OTA Mission & Curriculum

Program Mission, Philosophy, and Curriculum

The mission of Green River College Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is to graduate entry level occupational therapy assistants who provide occupation-based interventions that maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life to diverse populations, all people, and communities utilizing effective solutions that facilitate participation in their daily life. The program partnering Green River Colleges and its resources provides each student with a comprehensive education of knowledge, skills, values, and professional behaviors necessary to provide these interventions and to provide the students with support services and resources that will facilitate their success in learning. 

Consistent with Green River’s priorities, we will work towards meeting our mission statement using the core values and philosophy which include:

1. Student Success to support student engagement, retention completion and success through excellent teaching and learning and comprehensive support services such as using on campus resources such as the Writing Center, specific designated Occupational Therapy Assistant program tutors, counseling services, encourage utilization of office hours and peer mentorship.
   
   
2. High Quality: Provide high quality in teaching, learning, support service in an environment of compassion and integrity. Utilizing course evaluation, peer review, employee feedback and attending the multiple courses that the college provides allows instructors course to develop to meet student needs and community practice.
   
   
3. Student Access: meet student needs for access to and inclusion in their educational pursuits. The program does this by participating in Accessibility courses and using captioning services.
   
   
4. Community Engagement: collaborate, stimulate, and contribute to the educational, economic, and social development of our external and internal communities through continued learning. The Student Occupational Therapy Association has been involved in Kid’s Day at the YMCA, participated in sponsoring volunteering for the Washington State Occupational Therapy Association (WOTA) conference.  Both students and faculty have presented at the WOTA conference.
   
   
5. Equity – encourage, foster respect for and respond equitably to diverse perspectives and needs. Students received instruction in multiple courses about the importance for Occupational Therapy practitioner to provide service to a diverse population.
   
   
6. Global awareness –foster citizen responsibility by cultivating a global perspective on critical issues and challenges affecting our community and the world. The program contributes to this by integrating current global issues into our problem-based approach.
   
   
7. Stewardship – strive to maintain sound fiscal management, increase effective and efficient operations, develop state-of-the-art infrastructure (to include staffing, technology, and facilities), and be forthcoming and transparent in accountability for resource use. The program director, with input from faculty, makes every attempt to ensure items are functional and monies are available within the OTA budget that equipment items can be replaced.
   
   
8. Innovation – seek to encourage, create, and adopt innovative perspectives, policies and practices that will help achieve the College’s mission. The program makes every attempt to be innovative and current.
   
   
9. Campus environment - preserve the safety, ecology, and sustainability of our campus environment.

The program is guided by the philosophy that the profession of Occupational Therapy is inclusive, maximizes health, well-being and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through meaningful participation in everyday living. The program believes that human being grows on many levels.

Occupational Therapy practice places value and emphasis on the “occupational nature of humans and importance of occupational identify (Unruh,2004) in relationship to healthful, productive and satisfying living.” The core of the philosophy is that humans, regardless of age and ability, need and require occupation in order to develop, grow, and flourish; by pursuing occupation, humans are able to holistically express the essence of their human nature. (Hooper & Wood, 2019)

Five common threads have been identified as essential skills that will contribute to each student’s success while in program, fieldwork, and the workforce. In each course, the student will find that faculty incorporates the identified common threads.  Each instructor is responsible for weaving the identified common threads into their curriculum and providing feedback during the Student Advising Period.  The five common threads include:

 

