Entry-level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
Our program continues to attract students from all over the country and we currently have 118 students in our first and second years and have 57 students who have accepted places to join the program this fall semester.
Our students come from different communities, cultures, and backgrounds across the country and every day they contribute to the collegial nature of our department and to the communities in and around Birmingham. Seeing our students work diligently to become the best occupational therapists they can be and then to know that graduates of our program are making an impact across the country is the fundamental purpose of our department.
In 2017, our national pass-rate on the board certification examination was 98 percent. This past year, 2018, we had 100 percent of our students passing the examination within a year of graduation. Our students continue to gain employment and this past year our survey data indicated that all graduates were employed shortly after passing the certification examination. This current year the majority of our students, within four months of being eligible to take the examination have passed the certification examination and are already working or in the process of starting work.
This June/July we will start our final admission cycle for the MS in Occupational Therapy program. While this landmark may seem sad, the opportunities that our new Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) will afford our students and, more importantly, the clients they serve in the future, will be exciting. Our OTD program at UAB will be the first state-institution in Alabama to offer this degree to students.
Post-Professional Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD)
It has been quite an amazing year. Our first-year class of 25 students is finishing their second semester. We have enthusiastic students from all over the country. Next year’s class will be about the same size based on our current admissions and applicants and we will celebrate our first graduates in the summer of 2020! While the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision has been the most popular elective track, the Healthcare Quality & Safety courses, and the General track have been popular as well. UAB has numerous resources and we are constantly watching to find courses that fit the requests we get for content. Stay tuned for future developments.
Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation
In 2003, UAB admitted its first class of students to its Graduate Certificate Program in Low Vision Rehabilitation. Since this date, we have graduated 307 students from 40 different states and from the countries of Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, and Ireland. Forty-three of the practitioners achieving AOTA Specialty Certification in Low Vision Rehabilitation are program graduates. We are proud of the varied leadership roles our students assume in research, clinical practice, academics, and governmental policy.
2018 was a transition year for the program with the retirement of program director Dr. Mary Warren. Dr. Beth Barstow, who has taught in the program for 10 years, has assumed the role of the program director. Dr. Warren continues to teach the course Foundations in Treatment of Visual Impairment from Brain Injury.
PhD in Rehabilitation Science
The PhD in Rehab Science recently celebrated our tenth graduate! We are excited to see the growth in the program since its inception in 2011 and look forward to continuing to expand. Our incoming 2018 cohort included 7 students from a wide range of backgrounds including occupational therapy, physical therapy, kinesiology and public health.
We are also conducting a search for a new Program Director for the PhD program. The PhD in Rehab Science is an interdisciplinary program sponsored by the UAB Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The goal of the program is to train students to conduct research in a variety of settings including academia, public policy, and industry. Ideal candidates will have a strong history of published scholarship, grant funding and mentorship of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows.
New Program: Entry Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD)
For the past few years, the department has been engaged in the process of developing a new entry-level clinical doctorate in occupational therapy that will replace our Master of Science degree that we currently offer. Like entry-level master’s programs, entry-level doctoral programs prepare graduates to enter the profession as new practitioners. The doctoral degree offers additional semesters of study focusing on clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, and theory development.
There are greater expectations for entry-level doctoral student outcomes related to technology; program development; staff development; synthesis and practice of advanced knowledge; and demonstrated competency in clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, or theory development. This is articulated in the standards set forth by ACOTE, our accrediting body. Like entry-level master’s programs, entry-level doctoral programs require a minimum of 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork experiences, however, they also require an additional experiential component (14 weeks) and a culminating project.
The experiential component facilitates the development of advanced skills beyond the generalist level in one or more of the following areas: administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, and theory development. The department has worked hard to ensure that our entry-level doctoral program will place only a minimal extra burden on students and we are excited that we will begin the admission process for our first cohort in summer 2020, next year, for a summer 2021 admission point. We will anticipate the first graduates from UAB’s entry-level clinical doctorate in occupational therapy in December 2023.
Andrew Grill
In March we were absolutely delighted to welcome Andrew Grill to our team.
Drew joined us from the Department of Physical Therapy to provide support for the expansion of the departments’ research efforts as well as the day to day support for the PhD and occupational therapy programs. He will work closely with his equivalent in the PT department to ensure that all scholarly efforts out of the two departments receive the support needed.
We are thrilled to have someone to fill the gap the retirement of Sandra Long left.
Sarah Dos Anjos
In December, Sarah Dos Anjos joined the department as a post-doc student working with Carmen Capo-Lugo in physical therapy, but with a teaching assignment in the Department of Occupational Therapy.
She has just completed teaching OT609: Barriers to Occupational Performance and will continue to be in the department for the next few years as she completes her post-doc work. Dr. Dos Anjos is a graduate of our PhD in Rehabilitation Science program and received her Bachelor's degree in Occupational Therapy from Medical Science School of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte in Brazil and her MS in Neurology from Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Seeking New Faculty
The Department of Occupational Therapy has a number of faculty openings available and are conducting a national and international search for new faculty currently underway and hope that in the next period we will announce the appointment of much-needed faculty to support our current and emerging programs.
A full-time, twelve-month faculty position (Assistant/Associate Professor) - faculty rank and tenure status are commensurate with qualifications and experience.
A full-time, twelve-month faculty position who will serve as the program director for the MSOT, then OTD (starting summer 2021) - faculty rank and tenure status are commensurate with qualifications and experience. Please contact Gavin Jenkins, PhD, Department Chair for further information at this time: