OTDP Curriculum

Students with a master’s degree in occupational therapy are required to complete 27 semester credit hours. Students with a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy are required to complete 33 semester credit hours. All students are required to take the 2 non-credit, no-fee courses (Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in OT and Capstone Pre-proposal) and 7 core courses. Students with a master’s degree in occupational therapy choose 2 electives and students with a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy choose 4 electives. All courses are taught online. Most courses will be taught at least once per year. Students are required to successfully complete at least two courses within each academic year. While each student’s curriculum is flexible, it is expected that coursework requirements for the OTDP degree be completed within five years. Each student will design a degree plan on admission to the program in conjunction with the Program Director.

Non-Credit, No Fee Courses (required for graduation):

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

Capstone Pre-proposal
  

Required Courses: 

Professional Seminar

Current Issues in Occupational Therapy Practice

Practice-Based Scholarship

Evidence for Practice

Outcomes Measurement

Capstone 1: Project Proposal

Capstone 2: Project Implementation and Evaluation

Elective Courses:

Principles of Management and Leadership in Healthcare

Health Insurance and Reimbursement

Curriculum Design and Teaching in Health Professions

Educational Evaluation in Health Professions

Health and Wellness Promotion

Independent Study

Capstone Description

The capstone courses provide the student with the opportunity to develop advanced skills through in-depth exposure in one of the following areas of concentration: clinical practice skills, research skills, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, and education. The doctoral capstone is a 3-course learning experience that includes the planning, implementation, and systematic evaluation demonstrating the synthesis of knowledge gained in the specific concentration area.

Students will identify an area of concentration and faculty capstone supervisor prior to enrollment in the Capstone Pre-proposal course. During the first capstone course, the student will work with his or her capstone faculty supervisor to develop a capstone project proposal that includes individual objectives, evaluation methods, the timeline for completion, and a plan for dissemination of findings. Approval of the capstone project proposal is required for the successful completion of the first capstone course. Following faculty supervisor approval, the program director will be responsible for the ultimate review and approval of all capstone proposals.

During the second capstone course, the faculty supervisor provides supervision as the student implements the capstone project and disseminates findings. The implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of the project is required for the successful completion of the second capstone course.

• HPOT 1002 Foundations for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (0:0:0,O)

  An introduction to broad concepts related to interprofessional core competencies for healthcare providers.

• HPOT 7010 Capstone Pre-Proposal (0:0:1,O)

  This course will begin the process of Capstone topic selection and match students with their faculty mentor for the Capstone 1 and Capstone 2 courses. This course must be taken before enrolling in Capstone 1.

• HPOT 7301 Principles of Management and Leadership in Healthcare (3:3:0,O)

  The emphasis of this course is on understanding the principles of management and leadership theory and application in health organizations. Topics include personality assessments, leadership competencies and skills, leadership models, outcomes measurement, and ethics in health leadership. Key concepts of management, including planning, organizing, decision making, motivation, and communication will be addressed.

• HPOT 7302 Health Insurance and Reimbursement (3:3:0,O)

  This course provides an overview of health insurance, including public and private payers, self-funded insurance, managed care, health insurance markets, and policy changes that impact these areas. In addition, the course will cover healthcare payment systems and reimbursement methods of various payers in the health services marketplace.

• HPOT 7303 Curriculum Design and Teaching in Health Professions (3:3:3.5,O)

  This course discusses the theories and applications of curriculum design, emphasizing applications to entry-level and post-professional educational settings in Physical Therapy. Students are exposed to core theories, principles and applications that relate to teaching occupational therapy students and professionals.

• HPOT 7304 Educational Evaluation in Health Professions (3:2:3,H)

  This course will discuss educational evaluation theory and tools, emphasizing methods of objective and performance-based evaluation. Students will learn to draft specific evaluation measures used in an educational setting.

• HPOT 7305 Health and Wellness Promotion (3:3:0,O)

  This course focuses on the theories and practice of health promotion and wellness and is designed to assist students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, an tools they need to successfully integrate health promotion and wellness into physical therapy practice. Students will complete health promotion and wellness modules on topics such as: health promotion in physical therapy practice; individual and societal determinants of health and wellness; theories of behavior change; techniques for patient education and counseling in the areas of lifestyle change, physical activity, nutrition, and weight management. A major focus is on learning to use behavior modification techniques to help motivate and support lifestyle changes, improve health, and prevent disease. As part of this course, students will research and develop a health promotion intervention that can be delivered in their physical therapy practice setting.

• HPOT 7350 Professional Seminar (3:3:0,O)

  Explores the growth of the profession of occupational therapy and implications for professional development. Focuses on the investigation of current and future career pursuits. Includes topics such as strengths assessment, leadership, scholarship, education, and professional organizations.

• HPOT 7351 Current Issues in Occupational Therapy Practice (3:3:0,O)

  Examines issues that impact the delivery of occupational therapy services in health and other systems. Focuses on the confluence of sociocultural, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical factors impacting the profession and practice of occupational therapy. Includes topics such as federal and state legislation and regulation; ethics; advocacy; interprofessional collaboration; and promotion of distinct value of occupational therapy.

• HPOT 7352 Practice-Based Scholarship (3:3:0,O)

  Learn methods to support the systematic examination of everyday practice. Focuses on the investigation of a problem relevant to current practice. Includes topics such as identification of a practice question, systematic measurement of specified aspects of practice, data collection and analysis methods, and the dissemination of findings.

• HPOT 7353 Evidence for Practice (3:3:0,O)

  Learn strategies to identify, analyze, and utilize evidence. Focuses on the utilization of resources to identify peer-reviewed evidence and development of strategies to interpret and evaluate findings. Includes topics such as levels of evidence; theoretical basis; quantitative and qualitative research design, and basic statistics.

• HPOT 7354 Outcomes Measurement (3:3:0,O)

  Learn methods to measure the effectiveness of interventions. Focuses on the utility and value of functional assessment. Includes topics such as occupation-based tools; reliability and validity; and reimbursement.

• HPOT 7370 Independent Study (3:3:0,O)

  This independent study course is designed to meet the student's needs and/or interest. Instructor approval required prior to enrollment. Note: Required elective if doctoral project is a research project.

• HPOT 7390 Capstone 1: Project Proposal (3:3:0,O)

  Provides a description of concentration areas and doctoral capstone expectations. Focuses on the completion of a capstone proposal that includes a problem statement, literature review, theoretical basis, goals with objectives, and an evaluation plan.

• HPOT 7391 Capstone 2: Project Implementation and Evaluation (3:3:0,O)

  Focuses on completion and dissemination of a mentored, doctoral capstone project that demonstrates synthesis of in-depth knowledge in a focused area of study. NOTE: Requires completion of all core coursework.