College of Education and Rehabilitation
Occupational Therapy Department
Sample Course Descriptions – MSOT and Entry Level OTD Programs
Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Lecture and lab provide occupational therapy students with an extensive background in gross human anatomy and neuro-anatomy through lecture, laboratory and independent learning exercises. Presentations include an emphasis on body structures supporting neuro-musculoskeletal and movement-related structures as well as sensory structures including pain.
Physiology and Pathophysiology (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides occupational therapy students with an understanding of the body functions that underlie disease processes including inflammatory aspects, infectious conditions and genetic mechanisms in health and disease. Lectures proceed through organized systems with presentations emphasizing normal physiology of that system followed by the pathophysiology of diseases important to that system. Clinical cases are utilized and areas of study include: pain syndromes, neurology, rheumatology, and orthopedics as well as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Behavioral Science 1 (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with an understanding of the normal and abnormal psychological development of pediatric, adult and geriatric patients. The course uses lecture and small group format to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the understanding of, communication with, and counseling of patients and their families in the following areas: health promotion and disease prevention; eating disorders; substance abuse; human sexuality; response to illness, injury and stress; principles of violence identification and prevention (child, spouse, elder); genetic inheritance of disease; geriatrics; end of life issues. Case studies are used to enhance student learning.
Evidence-Based Practice (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate/Post professional Doctorate
Provides students with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to make independent judgments about the validity, results, and application of clinical research. Basic and advanced topics in statistics are reviewed including interpreting data analysis methods and results commonly reported by authors in occupational therapy literature. This course focuses on the concepts of evidence-based practice with emphasis on forming answerable clinical questions and effective literature search strategies. Based on case scenarios, students formulate key question(s), search medical, educational and health-related databases, perform a critical appraisal of the evidence, and describe application of the evidence in a clinical context. Emphasis is on quantitative methods.
Foundations of Occupational Therapy (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with foundational knowledge in occupation based practice through reflection on curricular themes and participation in health promotion and prevention experiences leading to preparation for Fieldwork Level I and development of a professional portfolio. This course emphasizes occupation-centered factors as students learn task analysis and occupational-based concepts that are central to doing.
Occupational Therapy Practice in Mental Health (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Lecture and lab provide students with an extensive background in The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework as a resource for addressing relevant practice concerns. Specifically students learn theories, principles and methods of evaluation, intervention and outcome processes for individuals accessing mental health systems. Students learn strategies to assist the consumer in gaining access to occupational therapy services in traditional and emerging areas of practice.
Basic Tenets of Occupational Therapy (2 credit hours)
Fieldwork I/A
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Includes the first rotation of supervised Fieldwork Level I, where students demonstrate use of sound judgment in regard to safety of self and others. Lectures and discussion include application of knowledge to practice and review of appropriate literature to determine best evidence for assessment, intervention, and outcome considerations for a selected client encountered during the clinical rotation.
Occupational Therapy Theoretical Perspectives (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with professional knowledge in historical and current occupational theories, models of practice, and frames of reference. Development of a therapeutic self is emphasized as well as forms of therapeutic reasoning. Group theory and process are introduced and group leadership skills developed.
Behavioral Science II (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with an overview of the principles of psychiatry and an introductory approach to psychiatric and psychological evaluation and treatment of individuals with psychiatric diagnoses. Students gain an understanding of the health care team as it applies to institutional and community based mental health services.
Qualitative Research (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry-level Doctorate/Post professional Doctorate
Introduces the student to the major approaches used in conducting qualitative research and the application of these methods to problems and phenomena in occupational therapy. Importance is placed on the appropriate use of qualitative methods and differences across qualitative approaches with particular emphasis on narrative inquiry. Exploration and application of topics such as selecting participants, interviewing techniques, data analysis, and reporting of qualitative research are addressed. Students evaluate two research reports in terms of their methods as well as their qualities of persuasion, purpose, position, and the extent to which they are political. Students learn to make informed judgments about the overall rigor and usability of selected designs. Students also demonstrate the skills necessary to design a research proposal that includes the research question, relevant literature, sample, design, measurement and date analysis methods.
Occupational Therapy Practice for Children and Youth (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Lecture and lab provide an overview of developmental theories concerning factors influencing the development of occupational performance in infancy, childhood, and early adolescence. This course includes a survey of instruments and clinical observation protocols used in pediatric occupational therapy to measure development, sensory and motor performance, functional tasks, neurological integrity and occupational behavior.
