Occupational Therapy — O.T.D. (Entry Level)

Program director
Heather A. Javaherian-Dysinger

Capstone coordinator
Penny Stack

Academic fieldwork coordinator
Heather Roese

Transforming lives through occupation, service, and whole-person care.

The Department of Occupational Therapy's mission is to educate future practitioners who:

• Are compassionate, mission-focused, servant leaders who demonstrate excellence and integrity.
• Expand knowledge and practice through research and innovative programming.
• Provide client-centered, occupation-based whole-person care to promote health, wellness, lifestyle, and service at individual, community, and societal levels.

Curricular threads:

• Occupation-based practice.
• Whole-person care, health management, and wellness.
• Evidence-based practice and research.
• Mission-focused community engagement and service.
• Professional citizenship.

Clinical experience

Aligning with the unique mission of Loma Linda University, students in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program have the opportunity to experience fieldwork in community practices and emerging areas as well as traditional sites. Students participate in two Level I fieldwork experiences, exposing them to different areas of practice to observe and begin building an understanding of occupational therapy practice. In addition, students take part in community-engagement experiences throughout the program, building their sense of service and using their skills to serve and collaborate with community partners.

Each student completes two Level II fieldwork experiences. The fieldwork coordinator works with the student to arrange the fieldwork sites in different settings. Students are responsible for their own transportation and must complete the fieldwork within twenty-four months of the didactic coursework. Students must also complete a background check and any specific facility requirements prior to beginning fieldwork.

Capstone

The program culminates with a 14-week (560-hour) doctoral capstone. This individualized experience provides students with an opportunity to explore and advance their knowledge and skills in an area of interest. 

CPR certification

Students are required to have current adult and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification for all scheduled clinical experience. All CPR certifications must be completed at a health-care provider level and accredited through the American Heart Association. Classes are available on campus at Life Support Education.

Immunizations

For all scheduled fieldwork experience, students are required to have immunizations for MMR, TDAP, hepatitis B series, varicella, as well as a yearly tuberculosis test. In addition, most facilities require COVID vaccinations. 

Program goals

Program learning outcomes

By the end of this program, the graduate should be able to:

1. Utilize occupation-based practice to promote life participation, meaning, and health.
2. Embrace values of whole-person care, health management, and wellness in interventions and service delivery to promote whole-person care. 
3. Utilize evidence-based practice to guide and inform intervention and occupational therapy services.
4. Demonstrate mission-focused community engagement and service.
5. Engage in professional citizenship to advocate for and serve others at the local community, regional, national, and international levels with values of compassion, faith, and occupational justice.

Professional registration and certification

Upon satisfactory completion of the occupational therapy entry-level O.T.D. degree—including completion of Level II fieldwork within 24 months of completing academic preparation, completion of the doctoral capstone, and upon recommendation of the faculty, the graduate is eligible to take the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). The board offers computerized examinations on demand throughout the year. After successful completion of this examination, the individual will be a registered occupational therapist (OTR).

Many states require licensure in order to practice. The student should consult the Occupational Therapy Board for the state in which they plan to practice. The American Occupational Therapy Association provides recognition essential to the practice of occupational therapy in the United States and most foreign countries.

When graduates apply to write the certification examination with NBCOT, they will be asked to answer questions related to the topic of felonies. Felony convictions may affect a candidate's ability to sit for the national certification examination or obtain state licensure. For further information on these limitations, contact NBCOT at: 1 Bank Street, Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878; telephone: 301/990-7979; website: nbcot.org. Graduates practicing in the state of California must acquire licensure from the California Board of Occupational Therapy. For further information, contact CBOT at 916/263-2294; email: cbot@dca.ca.gov. The office address is: 1610 Arden Way, Suite 121, Sacramento, CA 95815.

The Entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The program must have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

The Master of Occupational Therapy Program was re-accredited in May 2013, with a full 10-year accreditation status through May 2023, by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), c/o Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929; telephone: 301/652-AOTA; website: www.acoteonline.org.

The program was reviewed again in May 2023. The team identified strengths and no concerns. The ACOTE Board will vote in August on the team's recommendations to re-accredit the program. The maximum re-accreditation that can be granted is three years to teach out the program.

The MOT program is currently in an inactive status, is closed to admissions, and is in a teach-out mode with the final cohort entering their Level II Fieldwork in June 2023.

Admission is based on a selective process.  In addition to Loma Linda University and School of Allied Health Professions admissions requirements, the applicant must also complete the following requirements:

• Earned a prior bachelor's degree in any major from an accredited college or university.
• A minimum science prerequisite G.P.A. of 3.20, and a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.20.
• Complete program prerequisites no later than December of the year prior to submission of an application.
• Complete observation experience—a minimum of 40 hours of documented observation in occupational therapy settings is required before application will be considered for admission.

Prerequisites

The applicant must complete the following subject requirements at an accredited college or university:

Human anatomy*
Human physiology*
Human lifespan development
Statistics*
Medical terminology

* Courses must have been taken within 5 years prior to application to our program.

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Fulfills service learning requirement

A minimum G.P.A. of 3.00 is required quarterly as well as cumulatively throughout the program.

Normal time to complete the program

Three (3) years (10 academic quarters); full-time enrollment required