Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA-B)

Faculty

Dr. Rashida Daye-Campbell, Director of Occupational Therapy Assistant Program(OTA-B)
Ms. Angela Karpieniak, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy
Mr. Richard Osborne, OT Programs Academic Fieldwork Coordinator

Faculty who teach in the Occupational Therapy Program in the School of Nursing and Health Professions also support the OTA-B program

Description

Trinity’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) baccalaureate degree program educates students to work under the supervision and in cooperation with an occupational therapist (OT).  OTAs help people across the lifespan engage in the actions, activities and events they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities called occupations.  The major prepares aspiring OTAs to work in various settings such as  hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, sub-acute facilities, psychiatric and community-based programs, schools, nursing homes, private practice, and other emerging practice areas. Students are admitted to Trinity to complete general education and OTA prerequisite courses prior to applying to the OTA program in the School of Nursing and Health Professions.

Mission

Trinity Washington University’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program strives to educate students to be competent, ethical, and committed occupational therapy practitioners who promote health and well-being of all people as they engage in everyday activities called occupations.  Through dynamic classroom, clinical and community experiences, OTA students graduate prepared to meet the ever-changing occupational needs of society and address social justice and occupational performance issues locally and globally.

Occupational Therapy Program Philosophy

The OTA program’s philosophy reflects occupational therapy fundamental ideals in that it is based on the profession’s belief that humans are complex beings who are continuously engaged in their environment. Learning is an active and social process where learners discover principles, concepts, and facts through interactions with each other and their environment. The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy (AOTA, 2017) provides the Trinity Washington University OTA Program’s foundation. The OTA curriculum’s organizing philosophical framework is derived from the belief that engagement in occupations can positively influence the health and well-being of individuals and populations. Through employment in occupations, people find meaning and balance in their lives.

Fundamental Beliefs about Human Beings

Humans are complex beings who constantly interact with the physical, social, temporal, cultural, psychological, spiritual, and virtual environment through their actions. Individuals are active beings who can adapt, modify, and affect their life quality by engaging in the activities they want and need to do, called occupations. “Participation in these occupations influences [individual] development, health, and well-being across the lifespan.” (AOTA Commission on Education, 2011, p. S65). However, when a person is faced with an occupational challenge because of impairment, disability, or a stressful event, the natural process of human adaptation may become impaired (Schultz, 1992 and Schultz & Schkade, 1992). Through occupational therapy intervention, the occupational therapy practitioner’s “therapeutic use of self,” management of the environment, and use of “occupations as tools” promote their client’s ability to adapt to life’s challenges for successful occupational performance.

View of Learning

Learning is an active and social process in which learners learn to discover principles, concepts, and facts through interactions with each other and with the environment in which they live (Brown 1989; Ackerman 1996). Trinity acknowledges learners are unique individuals with unique needs and diverse backgrounds while being complex and multidimensional. Using a constructivist viewpoint to guide the learning process, the responsibility for learning is placed with the learner.  Motivation for learning strongly depends on the learner’s confidence in their potential to learn (Prawat and Floden 1994). Instructors are facilitators of learning that create guidelines and set the stage within the environment for learning. The learning experience is shaped by the instructor’s and the learners’ values. Culture and background are shared and respected (Ernest 1991; Prawat et al. 1994). The faculty of Trinity’s OTA program demonstrates support for students to become effective and critical thinkers through the “beyond the comfort zone” academic challenge (Vygotsky 1978) that will also translate into critical thinking and reasoning skills in the OT practice setting of activities as interventions.

Accreditation

Trinity Washington University’s baccalaureate-degree-level occupational therapy assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, 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. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Degree Requirements

Students will complete general education and prerequisite courses before applying to the OTA program. These can be taken at Trinity in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students will complete core OTA courses after formal acceptance into the OTA program.

Requirements for the Degree:

The requirements to graduate from Trinity with an Occupational Therapy Assistant Bachelor of Science degree are outlined in the student handbook and include the successful completion of the following:

• All program prerequisite courses and general education courses in the College of Arts and Sciences or transferred from another accredited institution of higher learning.
• All core OTA courses with a grade of “C” or better.
• A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5
• For students matriculating after Fall 2002, 45 of the final 60 credits, excluding credits for experiential learning, and all OTA-designated courses must be completed at Trinity.