Leadership, Diversity and Globalization (2 credit hours)
Fieldwork I B
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Includes the second rotation of supervised Fieldwork Level I where students demonstrate beginning competency in leadership, education and health policy, specifically those related to issues of children and youth. Lectures assist the student in using national and international resources including a survey of international occupational therapy literature and factors that might bias assessment results, such as culture, disability status, and situational variables related to the individual and context. Students learn to appreciate the influence of international occupational therapy contributions to education, research, and practice.
Pediatrics (1 credit hour)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with an introduction to the most common health problems affecting the pediatric patient, from the newborn period through adolescence Lectures focus on health promotion, disease prevention and screening, pathology identification and management, and patient education and counseling for the pediatric patient and his/her family.
Educational Communities (1 credit hour)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with occupation-based assessment and intervention for children and young adults in educational contexts and the communities they support. It includes an exploration of emerging occupation-based models of practice and service delivery considered within the broad context of federal/state legislation and administration. Students demonstrate an understanding of the process of locating and securing grants and how grants can serve as a fiscal resource for research and practice within community settings.
Leadership and Management
Master/Entry-level Doctorate/Post-professional Doctorate
Prepares students for varied roles within the healthcare delivery system including manager/program director, supervisor, advocate, and entrepreneur. It includes an exploration of health care delivery systems and the regulatory and reimbursement mechanisms that affect delivery of OT services throughout the continuum of care. Through development of a professional portfolio, students demonstrate knowledge and personal awareness of resources that support leadership in practice, education, and health policy.
Rehabilitation, Disability and Participation (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Lecture and lab emphasize interdisciplinary knowledge and skill development for remediation and compensation of impairments in selected body structures and body functions across a variety of diagnoses. Students receive specialized instruction in three specialty practice areas: Vision Rehabilitation; Leadership, Education and Health Policy; and Health and Wellness.
Focus on the Impact of Care (2 credit hours)
Fieldwork I C
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Includes the third and final rotation of supervised Fieldwork Level I where students demonstrate beginning competency in application of critical analysis within the context of scholarship, humanism, and occupation-based practice. Lectures prepare the entry-level master’s degree student for completion of the Capstone Project and entry-level doctoral degree students for entry into their Specialty Track.
Philosophical and Ethical Considerations in Occupational Therapy (1 credit hour)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Provides students with an understanding of the importance of the history and philosophical base of occupational therapy as well as the Code of Ethics, Core Values and Attitudes, Standards of Practice, and other relevant documents. Students consider the interrelation between public and private ethics as well how ethical issues present themselves in real life. Ethics involved in research involving human subjects receives special attention.
Productive Aging and Emerging Areas of Practice (3 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Lecture and lab requires students to demonstrate synthesis of key curricular elements applied to a traditional or emerging area of occupational therapy practice with older adults. Lectures proceed through the AOTA Practice Framework in an organized fashion with presentations emphasizing the dynamic intersection of the client, the context, and the client’s occupations. Special attention is paid to the issues and concerns of older adults, especially those at risk for health decline and loss of independence.
Capstone Project (2 credit hours)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
Requires students to apply the AOTA Occupational Therapy Practice Framework and critical analysis of selected literature to determine best practice for evaluation, intervention and outcome assessment for a client observed receiving services from an occupational therapist. Following this analysis, students explain why our philosophical base, theories, models of practice, and frames of reference are essential to the occupational therapy domain and process. They describe the socio-political environment of service provision to demonstrate their understanding of the context and management of service delivery and generalize their understandings to the broader context of organizations and populations. Students conclude the project with a reflective narrative about their personal beliefs in the positive relationship between occupation and health and their view of people as occupational beings.
Fieldwork Level II A (6 credits)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
The first of two supervised full-time, 12-week Fieldwork experiences with emphasis on establishing therapeutic relationship with clients, development of psycho-motor skills, analysis of using occupation as means and occupation as ends, and clinical reasoning. It includes on-line problem solving scenarios including case study analysis of clients currently receiving supervised occupational therapy services from the student. Students must pass the Fieldwork experience to graduate.
Fieldwork II B (6 credits)
Master/Entry level Doctorate
The second of two supervised full-time, 12-week Fieldwork experiences with emphasis on establishing therapeutic relationship with clients, development of psycho-motor skills, analysis of using occupation as means and occupation as ends, and clinical reasoning. It includes on-line problem solving scenarios including case study analysis of clients currently receiving supervised occupational therapy services from the student. Students must pass the Fieldwork experience to graduate.
Sample Advanced Courses for Entry Level OTD
Diagnosis of Problems Related to Occupational Performance and Participation (2 credits)
Entry-level Doctorate/Post professional Doctorate
Focuses on development and implementation of evidence-based therapy guidelines across a variety of settings. Emphasis is placed on the phases and steps of the complex process used to systematically develop best-practice recommendations for specific patient/client populations including screening, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, plan of care, intervention, and outcomes assessment.
Transforming Knowledge into Professional Engagement (2 credits)
Entry level Doctorate
Requires students to use evidence-based reasoning to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and diagnose problems related to occupational performance and participation. Lectures support extrapolation to a population based OT intervention that addresses occupational needs as identified by a community.
To accomplish this, students have two options described below.
Fieldwork Proposal Option: students are encouraged to identify clinically relevant questions embedded within specific intervention contexts. Students develop a proposal concerning a focused research project that could be implemented at one of their fieldwork sites. The final proposal is graded pass/fail. Students must pass their Fieldwork II experience to pass the course.
Research Project Option: students apply and are accepted into a mentored scholarship sequence culminating in a specific research project as an alternative to the fieldwork proposal option. Students interested in learning more advanced research process skills than afforded through the fieldwork proposal process can apply to engage in this research project sequence. Across 17 months, faculties elect to apprentice a small number of invited graduate students in their current research programs. While student engagement in each project varies based on the current stage of development of the faculty’s research project, all experience some activity related to the institutional review board, data collection, and report generation and dissemination. The class is a mentored scholarly experience.
Writing for Presentation and Publication (2 credits)
Entry level Doctorate
Requires students who select the Fieldwork Proposal Option to submit their proposals for faculty review and prepare their proposal for professional presentation. Students then offer the final proposal back to the original clinical site.
Students who select the Research Proposal Option submit a scholarly paper describing their unique contribution to the research that is in progress.
Advanced Clinical reasoning (3 credits)
Entry-level doctorate/ Post-professional doctorate
Introduces students to Occupational Therapists’ expertise in narrative inquiry and occupational story telling commonly reported by authors in occupational therapy and occupation science literature. Because we value student-faculty and student-student interactions that support meaningful academic relationships and lead, over time, to scholarly outcomes, this course will foster mentor-mentee relationships between our entry-level and post-professional doctoral students and support faculty-led cooperative learning groups across the department and the College. Students conduct in-depth analysis and presentation of their clinical reasoning processes and integration of occupation in achieving therapeutic outcomes. Through participation in active learning activities, students demonstrate evidence that supports the central therapeutic processes that comprise Occupational Therapy practice including the meaning of illness and the impact of family and social and physical contexts. Students learn to differentiate the philosophical constructs relevant to the biomedical and phenomenological aspects of Occupational Therapy practice and to make judgments about the nature of the good in a particular case.
Directed Independent Study I (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
Requires students to integrate the AOTA Occupational Therapy Practice Framework with critical analysis of selected literature to determine best practice for evaluation, intervention and outcome assessment for a client observed receiving services in their Specialty Track. Following this analysis, students explain why the occupational therapy philosophical base and models of practice are relevant to recipients of services in their specialty area of practice. They describe the socio-political environment of service provision to demonstrate their understanding of the context and management of service delivery and generalize their understandings to the broader context of organizations and populations. Students conclude the Independent Study with a reflective narrative about their personal beliefs in the positive relationship between occupation and health and their view of people as occupational beings.
Directed Independent Study 2 (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
Requires students to complete a culminating project that relates theory to practice and demonstrates synthesis of advanced knowledge in a practice area.
Specialty Track Courses for entry-level
Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree
(13 credit hours)
The goal of the entry-level doctorate specialty program is to develop occupational therapists with advanced knowledge and skills in a specialty area of practice. These courses address advanced aspects of the curriculum (program objectives 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14) unique to entry-level doctoral preparation.
Summary of Doctoral Specialty Tracks
Rehabilitation, Disability and Participation is an occupational therapy course that integrates our three specialty areas of practice into the general curriculum. (Corresponding Program Objectives are 7, 8, and 9). The course includes three weeks of instruction in each specialty area including:
- Vision Rehabilitation
- Leadership, Education, and Health Policy
- Health and Wellness
Following this course, doctoral students request their specialty track. Students complete a minimum of 13 credit hours in their selected specialty, two advanced occupational therapy Directed Independent Study courses, including a culminating project, and successfully pass the Doctoral Practicum.
