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Occupational Therapy in Health Care
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As the only post-professional degree program in North Carolina developed in 1995, this path has been redesigned. The program now integrates with the professional master's degree path students and offers a non-thesis option. Distance-education courses are being developed.

Purpose

Over the next decade, changes and developments in the health care delivery system are expected to be more sweeping and profound than ever before. Already a huge and rapidly growing industry, health care is also a highly dynamic field, requiring knowledgeable and flexible health care providers capable of dealing with continually updated procedures, requirements and changing models of service delivery.

The objective of the masters of science program is to prepare occupational therapists to function within this ever-changing health care service delivery system. The program will not be practice area specific, but will be broad based with the intent that graduate students will tailor their own program to meet their individual needs and interests.

Specific Educational Objectives

I. Integrate occupational therapy models of practice to establish effective programs to traditional and nontraditional service delivery systems, such as preventive care, developmental/schools, community based, hospital based, skilled care/home care, and managed care systems.

II. Integrate evaluation criteria that effectively establish the quality and potential of occupational therapy practice models in traditional and nontraditional service delivery systems

III. Contribute to the basic or applied knowledge of occupational therapy in traditional or nontraditional service delivery systems through research.

Admission Requirements

1. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 overall on a 4.0 scale.
2. Satisfactory Graduate Record Examination.
3. Acceptable TOEFL or TSL scores for non-English speaking foreign students.
4. Present evidence of an undergraduate degree from an accredited baccalaureate occupational therapy program.
5. Completion of the Graduate School application package including a statement of purpose and references. (Only TWO references required.)

The Graduate School application is a self-managed application and applicants are responsible for completing the package, including the procedures regarding submission of GRE scores and transcripts. The application package is available from the Graduate School at (252) 328-6012 or through the Graduate School's website, www.research2.ecu.edu/grad/

As part of the application package, applicants will complete the "Statement of Purpose Form for Applicants" to the Graduate School at East Carolina University. This essay should address the following: 1) applicant's expectations of East Carolina University and the Occupational Therapy program, 2) applicant's personal qualifications, collegiate and/or personal accomplishments, and community activities that would provide evidence of the applicant's success in the graduate program in occupational therapy.

Students who complete a professional (entry-level) master's degree at ECU cannot apply for the post-professional master's degree in occupational therapy.

Course of Study

The program will require the completion of 30-33 credits which can be obtained on a full-time (1 year) or part-time basis over a few years. East Carolina University also allows up to 9 credits of transfer credit, provided that they are equivalent to the course requirements. To accommodate the working and/or traveling therapist, classes will be scheduled in late afternoon and in the evenings. The specific requirements are as follows:

Core Courses:
OCCT 6080, 6455, 6500, 6550, 6600 (10 credits)

Required:
OCCT 6020 (3 credits)

Research Options (Choose One):
-Master's Project
OCCT 6650, 6660 (5 credits)

-Thesis
BIOS 7022 or Qualitative Analysis (3 credits)
OCCT 7000 (3-6 credits)

Concentration Area
OCCT 6060 or 6070 (3 credits)
Electives (6 credits)

Although much of the course work is enhanced by on-line work, the program is not considered a distance program. The four core courses are considered “face-to-face” courses because of the need for discussion and interaction. OCCT 6080 and 6020 meet once a week over a spring or fall semester in the late afternoon or evening. OCCT 6600 is a summer course over 6 weeks. It is primarily done on-line with one late afternoon class once a week. OCCT 6550 is a late afternoon class that meets twice a week. The concentration courses can be done as on-line courses as well as the independent study and special topics. Research courses can be done on-line, at other universities, or face-to-face. Thus, the program is one that does demand some class time in Greenville ; specifically 12 credits, but can be completed through on-line communication for the majority of the credit load.

Concentration courses are elective courses that are selected by the student with the approval of his/her advisor and support the focus area of the student. At least one of the courses may be taken from the department and the remainder may be taken among university offerings or may be accepted as transfer credit with approval from the department.

Course Descriptions

6020. Theoretical Models of Practice in Occupational Therapy (3) P: Enrollment in OCCT or consent of chair. Advanced examination and conceptualization of OT theories within models of practice, including consultation. Analysis and comparison of theories applied to areas of specialty in service delivery systems.

 

6060. Directed Independent Study (3) Requires approval by occupational therapy advisor and/or graduate committee. May be repeated more than once with change of topic. Individualized, advanced, or in-depth study of topic not offered in OT curriculum.

 

6070. Special Topics (3) May be repeated more than once with change of topic. Topics of current importance not covered thoroughly in other courses.

 

6080. Environmental Contexts and Systems of Occupational Therapy (3) P: OCCT 6000, 6003, 6004; or consent of dept chair. Systems analysis of societal, cultural, physical, and temporal environments. Evaluates use of environment and technology to enhance occupational function.

 

6455. Application of Theory to Practice (2) P: 6300, 6350; P/C: OCCT 6450. Integrates fieldwork and classroom experiences. Cases used to explore issues about management and supervision, OT intervention, research, and education. Analyzes current use of theory in OT practice sites.

 

6500, 6550. Managing Occupational Therapy Services (3,1) P: OCCT 6080. Leadership theory and roles in OT. Focus on supervision issues, planning, and management of service delivery programs. Emphasis on theories of change and student developments as change agents. Systems theory used as basis for understanding organizational structures and development.

 

6600. Concepts and Practice of Research in Occupational Therapy (3) P: A statistics course approved by dept chair. Principles and processes involved in scientific research. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Application of knowledge culminates in development of research proposal.

 

6650. Conducting Research in Occupational Therapy (3) P: OCCT 6600, 6200, 6250. P/C: 6300, 6350. Design and implementation of research project that contributes to knowledge base of OT. Approved research proposal and collection of research data.

 

6660. Master’s Project (2) P: OCCT 6650. Completion of research project which contributes to knowledge base of OT and manuscript appropriate for submission to refereed journal.

 

7000. Thesis (3) May be repeated. May count maximum of 6 s.h.