Introduction
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Jefferson College of Health Sciences is a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree program designed to prepare students for careers as occupational therapy assistants (OTA's). Working under the supervision of a Licensed Occupational Therapist, the OTA carries out evaluation and treatment procedures in a wide variety of clinical settings. OTA's have opportunities to obtain employment in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation settings, outpatient clinics, private practices, home health agencies and public school systems.
Philosophy Statement
The profession of Occupational Therapy believes in the concept that humans are complex beings who derive meaning from interactions with their environment. These diverse environments include physical, social, temporal, cultural, psychological and spiritual aspects. Humans learn to evolve, change, and adapt through active encounters within these internal and external environments.
Occupational Therapy is grounded in the core principle of man as an active being. To that end, the educational process seeks to instruct students in methods of engaging clients in meaningful occupations to enhance their quality of life within their chosen environments. OT interventions address individuals of all ages. Strategies may be developed to enhance wellness and prevent infirmities as well as helping to remediate dysfunction as a result of injury or disease.
Our program embraces the individual's development of performance-based autonomy. We believe that the students must bear considerable responsibility for attaining their educational objectives. Faculty encourages and facilitates the students' learning by working with them to seek out answers to problems posed within an ongoing, lifelong educational process.
We seek to bring students to recognize their own potential as adaptive, creative, and resourceful human beings. In their development as an occupational therapy professional we involve them in a process which first focuses on their development of self-awareness with flexibility in approaching solutions to various problems. We then seek to assist them in the development of the technical skills needed to accomplish the COTAs routine tasks. Finally, we seek to assist students to develop a professional sense-of-self as a caring, competent practitioner of occupational therapy.
The OTA educational program further supports the practice of occupational therapy as a vocation and as such, seeks to graduate individuals with a predisposition for a career that involves a commitment to be of service to others. Education as a professional is a life-long process that must be continued throughout ones career. The field of Occupational Therapy is dynamic and ever changing with increases in the base of knowledge and technology available world-wide. Our program emphasizes the expectation that our graduates will remain knowledgeable of changes in the practice of occupational therapy and the importance that meaningful occupation plays in enhancing the quality of life in our diverse and multi-cultural society.
Accreditation
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. AOTAs telephone number is (301) 652-AOTA.
National Certification
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be able to take the national certification examination for the Occupational Therapy Assistant, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of the exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Most states require licensure in order to practice, and state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.
The Education Program
The two-year Occupational Therapy Assistant program is distributed over five semesters. The Associate of Applied Science degree is awarded upon successful completion of both academic and fieldwork experiences.
The course of study is sequenced so that students participate in more general education courses at the beginning of the program and more occupational therapy-specific courses later. The final semester (spring of the second year) is spent in two eight-week, off-campus, full-time fieldwork experiences. Student participation in fieldwork site selection is required.
Dress Code
Casual attire is permitted for lecture sections. Laboratory attire will consist of bathing suits, halter tops, tank tops, shorts, smocks, aprons or "work clothes depending on the activities.
Fieldwork attire will be equivalent to that which the fieldwork facility follows. It is the responsibility of the student to find out what that attire is prior to beginning the fieldwork experience. White lab coats must have the Jefferson College of Health Sciences OTA Program patch sewn onto the upper left sleeve.
For fieldwork experiences students must carry a watch and must wear their Jefferson College of Health Sciences name tag.
Academic Policies
The academic policies for the OTA program facilitate the development of the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes of a competent and successful practitioner. All courses with an OTA prefix must be taken in the sequence in the Course of Study. The summer session is considered the start of the second year. Students enrolled in the OTA program must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0. A minimum grade of 'C is required in BIO 211 and 212 (Anatomy and Physiology I and II) and in all courses with an OTA prefix. Students who fail to maintain a GPA of at least 2.0 and/or achieve a minimum grade of 'C in Anatomy and Physiology and in courses with an OTA prefix will be suspended from the professional course sequence. Students may, however, continue to take general education courses. The professional course in which the grade was lower than a C may be repeated during the next session in which the course is offered if space in the program permits. Students suspended from the professional course sequence must submit in writing their intention to return to the program. This must be received by the Program Director prior to August 1 of the academic year in which the student intends to reenter the professional course sequence. Failure to do so will preclude the student from enrolling in OTA courses; the student will have to reapply to the program to continue to take OTA courses. Students suspended a second time will be dismissed from the program. Students dismissed are not eligible for readmission to the OTA program at Jefferson College of Health Sciences. Additional academic policies are applicable to all courses with an OTA prefix. Written tests, examinations, and lab practicals are to be taken on the assigned day and at the assigned time. OTA students who are not in attendance during days/times when in-class tests, examinations or lab practicals are to be accomplished, and have an excused absence, will be required to sit for the missed assignment within three regular school days of the original test date. Should illness extend beyond 2 days, the student will be required to provide documentation of medical intervention and will be required to accomplish the assignment within three days of his/her return to class. Students will not be allowed to make up missed tests, examinations or lab practicals if they have an unexcused absence.