Students declare a Specialty Track prior to the fall semester of the second year of the program and follow an integrated sequence of courses culminating in the Doctoral Practicum.
Specialty Courses (13 credit hours)
Entry-level Doctorate/Post professional Doctorate
Requires students to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to an area of practice in settings where occupational therapy is currently practiced and where it is emerging as a service. All specialty tracks include a mentored Doctoral Practicum experience.
Based on the strengths of the College and the University, we offer three specialty areas:
Vision Rehabilitation (three tracks)
Leadership, Education and Health Policy
Health and Wellness
Three Specialty Tracks:Vision Rehabilitation
Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation
Foundations of Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Introduces learners to essential concepts in ocular anatomy and physiology and normal human visual development that form the foundation for pediatric vision rehabilitation. Learners are also introduced to the history, issues, and conflicts related to this area of specialization.
Assessment (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Presents the three-component model of vision that forms the basis for assessment and intervention in the pediatric population. In a hands-on, laboratory format, a vision screening protocol is presented that prepares learners to evaluated visual integrity, visual efficiency, and visual information processing skills.
Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation 1: (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Presents an overview of the commonly used treatments by optometrists and ophthalmologists to treat vision disorders including lenses, prism, occlusion, vision therapy, surgery, and medication. Learners are then introduced to various intervention options available to occupational therapists. In this course compensatory visual rehabilitation is emphasized along with classroom management suggestions.
Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation 2: (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
The use of remedial vision rehabilitation is presented. In this course as learners are taught to provide intervention for eye movement and visual information processing disorders.
Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation 3: (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
The use of remedial vision rehabilitation is presented. In this course as learners are taught to provide intervention for accommodative and binocular vision disorders. The course emphasizes the requirement of working closely with an optometrist when providing this type of intervention.
Research (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
Explores the need for research in the area of pediatric vision rehabilitation and each learner is required to select a topic, design and implement a scholarly project related to pediatric vision rehabilitation.
Low Vision Rehabilitation
Foundations of Vision Rehabilitation and Education (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
Presents a survey module representing disciplines dedicated to the education and rehabilitation of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The course introduces learners to history, definitions, legislation, referral processes, education and rehabilitation planning, procedures and resources (human, physical, and financial), and cultural diversity. This module will also include an introduction to low vision rehabilitation.
Visual Impairment and Functional Implications (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Addresses the anatomy and physiology of the eye, including ocular development and development of the visual system. Topical areas include learning to see, age related changes in the eye, innervations of the eye, basic optics, and medications with their side effects. The course explores the functional visual implications of diseases of the eye, syndromes, and brain injury. Learners observe primary and low vision eye exams, learn about prescriptions of low vision devices, and demonstrate the ability to interpret eye reports and discuss their functional implications. Learners apply these topics to an individual's functional visual performance.
Psychological and Social Dynamics of Visual Impairment (1 credit hour)
Entry level Doctorate
Provides an exploration of the psychosocial factors affecting the process of adjustment to visual impairment across the life span. Through case analysis and consumer and family participation, learners explore a variety of issues related to adjustment including demographics, life stage, and type of visual impairment, personality, self-concept, social support network, and the grieving process. The course also explores the impact of societal attitudes and stereotypes toward blindness and visual impairment. Learners are exposed to relationship building and effective communication skills strategies. An overview of the range of psychosocial interventions is provided, including resources for referrals.
Low Vision Assessment and Intervention 1 (4 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Learners explore methods of assessing functional vision and strategies for enhancing visual performance without optical devices. This course emphasizes theory and practice in the following assessment areas: functional visual acuity and fields and visual performance in everyday tasks for individuals with visual impairments, including infants, children, adults, and those with additional disabilities. Provides an opportunity to apply principles of low vision assessment and intervention through the use of case studies, role play situations, and practice with resources and devices.
Low Vision Assessment and Intervention 2 (4 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Learners explore methods of assessing functional vision and strategies for enhancing visual performance with optical devices. This course emphasizes theory and practice in the following assessment and intervention areas: visual efficiency, use of optical and non-optical devices, environmental features, and visual field enhancement techniques. Learners explore specialized topics such as visual intervention strategies for individuals with head injury, driving with low vision, implications of reading and writing with low vision, and state of the art low vision technology. This course provides lab experiences to complement the Low Vision Assessment I and II courses. Students experience hands-on activities with various near, intermediate, distance and field enhancement devices. In addition, students conduct functional vision and environmental assessments.
