Occupational Therapy Assistant, AAS

B&SC Code: OTAP
CIP Code: 51.0803
New York Hegis Code: 5210

Program: OTAP

“Assisting people to achieve independence and dignity through meaningful engagement”

The profession of occupational therapy is centered on helping individuals to live life to the fullest. Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people of all ages, despite injury, condition, or disability, to perform in the daily activities (or “occupations”) they want and need to do. It is these occupations that define who we are; organize our daily routines; enable us to successfully fulfill our important life roles; and provide dignity, purpose, and meaning. Essentially, occupational therapy practitioners use everyday activities as therapy to help clients to gain or regain physical, mental, and emotional capacities necessary to function and thrive in life roles. They modify environments, tasks, and tools of everyday life to increase access and enable people to successfully participate.

The demand for occupational therapy services is expected to increase significantly in the upcoming years. Reasons for this include a growing elderly population, emphasis on quality services for children and adults with developmental disabilities, an expanding healthcare system which will allow many more individuals access to medical care, and increasing emphasis on wellness and prevention in society.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant curriculum at Bryant & Stratton College prepares graduates to work in a variety of healthcare and community settings including hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, schools, skilled nursing facilities, and day treatment centers. The program provides instruction in theory, assessment skills, client-centered and evidence-based interventions across the lifespan, as well as documentation and intervention planning. Classroom and lab experiences are enhanced and reinforced through multiple fieldwork experiences in a variety of settings.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Programs located at Wauwatosa, Greece, Solon, and Syracuse are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number, c/o AOTA is 301- 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the Wauwatosa, Greece, Solon, and Syracuse programs will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Most states require licensure or authorization, in addition to passing the NBCOT exam, in order to practice. Note, that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sore for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure or authorization.

Note: The last semester for OTA students requires full-time day fieldwork participation.

Graduates of this degree plan will achieve the following program and institutional outcomes:

• Be an advocate for clients, services and for the profession.
• Apply occupational therapy principles and theories to evaluation and intervention techniques in order to achieve desired outcomes.
• Appreciate the distinct roles and responsibilities of the occupational therapy assistant as they apply to interaction with clients, family members, and other professionals including occupational therapists.
• Demonstrate professional behavior and values, moral and ethical standards and attitudes consistent with the profession of occupational therapy.
• Provide services to clients of varied backgrounds in various systems without bias.
• Value research, evidence-based practice, and the need to keep current and engaged in life-long learning.
• Utilize appropriate current technology and resources to locate and evaluate information needed to accomplish a goal, and then communicate findings in visual, written and/or oral formats.*
• Transfer knowledge, skills and behaviors acquired through formal and informal learning and life experiences to new situations.*
• Employ strategies for reflection on learning and practice in order to adjust learning processes for continual improvement.*
• Follow established methods of inquiry and mathematical reasoning to form conclusions and make decisions.*
• Participate in social, academic, and professional communities for individual growth and to function as a citizen of a multicultural world.*

* Institutional Outcomes