In order to complete the curriculum, students must complete all of the Core Courses and a minimum of six credits of OTD 798 (Final Project Coursework).
Below is a list of core courses and their descriptions.
OT 701: Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits, core course)
Occupational therapy frameworks, theory, philosophy, conceptual models, and practice models as guides to clinical reasoning; integration into clinical practice.
OT 702: Leadership for Advanced Practice Excellence (2 credits, core course)
Leadership competencies for the occupational therapist; leadership and management theories to guide and enhance professional practice.
OT 703: Advocacy and Healthcare Policy in Population Health (3 credits, core course)
Broad overview and challenges of the current U.S. healthcare system; impact of regulation on health care access, delivery, cost, and quality; effective patient-professional relationships.
OT 704*: Research Design for Advanced Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits, core course)
Emphasis on study designs, advanced statistical concepts, internal and external validity, confounding variables, extrapolation of findings from sample to population; critique of the professional literature.
OT 705: Evidenced-based Practice Design and Application for Advanced Practice (3 credits, core course)
Strategies for evidence-based service delivery; critical analysis of the literature to support clinical practice.
OT 706: Management for Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits) Managing people and resources in a practice environment changing due to politic, regulatory, economic and social drivers.
OT 707: Occupational Therapists as Educators (2 credits)
Role of the occupational therapist as educator; teaching and learning styles; effective organization of educational experiences.
OT 798: Final Project Coursework (1-3 credits per semester, minimum total of 6 hours)
Focused investigation of an occupational therapy problem in a professional practice setting; application of concepts and tools presented in the program courses. Written project report required.
*Note: OT 704 is a prerequisite for OT 705
Tracks
You will follow one of three tracks in the OTD program - either Low Vision Rehabilitation, Healthcare Quality and Safety or a General Track.
The number of credits per semester is not mandatory – students may take one course a semester throughout the program or vary the sequence, taking two courses in some semesters and one course in another. This sequence should be discussed with your advisor who will be appointed upon admission to the program.
Below is a list of available courses and their descriptions divided by track.
Please note that the certificates for the Low Vision Rehabilitation and Healthcare Quality and Safety tracks will not be awarded until graduation from the OTD program.
OT 677: Foundations in Low Vision Rehabilitation I (3 credits)
Introduces the field of low vision rehabilitation and addresses core knowledge required for the subsequent courses. Topics include: demographics of low vision; settings and reimbursement; anatomy of the eye and visual system; medical conditions causing low vision; psychosocial adjustment to vision impairment; communication and health literacy; administration and interpretation of low vision exams and environmental assessment and modification.
OT 679: Foundations in Low Vision Rehabilitation II (3 credits)
Focuses on intervention strategies to improve occupational performance. Students learn to use information from evaluations to design appropriate interventions. Topics include: optics and prescribed optical devices, visual skills training, assistive technology, computer modification, reading, writing.
OT 690: Foundations in Low Vision Rehabilitation III (3 credits)
Focuses on intervention strategies to improve occupational performance. Students learn to use information from evaluations to design appropriate interventions. Topics include: Activities of daily living with and without vision, functional mobility, diabetes self-management and driving.
OT 689: Foundations in Treatment of Visual Impairment from Brain Injury (3 credits)
Focuses on adults experiencing occupational limitations due to visual processing impairment from acquired brain injury. Topics include: visual system neuroanatomy; evaluation and intervention for deficits in visual acuity and focusing; hemianopsia; oculomotor impairment; hemi-inattention and neglect.
OT 691: Foundations in Low Vision Rehabilitation IV (3 credits)
Focuses on ensuring the student is prepared for practice. Students must attend an intensive 2-day seminar on campus to review/demonstrate competence in evaluation and intervention.
HQS 600: Introduction to Clinical Quality Improvement (4 credits) Clinical quality improvement theory; classes of outcomes; process management; management tools and modeling techniques for improvement of clinical processes and decision-making.
HQS 610: Quantitative Methods, Measurement, and Tools for Quality Improvement (4 credits)
Statistical process control techniques applied to clinical and patient service processes, including Lean and Six Sigma methodologies; data system design concepts applied to clinical and financial data for managing health care business processes.
HQS 625: Fundamentals of Patient Safety (4 credits)
Nature and science of patient error; strategies for design of safety-critical systems; hazard analysis and risk assessment in health care organizations; design elements of safety program and high reliability systems.
HQS 630: Leadership of High Reliability Organizations (3 credits)
Applying concepts of high reliability organizations to create an organizational culture that supports strong, functional, and safe patient care environments resulting in quality clinical care and patient satisfaction.
OT 710: Introduction to Occupational Science (3 credits, elective) Conceptual foundations and methodological orientations for occupational science; human drive to remain occupied; creation of identity through meaningful activity; enhancing health and wellness through occupation.
OT 711: Adaptation and Disability (3 credits, elective) Process of social and cultural adaptation to disabilities and stigmatized medical conditions using examples from different cultures and disabilities.
OT 712: Environments and Context (3 credits, elective) Relationship between environments and context from the micro (home) to the macro level (country view); impact of these constructs on disability over the lifespan.
OT 713: Professional Writing (3 credits, elective)
Advanced writing course designed to teach professional writing styles commonly used in academia and professional practice.
OT 714: Program Evaluation in Occupational Therapy (3 credits, elective)
Examines methods in program evaluation with an emphasis on formative and summative evaluation. Students will study quantitative and qualitative strategies, how to communicate information to stakeholders, and how to design evaluations.
OT 775: Special Topics Exploration of current issues in occupational therapy.
AH 777: Mixed Methods Research I: Introduction to the Field (3 credits, elective)
Introduction to mixed methods research: essence of mixed methods research, rationale for using it, fundamental principles and key characteristics, major design applications, and means of assessing the quality of mixed methods inferences.