Written assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the day assigned. The assignment grade will be lowered one letter grade (seven points) for each workday late. Oral presentations are to be presented on the assigned date. Rescheduling of an oral presentation will result in a reduction in the grade earned. Written assignments, accompanying oral presentations, are due following the presentation, unless noted otherwise.
Academic Honesty Policy
Students in the OTA program are expected to adhere to the College policy on academic honesty (see Academic Honor Code in this catalog). Plagiarism, cheating and lying are violations of this policy.
Attendance Policies
Attendance at each lecture and laboratory session is required. Students are expected to be prompt for each lecture and laboratory session and to remain for the entire lecture and lab period. In the event of an unavoidable absence, students are to notify the course instructor prior to the absence. Students are responsible for obtaining any written material and handouts from classes and labs missed. Students also are responsible for making up any missed laboratory activities.
A student is considered tardy when not in class or lab at the scheduled starting time. Being tardy three times is the equivalent of one unexcused absence.
Fieldwork Education
Fieldwork education is an integral part of the OTA program as it provides the medium for acquisition of skills that cannot be attained in other settings. Fieldwork assignments are made by the coordinator of academic fieldwork education in advance of the fieldwork experience. Students are assigned to fieldwork experiences in a variety of settings. These sites are local, in-state and out-of-state. The coordinator of academic fieldwork education cannot guarantee local placements so there may be additional expenses and time involved. Transportation to and from the fieldwork sites is the responsibility of the students. Students are also responsible for securing their own housing for out-of-town fieldwork sites.
Level IA Fieldwork: Students are sent to facilities which do and do not provide OT services. The focus is principally on the diversity of settings in which OT may function, the interpersonal dynamics within the facilities and communication between the staff and client populations. This fieldwork occurs during the second semester of the first year.
Level IB Fieldwork: Students are sent to facilities and will have limited responsibilities for client evaluation, treatment intervention, and program implementation and development. Students will attend one facility with a pediatric population and one with an adult/geriatric population. These fieldwork experiences occur during the first semester of the second year.
Level II Fieldwork: These full-time fieldworks are designed to allow the students to apply all skills, knowledge and techniques learned during the academic stage of their education. They will be responsible for generalizing information, problem solving in a variety of situations and adapting to the environment such that by completion of their level II fieldwork experiences they should be functioning as an entry level OTA. These two fieldwork experiences occur during the second semester of the second year.
Students are expected to attend fieldwork on the assigned day, at the assigned time. Any unavoidable absences from the fieldwork must be reported to both the facility (fieldwork supervisor) and the College (coordinator of academic fieldwork education or Program Director). All missed Level IA and IB fieldwork time will be made up at the convenience and discretion of the fieldwork facility and according to their policies. If the facility does not have a policy, the facility may follow the JCHS-OTA program policy which states that the student can not miss more than two days per Level II fieldwork without making up time missed.
Students requesting a change in their regularly scheduled fieldwork day and time must have this approved by the coordinator of academic fieldwork education and the fieldwork supervisor. Failing to report absences to the appropriate individual or unauthorized changes in the fieldwork schedule will result in suspension from the fieldwork experience.
Occupational Therapy Assistant Program of Study
It is strongly recommended that students begin taking some general education courses at Jefferson College of Health Sciences during the summer prior to their first year. Since the Occupational Therapy Assistant program is demanding, taking these courses in advance of the professional studies will significantly lighten the course load during the first year. The student must maintain a minimum grade of C in all OTA specific courses to progress through the curriculum. All OTA students must complete Level II fieldwork within 18 months following completion of academic preparation.
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