1. Communication: We emphasize the need for skillful communication, which is essential for optimal clinical care. The ability to effectively exchange information is one of the most essential elements of a treatment team from both an intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective; it is also one of the most difficult to teach. By incorporating a strong emphasis on producing skillful communicators, our program aims to develop our students as efficient, cost-effective, and client-centered practitioners.
2. Professional Behaviors: The concept of professionalism and its’ encompassed behaviors in the clinical setting is essential to creating an environment of trust between employers, employees, clients, and caregivers. Professional behaviors can include a wide array of attitudes and conduct such as professional presentation, punctuality, dependability, empathy, and professional reasoning. Taking context into consideration, the GRC OTA Program seeks to foster the ability to define and implement these behaviors.
3. Lifelong Learning: It is the goal of our program to develop future OT practitioners that are lifelong learners to provide optimal client care and have optimal employment opportunities in the future. For these reasons, we foster the value of lifelong learning through the ongoing pursuit of knowledge for personal and professional development. Occupational therapy is not a static profession but one that is dynamic and led by research influencing evidence-based practice. Occupational therapy practitioners must keep current with this dynamic nature by being in tune with current research and adapting to the changing healthcare environment. This is accomplished by developing new skills and obtaining new knowledge through utilization of available educational resources. Our students are evaluated in coursework from a standards-based perspective, set the standard for learning high and rewarding behaviors that exhibit digging deeper and going further to promote habits of lifelong learning.
4. Problem Based Learning: In the Green River College (GRC) Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program instruction is presented through problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is an active approach to learning, which is focused around a clinical or scientific problem. Using this method, students are presented with various real world or simulated clinical scenarios. These case studies enable the students to assess their areas of knowledge and growth to enhance professional reasoning skills in order to develop clinical competence in preparation for application in the fieldwork setting. This style of learning increases and facilitates problem solving, self-initiation, and clinical reasoning skills which are central to the occupational therapy process. Not only are these skills essential to the student in the classroom, they are also essential toward professional development in the context of lifelong learning related to client-centered care.
5. Occupational Performance: Occupations are any of the things that we do in everyday life that we consider to be meaningful and necessary. In occupational therapy, the activities are broken down into subcategories including; activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to not only assess client’s ability to perform successfully in these areas, but also their own occupational performance. By examining the balance between all areas of occupation students gain an understanding of how an upset in the balance can affect an individual physically, mentally, and emotionally. This understanding assists students in recognizing the need for a holistic, client centered approach to therapy and identify intervention consistent with models of occupational performance.

In addition to faculty including these common threads into their courses, faculty contributes to the student quarterly assessment designed around each of these five core threads, which is administered by their assigned program advisor. Students are also expected to complete a self-assessment of their performance in each of these five areas and, while meeting with their advisor, review the ratings for each objective.  The student, in collaboration with advisor, writes measurable goals to address the areas of growth for each thread.  Each advising session builds upon the previous assessment.

These threads prepare our students to meet the following GRC OTA Learning Outcomes as we strive to ensure the established accreditation standards are taught, integrated, and measured:

1.  Demonstrate mastery of the occupational therapy foundational content requirements.
2. Discuss the basic tenets of occupational therapy.
3. Conduct and document a screening and evaluation process.
4. Intervene and implement occupational therapy processes.
5. Describe the context of occupational therapy services.
6. Assist in the management of occupational therapy services.
7. Read and use professional literature in the field of occupational therapy.
8. Discuss the importance of ethics, values, and responsibilities in the field of occupational therapy.

In addition to the above outcomes and the learning outcomes and competencies identified in each course, courses are expected to include methods to assess and challenge students in the following campus-wide learning outcomes.

1. Written communication skills: Written Communication encompasses all the abilities necessary for effective expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas in written form.
   
   
2. Critical thinking: Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and Everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.
   
   
3. Responsibility: Responsibility encompasses those behaviors and dispositions necessary for students to be effective members of a community. This outcome is designed to help students recognize the value of a commitment to those responsibilities which will enable them to work successfully individually and with others.
   
   
4. Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning: Quantitative Reasoning encompasses abilities necessary for a student to become literate in today’s technological world. Quantitative reasoning begins with basic skills and extends to problem solving.

Learning Philosophy:

The OTA program proudly describes its’ program as a Developmental Model for student’s integration and application of learning. We believe that students will learn basic foundational concepts during their lower 100 courses and slowly be introduced to application of the material in upper 100 and lower level 200 courses. In upper 200 level courses students are demonstrating their integration of knowledge.  In these upper 200 level courses students are expected to demonstrate application of academic content from the 100-level course where students are required to integrate information previously learned, demonstrate their lifelong learning by research outside of the class, and demonstrate their skills in the community through lab and Level 1 fieldwork experiences.  This developmental model provides for the opportunity to introduce each accreditation standard twice in the program, once at the 100 level and once at the 200 level thereby ensuring that the curriculum is designed to set the foundation for success on Level 2 fieldwork, the NBCOT exam and entry-level employment.