Prerequisite and General Education Courses 

Freshman Year, First Semester (16 credits)
CRS 101 Critical Reading and Writing Seminar IThis course strengthens critical reading and academic writing skills through engagement with liberal arts texts with a focus on "Discovering your strength" as a Trinity woman. The ability to comprehend and write about arguments in academic texts is essential for success in all liberal arts courses and in lifelong learning. Students will develop the ability to identify a text's main argument and the evidence used to support that argument. Students will also reflect comprehension by accurately and clearly paraphrasing and summarizing texts' arguments. Students will also use annotation and argumentation strategies to respond to liberal arts texts with their own ideas.

All students will be expected to work toward the following learning goals:
Explore and develop values, especially those relating to social justice, race, and gender, through the study of and response to a variety of academic texts;
Develop confidence as readers and writers;
Actively read, summarize, and analyze texts;
Articulate and support an argument;
Write clearly, logically, and with attention to audience;
Formerly CRS 101 - Critical Reading Seminar.

4 credits
Prerequisitea: None.
PSYC 101 Introductory PsychologyIntroduces the student to the scientific study of the mind and behavior. All major sub-areas of psychology (social, developmental, clinical, physiological, motivation and emotion, sensation and perception) are explored, as well as the major theoretical perspectives (behavioral, cognitive, psychoanalytic, and humanistic). Formerly PSY 121 Introductory Psychology.
3 credits
General Education Curriculum: Knowledge and Inquiry Area
FLC Area V
Core: Area II
HPNU 120 Medical TerminologyThis is an 8-week course designed for individuals interested in learning the language of medicine required to work within a variety of health care fields. The student will acquire word-building skills in the field of medicine and will have a solid understanding of basic medical language and a foundational start on basic medical science and health related concepts that will be useful for other courses within the health professions.

1 credit
Prerequisites: None
MATH 108 Finite MathematicsThis is a quantitative literacy and reasoning course designed for education majors and those students intending to study nursing and other allied health fields. Topics include: problem solving, set theory, logic, algebra, and measurement; including unit conversions and dimensional analysis. Additional topics include functions, graphs, systems of equations and inequalities, as well as probability and statistics. Real-world applications will be emphasized throughout the course. Formerly MATH 108 and MAT 108 Elementary Mathematical Modeling.
4 credits
Prerequisites: None
General Education Area: Foundational Skills
BIOL 121 Human Anatomy and Physiology IA systematic approach to the study of the human body. The first part of this year -long course emphasizes the tissues, the integumentary system, the bones and skeletal tissue, muscles and muscle tissue, and the nervous system. Students have the opportunity to apply concepts discussed during the lecture portion of the class to clinical questions presented throughout the semester. Three hours of laboratory per week. Does not fulfill Biology major requirement. There is an additional laboratory fee.
4 credits
Pre-/Co-requisite: MATH 102, MATH 108 or MATH 109.
Pre-requisite: BIOL 101 (SPS); pass BIOL 101 with a C or better or placement test score (CAS).
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry Area.

Freshman Year, Second Semester (16 credits)
CRS 102 Critical Reading and Writing Seminar IIThis course further develops the critical reading and academic writing skills addressed in CRS 101 through engagement with texts in a particular academic discipline. Students will choose a CRS 102 course that addresses an interesting, meaningful or important disciplinary question, and build reading and writing skills through close readings and written responses to the assigned texts. CRS 102 courses are offered on a variety of academic topics, and students choose the one that is most compelling to them.
All students will be expected to work toward the following learning goals:
-Describe and apply comprehension strategies
-Summarize textual ideas accurately and in their own words
-Compare, contrast and organize textual ideas and arguments into writing
-Apply revision and editing strategies to writing
-Acknowledge sources according to disciplinary conventions
-Locate, differentiate between and evaluate the credibility of academic sources

Formerly CRS 102 - CRS: Prof & Career Success in the Health Professions.

