Occupational Therapy

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HELP PATIENTS LIVE, WORK, PLAY, THRIVE

Few things are more rewarding than helping someone overcome a health challenge and get back to living their best life. Occupational therapists do that every day. If you’re a practicing occupational therapy assistant, with or without a bachelor’s degree, we have a track to help you become a licensed occupational therapist, directing the treatment and care of patients with a variety of needs. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Degree options:
  • Master of Occupational Therapy
    • For OTAs with a prior bachelor’s degree
    • Two years (including summers)
    • Hybrid format (combination of online and on campus)
    • Must be enrolled full time
    • Start in fall semester only
  • Combined Bachelor’s Degree And MOT
    • For OTAs without a bachelor’s degree
    • One of the only OTA-to-OT bridge programs in the region, enabling OTAs to get a bachelor’s degree (Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Studies) and transition directly to a master’s degree program
    • Three years (including two summers)
    • First 27 credits are online and can be full-time or part-time
    • Subsequent courses are hybrid and students must be enrolled full time
    • Start in fall semester only

Mission

The mission of the Occupational Therapy program is to provide progressive educational experiences that inspire and prepare occupational therapy assistants to become exemplary occupational therapists.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Students who graduate with the master's degree in Occupational Therapy will be able to:

• Utilize the foundational knowledge, clinical reasoning, and skills to become qualified entry-level occupational therapists in current and emerging areas of practice.
• Practice client-centered, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive therapeutic services.
• Display the professional behaviors and communication skills for successful client and inter-professional collaboration and to promote efficacy of the profession.
• Incorporate the benefits of engagement in occupation on health and wellness throughout the lifespan.
• Employ sound ethical behaviors, values, and attitudes that uphold AOTA’s Code of Ethics and professional standards.
• Articulate the value of lifelong learning, professional advocacy, and leadership in a contemporary health care environment.

The Occupational Therapy program supports the profession’s fundamental belief that human beings have an innate desire to engage in meaningful occupations, and the ability to participate in such activities has a positive impact on health and well-being.  Occupational therapists therefore focus on enhancing participation in meaningful occupations through engagement in active learning experiences.  The philosophy of the Cabarrus College Occupational Therapy program is also founded on the belief that individuals learn through active engagement with their environment, and therefore, the role of the educator is to facilitate student learning through engagement in meaningful experiences.  As certified OTAs, the Cabarrus College occupational therapy students have unique and diverse experiences on which to build new knowledge and skills; and as adult learners, will benefit from self-guided, collaborative, and reflective learning experiences relevant to their professional development.

The Occupational Therapy program design includes the following themes threaded throughout the curriculum:

• Professional Development
• Critical Thinking/ Clinical Reasoning
• Client-Centered Practice
• Health and Wellness Promotion
• Communication and Documentation Skills

Accreditation and Certification

The Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Degree Program is accredited by:

The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Phone Number, c/o AOTA: 301-652-AOTA
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200
North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929
www.acoteonline.org

Program performance data on the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) National Certification Exam for all schools is available on the NBCOT website.

Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification for the occupational therapist, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this examination, the graduate will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, most states require licensure to practice. However, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination, as well as character references and criminal record checks. A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT Certification Examination or attain state licensure.

In addition, many clinical fieldwork sites require a criminal background check and a felony conviction may affect a student’s ability to participate in fieldwork. Prior to enrolling in the occupational therapy program, it is the student’s responsibility to inquire about fieldwork placement, NBCOT Certification Examination, and licensure requirements.

Student Graduate & Certification Data

Graduation rate is defined as the total number of students graduating from a program within 150% of its published length, divided by the number of students who started the program.

Cabarrus College graduated the first cohort of Master of Occupational Therapy students (MOT and BSIHS/MOT tracks) in 2016.

National certification outcomes will be posted by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) at https://www.nbcot.org/en/Educators/Home#SchoolPerformance as updated data becomes available.

Estimated Tuition and Fees

Estimated tuition and fees for the Master of Occupational Therapy program:

Tuition is based on estimated 3% increase yearly.

Resources

• American Occupational Therapy Association
• American Occupational Therapy Association - Student Pages
• North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (NCOTA)
• North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy (NCBOT)
• National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT)