SAU OTD Program granted Full Accrediation by ACOTE

The St. Ambrose Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program has received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).

251个职业治疗项目中仅有54个博士学位项目之一, the SAU OTD program is at the forefront of an industry transformation. ACOTE要求所有入门级职业治疗项目到2027年从硕士课程过渡到博士课程.

The St. Ambrose program, which launched in the fall of 2016 with ACOTE candidacy status, is now fully accredited for the next seven years.

As such, 该课程的毕业生将有资格参加由国家职业治疗认证委员会(NBCOT)管理的职业治疗师国家认证考试。. After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, 国家执照通常是基于NBCOT认证考试的结果.

St. 可以买滚球的正规平台将在2019年5月的毕业典礼上庆祝其第一个职业治疗博士学位. Program Director Lynn Kilburg '91, DHSc, MBA, OTR/L, 预计这些毕业生将在SAU OT学生踏入职场的悠久成功历史的基础上再接再发展.

"We have had 100 percent job placement for many years now, 80%的硕士毕业生在毕业后六周内选择了他们第一选择的实习和/或地理位置的工作," Kilburg said. “我们预计，随着博士生专注于博士项目, 他们将进一步确定他们感兴趣的工作，并影响他们所服务的客户."

The "focused emphasis" is what has added doctoral rigor to the OTD curriculum. After completing fieldwork this fall, 首届OTD队列将在三年计划的最后一个学期完成个性化的顶点项目，重点是支持健康，同时也在与项目相关的临床实习中服务.

Sandra Cassady, PhD, vice president for strategic initiatives at St. Ambrose and dean of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), 他说，对OTD项目启动的精心规划和多年的准备，使该项目获得了ACOTE委员会的高度赞扬，该委员会在7月份对该项目进行了为期三天的实地考察.

That group cited six major strengths in its report. Comments included:

• “服务倡议和外展活动，促进人们认识到需要培养关怀和富有同情心的从业人员，为所有个人提供职业正义。."
• “我们的教师在临床实践和教育经验方面都有非常深入和广泛的专业知识. 教师采用的团队教学方法加强了教学学习和临床经验之间的联系，并允许教师利用他们的专业领域，展示了模仿咨询模式和实践灰色地带的合作和合作."
• "The administration has adopted an open-door policy, from faculty to the dean, to the president's office, 促进合作和创新项目，为物理治疗的跨专业教育提供了强大的机会, speech therapy and physician assistant programs."

有一项建议与探索工作量的过程和分配有关. No areas of non-compliance were noted.

访问小组对该计划的高度赞扬与研究生计划的合作性质有关 College of Health and Human Services在那里，OTD的学生与学生一起学习医疗保健的团队方法 Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Master of Social Work and Master of Speech-Language Pathology programs. Students in the undergraduate nursing degree programs also participate in this collaborative learning approach.

The Institute for Person-Centered Care at St. Ambrose, a community resource introduced in October of 2017, adds to the innovative and collaborative approach to learning, Kilburg said.

“职业治疗师会说，我们长期以来一直以人为本，但研究所确实为我们提供了一个机会，将这种交付模式传播到我们的地区临床站点和正规买球平台有哪些," she said.

Cassady说，认证过程肯定了OTD部门对卓越的承诺.

“我们为OTD的教职员工感到自豪，并祝贺他们取得了这一重要成就," she said. “这个专业项目从硕士学位到博士学位的转换是通过重大的课程修订完成的，这依赖于大量的整合和团队合作. 我很高兴ACOTE的仔细评估和决定导致了七年的项目认证，并符合所有标准."

Occupational Therapy debuted as an undergraduate degree major program at St. Ambrose in the late 1980s and produced its first graduates in 1991. 它是爱荷华州历史最悠久的职业治疗项目，目前提供该州唯一认可的该学科博士学位. The first Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) degrees were awarded in 2000. The final MOT cohort graduated in August 2018. 该项目于2016年秋季招收了第一批博士生，将于2019年8月毕业. Since 1991, 该项目已培养了908名毕业生，其中估计有40%至50%的毕业生曾在四城地区担任卫生专业人员.