3 credits
Prerequisite: CRS 101.
This course is usually taken simultaneously with English 107.
ENGL 107 College CompositionDevelops effective writing of evidence-based, thesis-centered academic essays. Emphasizes the research and documentation skills necessary for successful academic writing. Focuses on argumentative essays that build to a substantive research paper. Formerly ENG 107 College Composition.
3 credits
General Education: Foundational Skills Area
FLC Area I Core Area I: Skills for Work and Life
BIOL 122 Human Anatomy and Physiology IIA systematic approach to the study of the human body. The second part of this year-long course emphasizes the endocrine, lymphatic, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems. Students have the opportunity to apply concepts discussed during the lecture portion of the class to clinical questions presented throughout the semester. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.

Does not fulfill Biology major requirement. Prerequisite: C or better in BIOL 121. There is an additional laboratory fee.
4 credits
MATH 110 Introduction to StatisticsThis course presents the basic principles of statistics with applications to the social sciences. Topics include descriptive statistics, graphical representations of data, normal probability distributions and the Central Limit Theorem, linear correlation and regression and probability theory. This course also offers an introduction to the use of statistical software. Formerly MAT 110 Introduction to Statistics.
3 credits
Prerequisites: MATH 102, MATH 108, MATH 109 or higher level mathematics course.
SOCY 100 Introduction to SociologyIntroduces students to the science of sociology and prepares students for upper-level social science course work. Formerly SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology.
3 credits
General Education Curriculum: Knowledge and Inquiry Area
FLC Area V
Core Area II: Understanding the Self and Society

Sophomore Year, First Semester (15 credits)
PSYC 243 Lifespan DevelopmentLifespan development explores the changes, both growth and decline from conception to death. Development is a lifelong process that will be examined over three developmental domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Emphasis will be placed on the impacts of culture and roles of nature and nurture on each stage of development. Topics will include prenatal environment, language development, self-esteem and identity, attachment and relationships, retirement, and death and dying.
SNHP 224 Health Care Systems and Global HealthThis course provides an interdisciplinary overview of approaches to global public health. Students will interpret how issues related to public health can be understood from local, state, national, and international perspectives. Students will synthesize the evidence about leading and managing people in health care organizations and systems. Issues addressed included how health care systems are organized and administered in varying national and local contexts; the impact of cultural, economic and political factors on public health outcomes; and key policy and ethical debates related to the provision of global public health. Formerly Health Care Systems and Global Health
Prerequisites: None
3 credits

Choose TWO courses from General Education 

Fine Arts (FNAR)
Literature (ENGL)

Choose a Foreign Language (or other General Education Requirement)

Sophomore Year, Second Year (15 credits)

SNHP 220 Health Promotion, Policy and PoliticsThis course explores political factors that influence patient outcomes and health promotion strategies to enhance health and health care systems. Students are engaged in understanding how health care policy shapes health care systems, determining accessibility, accountability and affordability. Students will evaluate how health care delivery systems are organized and financed, and the effect this has on patient care.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None
General Education Curriculum: Applications Area
PHIL 251 BioethicsExamines the legal and moral issues in areas dealing with the biology of human health and development, for example, experimentation on human subjects, organ transplants, euthanasia, abortion, fetal tissue use, contraception, and other aspects of human reproduction, as well as questions regarding rights to health care. Formerly PHI 211 Applied Ethics: Bioethics.
3 credits
General Education Curriculum: Values and Beliefs

Choose TWO courses from General Education
Religious Studies and Theology (RST)
History (AFST, GLBL, or HIS)

Choose a Foreign Language (or other General Education Requirement)

Core OTA Courses

Students will complete core OTA courses after formal acceptance into the OTA program.

Junior Year, First Semester (17 credits)

