Mission and Curriculum Design

Occupational Therapy Department Mission
The mission of the Occupational Therapy Department at Misericordia University is to provide an environment that reflects the values and attitudes of justice, mercy, service, and hospitality. The Trinity of Learning is exemplified by experiences in core courses in the liberal arts, the occupational therapy curriculum, and a variety of service-related experiences. We strive to provide quality education through high academic standards, an emphasis on understanding human occupation, and an emphasis on evidence-based practice; aim to offer outstanding professional preparation through specialty tracks and choices of undergraduate majors and minors directly related to the profession of occupational therapy; and work to serve others through an emphasis on volunteering and service learning experiences. We strive to provide educational opportunities in formats that are accessible to both entry level and post-professional students through our weekday, weekend, and post-professional programs. Our ultimate mission is to help students become competent, responsible and involved professionals within their communities.

The Design
A liberal arts education provides the essential academic foundation for Occupational Therapy education at Misericordia University. Within the Occupational Therapy curriculum, our students learn to analyze situations critically, think logically, employ scientific methodology appropriately, express themselves clearly and persuasively in both oral and written media, consider the numerous dimensions of the person during intervention including the physical, psychological, social, cultural, historical, and spiritual components; appreciate the arts and use them in their work; and follow a standard of ethical conduct in their personal and professional lives. These abilities are critical for laying the foundation for the student for transition to an entry level OT practitioner. As students progress through the five-year educational process, they are also socialized into the profession. This involves actively participating in professional organizations, becoming advocates for consumers, and developing a commitment to lifelong learning.

The manner in which the Occupational Therapy curriculum is delivered is complex. The curriculum design reflects both the mission and philosophy of the Occupational Therapy Department and University as well as the philosophy of the profession.

This curriculum is designed on beliefs the Occupational Therapy faculty holds in regard to professional education. We hold that these beliefs are in accordance with our philosophy and reflect the program mission and are well incorporated into learning modules and program objectives. These include the following concepts:

• A solid foundation in the liberal arts and in normal growth and development allows for a thorough understanding of the dimensions of human performance.
• The development of knowledge occurs in a sequential process beginning with basic concepts and techniques and progressing to increasingly more complex constructs and application of these concepts and constructs in practice.
• Individuals construct knowledge based on their unique interpretation of meaningful experiences. Faculty can encourage the construction of knowledge by setting the stage for meaningful interactions, reflections, and experiences (Howard, et al, 2000), however students are the architects of their own learning.
• Skills of inquiry, critical reasoning and problem solving are essential professional behaviors for practicing occupational therapists.
• Continuous examination and definition of one’s own values and attitudes are critical steps in the growth and development of as professional.
• Development of interpersonal skills and an appreciation of the value of collaboration must be integral to all learning experiences.
• The integration of new knowledge occurs when it is applied and becomes functional when it is practiced.
• Recognizing that occupational therapy is a part of a dynamic health care system, it is imperative that the education of the professional provides opportunities to develop practitioners of the future.

The Occupational Therapy curriculum is designed in such a way as to reflect the values and intent of the profession. Students enter the program at two levels, each based on whether the student applies to the weekday five-year program or the three and a half year weekend college (WEC) program. Upon entry to the professional sequence of coursework, students follow a structured, integrated sequence of learning experiences that will prepare them to become entry-level occupational therapists. Based upon the profession’s philosophy, the University and Program mission, the educational outcome goals of the curriculum, which includes both didactic and fieldwork components (Level I and Level II), provide a learning experience such that: Graduates of the Misericordia University Occupational Therapy Program.

Occupational Therapy Program Curricular Goals
 

1. Demonstrate skills necessary to participate in designing and implementing a beginning-level research project.
2. Describe the process an occupational therapist would use to engage in evidence based practice (EBP).
3. Demonstrate the usage of evidence based practice.
4. Recognize and respect the significance that incorporating EBP has for individual OT practitioners when interacting with their clients.
5. Demonstrate and analyze the role and importance of participation in occupation throughout the life span.
6. Assess client needs via an occupational profile and an occupational performance analysis.
7. Identify, analyze and apply major tenets from the discipline of occupational science.
8. Plan and implement occupation-based occupational therapy intervention programs that are culturally relevant, reflective of current occupational therapy practice and supported with appropriate theoretical perspectives.
9. Design and critique programs that promote access to occupational therapy and provide services for individuals, groups and populations, especially the underserved.
10. Demonstrate management and leadership skills that are applicable to a variety of practice settings.
11. Design creative and entrepreneurial ideas for occupational therapy services.
12. Demonstrate skilled collaboration and consultation when dealing with others in the community.
13. Evaluate the process for securing potential funding for pilot, start-up and on-going programs for occupational therapy.
14. Discuss and evaluate ongoing professional development to ensure a level of practice consistent with current and accepted standards.
15. Discuss major historical events and their influence on occupational therapy theory, models and practice.

In order to meet these outcome goals, the sequence of coursework is delivered using a progressive, developmental approach. This sequence covers five areas: Foundational Knowledge, Growth and Development, General Theory and Skills, Occupational Therapy Intervention Process, and Critical Scientific Inquiry. Integrated into the coursework, and one culminating measure of success, is the successful completion of both Level I and Level II Fieldwork education. This curriculum prepares the students to sit for the NBCOT professional certification examination. The five sequences of education are described in more detail below.

Sequence I     Foundational Knowledge
Students establish the foundation of knowledge through the completion of all liberal arts core courses, Anatomy and Physiology (BIO 211, BIO 212), and OT 103 Introduction to OT. The liberal arts provide a broad foundation upon which to build the student’s professional education.

Sequence II     Growth and Development
Students are introduced to the concepts of human growth and development through the two-course sequence exploring the Human Development (OT 220 and OT 221). A further description of human performance is gained through the study of Functional Anatomy/Applied Neuroscience. Finally, the effects upon the human system by human illness and disease and congenital or acquired disabilities are explored in both OT 320 Impairments & Disabilities and PSY 290 Psychopathology.

Sequence III     General Theory Skills
Students learn the importance of activity and occupation during this educational sequence. Both the theory of occupation and the importance of the application of occupation on the human system (OT 205 and OT 275) are explored. A course in Occupational Therapy theory is offered early in the coursework (OT 330) and this lays the conceptual foundation upon which to build the occupational therapy intervention process. OT 335 Context and Environment, on the environmental dimensions of human performance provides a further background for intervention through understanding the impact and application of the non-human environment. Since occupational therapy practice not only involves the application of intervention strategies, but also management and supervision of many levels of service delivery personnel. Occupational therapy students are provided an overview of clinic management and supervision (OT 570).

Sequence IV     Occupational Therapy Intervention Process
Students are introduced to the roles and function of Occupational Therapy practitioners within the coursework through experiential and observational learning. Education in the intervention process begins with OT 407 Clinical Skills, and OT 405 Occupational Performance Analysis. These courses provide the groundwork for basic evaluation and clinical skills that will be required to move into more in depth intervention analysis. Three intervention courses are presented to cover the major areas of Occupational Therapy practice, with one component focused on traditional settings and a subcomponent focused on community based settings (OT 410, 411 and 412). The intervention course series (OT 510, OT 511, OT 512) consist of a life span approach to various disabling conditions. Each class has a lecture portion that instructs the student in assessment, planning, implementation and documentation of the Occupational Therapy intervention process. In addition, each lecture has an associated lab Level I fieldwork component.

Sequence V     Critical Scientific Inquiry
Critical reasoning, critical inquiry, and the scientific process are the three cornerstones of the critical scientific inquiry sequence of the curriculum. In the theory and application courses, the critical inquiry cornerstone is developed as students interact with the scientific literature. The scientific process is emphasized in both the evidence based practice (OT 433 and 633) and research series (OT 520, OT 690, and OT 695). Working in research teams, in OT 520 students develop a research proposal. In OT 690, research teams meet with their faculty committee for feedback, refine the proposal, submit the study to University’s Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subject, and when the study is approved, they collect their data. In OT 695, research teams analyze their data, write up the results and discuss their findings using a journal format, and present their studies at a research colloquium.