This year, UTC’s new Occupational Therapy program began with its first cohort of students.
The occupational therapy program trains students to help patients perform day-to-day tasks, whether they’re recovering from injuries or have developmental or cognitive disabilities affecting their motor skills, emotions or behavior. Occupational therapy might happen in a hospital or occupational therapist’s office, but a key component occurs in a patient’s home or work environment.
“Occupation means all the activities that people do, from eating to driving to doing their jobs. Occupational therapy uses those occupations not only as a goal, but as training. We get to cook with people, and garden, and drive. We change those activities so that they’re doable for our clients, but we keep them challenging enough to get back to full independence,” said student Josh Pratt, “This program emphasizes strengthening the whole person, not just their physical body. And it’s so rewarding to see people say, ‘I can do this. I’m going to be able to cook again.’”
The program has the capacity to accept 24 students, but because of rigorous admissions requirements, only accepted 13 students in their first cohort.
Occupational therapy is partnering with Siskin Rehab Hospital to use their facilities and share lab spaces; their clinicians will also be instructing in the labs. Occupational Therapy is also partnering with the Physical Therapy program. The two programs have five shared courses, where OD and PT students will be in classes together
“We’re excited about that interprofessional relationship and the sharing of resources,” said Dr. Susan McDonald, Program Director of the Occupational Therapy program.
However, the program is growing. Next year, they plan to add new facilities and two more faculty members to accommodate the growth and student increase.
The Occupational Therapy program attended the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association Conference in Nashville, TN on September 26 – 27. At the conference, all three of UTC’s OT faculty presented and all thirteen students attended the conference as volunteers, performing tasks like registration and door checks.
“Going to the conference, we got to interact with the classrooms as we volunteered. They wanted us there and they made us feel really welcome. So, while we were making sure people signed in or whatever, we got to participate as well. We got to learn things and be in on the experience and further our knowledge in our field,” said student Taylor Magrum.
As a part of the program, students are also required to do service learning. Twenty five hours of community service are required during the first semester and forty hours are required every semester afterwards.
“We feel that UTC is a community engaged University, and we’re trying to live up to that expectation,” said McDonald.
Students helped pack lunch for Feed My Starving Children and participated in Boo at the Zoo.
“This gives us the opportunity to better the community we’re working in,” said Pratt, “It’s good for us to get out into the community and see the different types of people we’re working with. You can see what their occupational limitations are, what they do and what they want to do but can’t, and that’s what we do.”
This cohort will graduate in 2017, which is the centennial of the creation of the Occupational Therapy profession.
