Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate, Online

At a Glance

  • College

    College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Online Programs

  • Degree

    Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy

  • Format

    Online

Outcomes & Careers

Graduates demonstrate an improved ability to solve complex social and health problems by using core knowledge obtained throughout the program,  systems thinking, and an interprofessional perspective. Our Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (PP-OTD) program produces sophisticated practitioners capable of influencing and responding to societal needs as well as the ever-changing health and human services environments.

Advanced Level Expertise

Our students:
 
  • Demonstrate advanced clinical competence in a chosen area of practice
  • Integrate scientific evidence into their practice
  • Demonstrate advanced level skill in evidence-based practice
  • Apply occupation principles to unique and innovative intervention programs
  • Demonstrate ability to analyze the impact of social, political, economic, and cultural influences on health, occupation, and disability
  • Integrate an understanding of the impact of disability into the occupations of individuals and populations
  • Adjust their practice, using their understanding of the role of culture and the environment, to an individual’s health needs
  • Be able to teach others in an area of expertise in both clinical and didactic venues
  • Demonstrate the ability to integrate theory and practice, and to synthesize advanced knowledge in a practice area through the completion of a culminating project

Innovative Program Development

Our students:
 
  • Create, evaluate and implement innovative programs that address important, contemporary public health needs
  • Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of delivery models, policies, and systems related to their area of practice in new and traditional venues
  • Design, implement and evaluate occupational therapy programs that use the tenets of occupation
  • Create new knowledge in occupation-based practice to address the unmet needs of an organization or a community
  • Demonstrate skills in advocacy
  • Solve complex clinical practice issues using cutting-edge, cost-effective models of practice
  • Present new models of service delivery to administration and management
  • Publish and present work in interdisciplinary venues

Leadership Roles

Our students:
 
  • Become leaders in traditional and contemporary venues
  • Develop a personal philosophy of leadership
  • Create an innovative, advanced professional development plan
  • Carve out a unique niche for occupational therapy practice or education
  • Create a vision for innovative occupational therapy practice
  • Demonstrate advanced skills needed to assume leadership positions including communication skills, negotiation skills, consultation skills, initiative, collaboration, team building, management, and business skills
  • Understand organizational theory, including strategies for evaluating organizational effectiveness, creating strategies for change, and monitoring the success of the implemented strategies
  • Utilize leadership skills to create and implement a program or practice based on an identified public health need that includes an analysis of the need for the program, a business plan to outline the program, and a sophisticated plan for implementation and evaluation
  • Demonstrate skills in teaching others about occupational therapy within and outside of the profession