Low Vision Technology and Practice (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Provides a transitional course between didactic courses and the doctoral practicum in low vision rehabilitation. This course gives students an opportunity to develop skills in instructing individuals in the use of low vision devices and techniques. The learning activities include comparative analysis of low vision devices, developing instructional resource plans, videotape analysis of instruction, peer instruction, case conferencing, and review of latest low vision products. Students also learn how to guide individuals with low vision and additional disabilities in the selection and effective use of appropriate assistive technology.
Brain Injury Vision Rehabilitation
Brain Function and Introduction to Neurology (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Addresses the anatomy, physiology, and function of CNS structures, its organization, and interaction among structures. The course will explore the implications of diseases and disabilities as a result of loss of proper brain function. Emphasis will be placed on neuroanatomy as well as mechanisms of brain injury
Introduction to Brain Injury (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Introduces the students to the terminology of brain injury and how it relates to incidence, cost, and acute and chronic complications effecting recovery. Students will examine the current definitions and concept of recovery, functional status, and disability. Students will examine the basis for referral to occupational therapists, vision rehabilitation and rehabilitation professionals, physical therapists, speech therapists, social workers, physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Additionally, the course will focus on the functional visual implications of sustaining brain injury and strategies for neurological visual impairment as it extends throughout life, including vision therapy, oculomotor therapy, and spatial neglect.
The Social, Behavioral, Physiologic and Emotional Factors in Prediction of Recovery and Therapeutic Outcomes in Brain Injury (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Explores the psychosocial factors that influence both rehabilitation strategies and results in visual deficits associated with brain injury. Students will explore both individual and familial implications of brain injury. This course will also examine how age, systemic health, and other physiologic and pathological findings affect recovery. Additionally this course will educate students on the currents thought on the necessity for a multidisciplinary approach to brain therapy.
Advanced Evaluation and Treatment of Brain Injury (4 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Goes into greater depth on the evaluation and treatment of visual dysfunction occurring due to brain injury and how to develop effective treatment intervention. Specific assessments to evaluate visual acuity, contrast sensitivity function, visual field, oculomotor function and visual attention will be examined. Students will learn how to interpret evaluation results, how to collaborate effectively with ophthalmologists and optometrists, and how to develop treatment plans and document progress.
Assessment of Brain Injury (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Uses a hands-on laboratory format to teach a basic neurologic examination and vision screening which will evaluate neuronal and visual integrity, as well as visual function and visual deficits that require both remedial and compensatory rehabilitation strategies. Students will be presented with therapeutic treatments as prescribed by optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Research in Brain Injury (2 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Examines the current trends and needs in research in brain injury. Topics include new innovations in technology, therapy, and evidence-based medicine articles which delve into the future of brain injury in an ever-growing at-risk population.
Specialty Track: Leadership, Education and Health Policy
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty (2 credit hours -- elective)
In this course students appraise educational research on how people learn and best teaching practices with the aim of preparing students for higher education teaching. Course instructors model innovative teaching methods and uses of technology throughout the semester, providing an experiential component to the learning. Students write a personal vision of teaching and discuss the development of critical thinking as the underlying rationale for college teaching. They apply this knowledge to design and implementation of classroom instruction in a selected topic.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Introduction to Health Policy
(3 credit hours -- core)
Students learn to understand and effectively apply health policy based on their understanding of analytical strategies presented in this course. Focus is on four substantive areas: economics and financing; need and demand; politics / ethics / law, and quality/effectiveness. Examples of these areas will utilize three specific policy issues: injury, medical care, public health.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 credits – core)
Introduces the basic concepts of epidemiology and biostatistics, as applied to public health problems. Emphasis is placed on the principles and methods of epidemiologic investigation, appropriate summaries and displays of data, and the use of classical statistical approaches to describing population health. Demonstrates the application of the epidemiologic sub-disciplines in the areas of health services/systems, screenings, genetics, and environment policy, as well as the intricacies of epidemiology and biostatistics with the legal and ethical issues in public health.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Program Implementation and Evaluation (3 credits – core)
Interactive course introduces the basic concepts of public health practice and includes a series of simulated public health practice exercises that clearly demonstrate the applicability of the basic concepts. Students gain a thorough understanding of types of program evaluation essential for an effective and successful public health practice. Further practical experience given through a series of exercises where students design a conceptual framework, develop a network of indicators, analyze statistical evidence, and propose an evaluation plan to measure the impact of an intervention.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health Care (2 credits – core)
Focus is on comprehending basic economic concepts needed to understand the recommendations from the US Panel on Cost Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. Distinction between opportunity costs and budgetary costs are made from analyses of cost-effectiveness research reports. Course includes critical discussion of current articles demonstrating cost-effectiveness analyses, enabling the student to read, comprehend, and perform a basic critique of cost-effectiveness papers, and take part in discussions of planned cost-effectiveness research.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Epidemiologic Study Design and Grant Writing (1 credit - elective)
Interactive course to equip the students with thorough understanding of experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental study designs, including the strengths and limitations of each. The course also outlines the methodological and logistic problems involved in designing and conducting epidemiologic studies. Students participate in the preparation of a research protocol for a study in a human population.
