recommendation are required:

• At least one from an occupational therapist
• At least one from a professor/faculty member

Only three letters are required, and any supplemental letters will not be included with your application. We do not accept recommendations from family members. You must submit your letters of recommendation in the OTCAS system.

Supervised Experience

The program requires a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer or paid experience in an occupational therapy setting in which the student is supervised by a licensed occupational therapist. We recommend that students have experienced at least two different clinical settings. Volunteer hours should be reported in the OTCAS system.

Clearances

The program requires students to obtain criminal and child abuse clearances in each year of enrollment. A prior felony conviction may make a student ineligible for occupational therapy licensure and, therefore, ineligible for admission to the program. Prospective students who have had felony or other convictions should consult the Pennsylvania State Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners in Harrisburg (or other relevant licensure state boards) for licensure specifics.

Submission of health requirements, clearances, and successful completion of Professional Rescuer CPR and First Aid will be required prior to the start of the fall semester of the first year. Prior to matriculation, those admitted to the program must attest to their ability, with or without reasonable accommodation, to perform all essential functions described in the program’s “Essential Functions” document.

International Students

International students should consult the International Student Services web page at www.widener.edu for international graduate student guidelines or contact the Office of International Student Services at Widener University, One University Place, Chester, PA 19013; phone: 610-499-4499.

Transfer Credit

No transfer credits will be accepted in the doctorate in occupational therapy program.

Degree Requirements

To qualify for the doctor of occupational therapy degree, the candidate must:

• Comply with all general requirements of Widener University relating to the governance of graduate programs.
• Complete at least 111 credits of graduate coursework in the Widener occupational therapy program.
• Complete all of the degree requirements within a total of five calendar years from the date of first enrollment in the occupational therapy program.
• Complete all courses in a sequential fashion. Students must successfully complete coursework within each given semester and remain in good academic standing in order to progress to the next semester. Students must have completed all academic coursework and be in good academic standing to progress to Level II fieldwork.
• Successfully complete the academic and fieldwork portions of the curriculum.
• Maintain a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 in all occupational therapy coursework.
• Have a cumulative overall 3.0 GPA.
• Demonstrate appropriate professional behavior and conduct throughout all academic and fieldwork components.
• Successfully complete Level II fieldwork and doctoral capstone experience within 24 months beyond the date of completion of didactic coursework. In instances where there is more than 12 months of inactivity, faculty may require students to engage in competencies and/or other learning activities to assure fieldwork readiness.
• Must receive satisfactory reports and evaluations from all fieldwork educators to receive fieldwork credit (“Pass”).
• Notify advisors in writing of intended graduation date.
• Pass all comprehensive examinations.
• Petition to graduate within the appropriate time frame specified by the registrar’s office.

Please note that a waiver of any requirement for the degree must be approved in writing by the associate dean.