OTA 200 Intro to Occupational Thrpy and FldwrkIntroduces the occupational therapy assistant (OTA) student to the role of occupational therapy in promoting health and participation of people, organizations and populations through engagement in occupations. Topics include history, philosophy, and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, and the delineation of roles between registered occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants.
3 Credits
Prerequisites:ENGL 107 and PSYC 101
OTA 320 Functional Mvmnt and Occup PerformanceFocuses on kinesiology concepts and basic principles of biomechanics to understand how movement affects occupational performance. Systems reviews will include (but are not limited to) the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and musculoskeletal system. Topics include formal and informal analysis and assessment of movement as well as analysis of movement in areas of occupation.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: Acceptance to the OTA program
OTA 324 Pathology for Occupational Therapy AsstCourse Description: Examines specific conditions, diseases, and diagnoses seen in occupational therapy practice. Musculoskeletal, neurological, and general topics in clinical medicine will be investigated with emphasis on etiology, basic pathogenesis, commonly observed signs and symptoms, course prognosis and precautions. Concepts of health, illness, and disability will be addressed in relation to effects of the condition, disease, or diagnosis on occupational performance and well-being.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: Acceptance to the OTA program
OTA 330 Analys and Perf of Occup Across LifespanIntroduces the OTA student to activity analysis and occupation-based activity analysis. Students will develop observational skills for the assessment of occupational performance, documentation, teaching, adapting, and grading activities of all persons across the lifespan.
4 Credits
Prerequisites: Acceptance to the OTA program
SNHP 330 Research and Evidence-Based PracticeIntroduces fundamentals of research design, methods, data collection, analyzing results, and discussion of findings. Focuses on the entire research cycle from forming a research question, drafting a proposal, designing protocols, understanding research ethics such as IRB guidelines, patient safety and rights, to presenting or disseminating findings in professional and scientific settings. Outcomes include development of a student research project.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: C or better in MATH 110
Gen Ed V: Capstone Seminar

Junior Year, Second Semester (16 credits)

OTA 304 Profess Standards and Responsibilities IExamines standards of practice for the occupational therapy assistant delivering occupational therapy services. Topics include professional standing and responsibilities, fieldwork, scope of practice, and role of the OT and OTA in screening, evaluation/re-evaluation, documentation, and advocacy. Emphasizes critical thinking, professional reasoning skills, communication and collaboration, and the relationship between theory and practice through case studies, discussions, and in-class activities.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 200, 320, 324, 330, and SNHP 330
OTA 340 Occupational Therapy Process IBuilds on skills learned in OTA 224, 320 and 330 to continue development of observation, assessment, teaching, adaptation and grading occupations for all persons across the lifespan. Students will apply skills during hands-on labs and problem-based learning activities for the OT process.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 200, 320, 324, 330, and SNHP 330
OTA 436 Interv & Tools Psychosoc Rehab Prct SetExamines occupational therapy in mental health practice. Topics include historical events in the development of psychosocial and mental health care throughout the life course, introduction of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM), co-morbidities with severe and persistent mental illness, psychotropic drugs, use of theory, evaluation and data collection, evidence and occupation-based intervention, and issues that impact psychological and social factors in mental health and occupational performance.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 200, 320, 324, 330, and SNHP 330
OTA 437 Interv & Tools Pediatric Prct SetExamines the occupational therapy process in pediatrics. Topics include review of human development and the study of occupations for the infant, child, and adolescent from reflexive, sensory, motor, behavior, social and activity standpoints. Emphasizes use of theory, evaluation and data collection, and evidence and occupation-based interventions with the typical and atypical child. Please note that this is a lecture/lab course and that 3 hours in the lab is equivalent to 1 credit hour.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 200, 320, 324, 330, and SNHP 330
OTA 300 Clinical Reason I: Fldwrk and Bacc ProjBuilds on OTA 200, 320 and 330 and incorporates Level I Fieldwork experience in which students work closely with a faculty advisor to develop critical thinking skills while developing a baccalaureate project based on evidence-based practice. Students will practice research and critical reasoning skills and analyze connections and relationships among the experiential learning of Level I Fieldwork, didactic coursework, and the complexities of clients as occupational beings.
4 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 200, 320, 324, 330, and SNHP 330

Senior Year, First Semester (13)

OTA 404 Profess Standards & Responsibilities IIPrepares OTA students for their professional role in the realm of occupational therapy by building social and communication skills, ability to collaborate, and idea exchange with an interdisciplinary team. Develops and refines critical thinking skills, and discusses fieldwork, licensure, certification, and securing employment. Reviews the professional roles of an OTA, the importance of professional development, and the OTR/OTA collaboration.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 300, 304, 340, 436, and 437
OTA 440 Occupational Therapy Process IIBuilds on skills gained in OTA 130 and OTA 140 by supporting the OTA student in exploring observation skills, assessment, documentation, teaching, adapting, and grading activities for to all persons across the life course. Students will apply skills to case studies in physical disabilities, including but not limited to occupation-based interventions, increasing independence, promoting health and wellness, avoiding deformity of disease, and ensuring safety.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 300, 304, 340, 436, and 437
OTA 438 Interv & Tools Adult Phys Disab Prct SetExamines the occupational therapy process in adult practice settings. Topics include a historic review of physical dysfunction, trends and concepts in aging, health and well-being, health equity, and determinants of health that interfere with participation in daily occupations. Uses theory, evidence, occupation-based interventions, and current literature to define this expanding OTA practice area. Reviews clinical features, medical management, evidence-based assessments and interventions, and the impact on occupational performance for diagnoses commonly treated in the adult population.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 300, 304, 340, 436, and 437
OTA 400 Clinical Reason II: Fldwrk and Bacc ProjBuilds upon OTA 200, 300, 320 and 330 by incorporating Level I Fieldwork experience to provide students an opportunity to implement, interpret, analyze, and present the results of their evidence-based baccalaureate project to an audience that includes their peers, faculty, and members of the community. Students will complete their final level I Fieldwork in preparation for their Level II Fieldwork.
4 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 300, 304, 340, 436, and 437

Senior Year, Second Semester (12 credits)

OTA 491 Level II FW: Rotation ILevel II Fieldwork Experiences provide the student with opportunities to integrate academic knowledge and the application of skills in a practice setting (AOTA, 199a & b; AOTA 1996). Students will engage in two eight-week full-time supervised fieldwork experiences that promote clinical reasoning and reflective practice as they provide OT intervention and develop their professional identity as occupational therapy practitioners within an interdisciplinary context (AOTA, 2012). Level II Fieldwork Experiences may include fieldwork sites in mental health, adult rehabilitation, geriatrics, pediatrics or emerging OT practice settings. Fieldwork is off campus and students are responsible for transportation and room and board. Rotation I.
4 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 400, 404, 438, and 440
OTA 494 NBCOT Exam Prep and Bacc Proj PresenAssists students in preparing for successful completion of the NBCOT exam. The review will include, but is not limited to, study skills, knowledge and skill development, review of information, and simulated activities. As a capstone, this course will include a requirement for students to present their baccalaureate project.
4 Credits
Prerequisites: OTA 400, 404, 438, and 440

Program Policies

Questions from non-Trinity students regarding the application process and acceptance criteria should be directed to the Admissions Office. Questions from a current Trinity student regarding the application process and acceptance criteria should be directed to the student’s academic advisor in the Center for Student Success.

Required Documentation: 
Prior to enrolling in all OTA fieldwork courses, students are required to present documentation of the following:

• Current immunization or titers for: DPT; MMR; Hepatitis B (3 doses); Tetanus; Influenza (annual); TB (annual)
• National criminal background check
• Drug Test
• Current major medical health insurance
• American Heart Association BLS/CPR certification for the Health Care Provider (2-year card)
• Current physical examination
• Some clinical facilities may also require fingerprinting and additional vaccinations

Additional Expenses:
As part of Fieldwork Levels I and II, as well as community learning experiences, students in the OTA program should expect to incur the following additional expenses beyond tuition and fees:

• OTA polo shirt
• Local travel and transportation
• Books/Manuals
• Health insurance
• Criminal background check
• Fingerprinting
• Annual Physical Examination
• American Heart Association BLS/CPR certification for the Health Care Provider (2-year card)

Advanced Placement:

Credits earned through AP examinations can only fulfill pre-requisite and general education requirements for the OTA major.

CLEP Policy: 

Credits earned through CLEP examinations can only fulfill pre-requisite and general education requirements for the OTA major.

Grades in Pre-requisite and Major Courses:
OTA students must earn a  “C” or above as a final course grade in all OTA courses. A final grade below a “C” will require the student to repeat the course to successfully complete all requirements of the OTA curriculum plan. A final grade below a “C” may impact a student’s academic progression in the occupational therapy assistant program. Any grade involving a numerical fraction is NOT rounded up at the end of the semester in the final course grade.

Pass/No Pass:
No courses fulfilling major requirements in the OTA program may be taken as Pass/No Pass.

Transfer Credits: 
Transfer credit for prerequisite courses will be awarded after appropriate program review and approval.