Leadership, Education & Health Policy: Public Health Genomics (2 credits – elective)
The sequencing of the human genome and the unfolding description of human genetic variation have precipitated a paradigm shift from an emphasis on mostly rare single gene diseases to an emphasis on the more common multi-factorial diseases. These advances are also producing a paradigm shift from disease treatment to disease prevention. The role of the genomics revolution in public health will be explored in this course. The new knowledge about genes, gene-gene, and gene-environmental interactions, along with the application and integration of genomic/genetic technology into public health will be discussed. The course will also cover the identification of susceptibility genes in racial and ethnic groups, as well as the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic information and testing. The student will learn the potential that genomics has for improving societal health outcomes.
Specialty Track: Health and Wellness
Science of Behavioral Change (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Explores the essential questions about what health is and what it means to be an optimally healthy person. Human adaptation (a change in function that promotes survival and self-actualization) is explored and discussed in relationship to health and well-being. Students complete a critical appraisal of the evidence related to an area of interest including use of key words such as positive psychology, engagement, coping, social support, participation, life purpose, optimism; commitment, control, and resiliency. Students then write a narrative reflection on applications to these concepts to traditional and emerging areas of occupational therapy practice, theory, and research.
Educational Interventions in Practice (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Builds on the student’s knowledge of education as it is applied to occupational therapy practice. Principles of education-based intervention are applied to the examination, evaluation, and intervention of individuals and communities using a lifespan approach. Focus is placed on the process of providing educational and education-based intervention. In this course students appraise educational research on how people learn and write a personal vision of teaching and learning.
Wellness Interventions for Adults and Older Adults (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Introduces principles of testing and prescribing exercise for the cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal and neurological systems based on current evidence applied to populations with and without disability. Concepts learned include aerobic and anaerobic exercise, training, muscular strength, endurance and power training, flexibility enhancement, and balance training throughout the lifespan. Complementary and alternative therapies used in the context of health promotion are explored using an evidence-based approach. Topics introduced may include energy techniques (Reiki, Qi gong, Healing Touch, Aromatherapy), manipulative and body-based practices (Reflexology, Rolfing, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais), and Mind-Body approaches (Relaxation, Clinical Hypnotherapy, Visual Imagery, Meditation, Yoga, Biofeedback, Tai Chi). Students select an approach and write an evidence-based critical analysis topic paper.
Health Promotion and Health Education (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Provides an overview of the several key concepts including health promotion, health education, public health, primary prevention, lifestyle, and well-being. Examination of evidence supporting efficacy of health education programs includes individual and social determinants of health. The fundamental principles of epidemiology as they apply to the prevalence and distribution of lifestyle-related disease are introduced. Typical intervention sites for effective health promotion programs are discussed as well as a framework for implementing programs. Class format will include development of a personal wellness philosophy, lecture, and small group activities.
Occupational Science: The Nature of Human Occupation: Form, Function, and Meaning (3 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Students delve into the complex nature of occupation and how it contributes to the experience of being human. Drawing on a wide range of material, from scientific research to literary analysis, students study three major themes: observing and classifying occupations, the impact and function of occupations on well-being, and the symbolic significance of occupations.
Doctoral Practicum I (6 credit hours)
Entry level Doctorate
Offers a coordinated, mentored approach to learning that promotes the development of a broad array of skills over an extended period of time and provides the experiences required for personal and professional development. The goal of the Doctoral Practicum is to provide an in-depth, focused experience in clinical practice where students identify and develop strategies to enable occupational therapy to respond to society’s changing needs and to develop new service provision models to respond to policy, regulatory agencies, and reimbursement and compliance standards. Practicum experiences may include participation in teaching, research, administration, leadership, and advocacy.
04/05/2012