We believe that it is essential that students understand that they must rely on previously learned content and build their knowledge to improve clinical competency. We strive to teach students to access & utilize all available resources and seek out updated evidenced-based information to instill the importance of life-long learning skills which are essential as they move toward becoming an entry level clinician in a field that is dynamic, progressive, and growing in its’ theoretical and practical roots across a multitude of populations. We rely on the knowledge students gain in both the prerequisite and co-requisite coursework. The listing of the OTA program prerequisites and co-requisites are listed below.   Students are required to complete the Prerequisites prior to or during the application process (see list below). In addition, once in the program, students are required to complete co-requisites that we feel enhance the student’s skills as an occupational therapy assistant and assist in meeting campus wide learning outcomes. The program is rigorous, and we recommend that co-requisites be completed prior to the third quarter.  The Program Pre-requisites, Requirements and Sequence is below.

We believe that offering two options of the program will provide students access to a program that can match their learning and lifestyle, thus providing students with the opportunity of education that they might not otherwise be able to participate in because of their life demands. In addition, this facilitates a more diverse cohort. The Hybrid track is designed for individuals who would like to continue to work to some degree, attend to their family needs and attend courses at night. The Hybrid Track begins in the spring quarter in the odd year and is 9 quarters long. Less face to face to time is spent with the instructor, while in class time is used for a review of the material and application. The course schedule is generally two-three nights a week with some weekends.  Once in the upper 100 and 200 level courses students will need to participate in fieldwork and community service which only occurs during the day and may include weekends. The Hybrid track is year-round.  

The Traditional full time program begins each fall and is designed for those who can attend full time and face to face time with the instructor is their best learning style. Courses are scheduled daily during the week with some weekends.  This program track is 7 quarters.  Students in this track participate in fieldwork during the weekday and may include weekends.  See table below to do a side-by-side comparison.

HYBRID EVENING PROGRAM

TRADITIONAL PROGRAM TRACK

Designed for students who need more flexibility in the day hours Courses are offered throughout the week with occasional Saturday intensive labs or community service work. Ideally students come to campus 2-3 times per week in the evening dependent on scheduling of courses and how instruction is delivered. Students must be self-directed, computer literate, and have ready access to computer technology to use on-line course delivery method Level I and Level 2 fieldwork required involving day-time clinic observations and may include weekends, Program demands align with part time employment Nine (9) quarters in length Program is developmental in design where students must finish foundational classes in program before entering application academic practice classes

Designed for students who are free to attend full-time day classes Monday through Friday, with some early evening courses. An occasional Saturday may be expected to allow for community service work. For those who desire a structured program in a traditional classroom lecture/lab format. Level I and Level 2 fieldwork required involving day-time clinic observations and may include weekends Seven (7) quarters in length; quarters 6 and 7 consisting of full-time internship/fieldwork Full time employment is not recommended Program is developmental in design where students must finish foundational classes in program before entering application practice classes

OTA PROGRAM PREREQUISITES, REQUIREMENTS & SEQUENCE  

Until summer 24 they are:

1. Bio &175 and 5 credits with 5 credits from the Humanities/Fine Arts/English (non-performance), Social Science or Natural Science distribution lists.
   or
   Bio &241 and 242
   or
   *Anatomy and Physiology 103 and 104
2. *English &101
3. Psych& 100 Introduction to Psychology

Co-reqs:

1. Cmst& 220 Public Speaking or Cmst&230 Small Group Communication
2. MATH 070 or higher
3. One Sociology Class from the following list:
   
   • Anth& 206 Cultural Anthropology (5)
   • Anth& 235 Cross-Cultural Medicine (5)
   • Cmst 238 Intercultural Communication (5)
   • Geog& 200 Human Geography (5)
   • Human 133 People, Language and Culture (5)
   • Human 186 Peoples of the World (5)
   • Soc& 101 Introduction to Sociology (5)
   • Soc& 201 Social Problems (5)
   • Soc 205 Sociology of Disability (5)

Required co-requisites should be taken before the start of advanced practice class:  

Starting Summer 2024 the requirements are:

Bio &175 OR &241 OR Anatomy 103

*English &101

Math 070 or higher

5 credits of CMST

Each of the above required courses and co-requisites serves the purpose of developing skills necessary to carry out the behaviors consistent with strong therapeutic use of self and application of practical clinical skills. Students in our program learn to speak with confidence and have frequent opportunities throughout the program to demonstrate both individual and group public speaking on a variety of topics. They are prepared to engage across a variety of racial, social and cultural demographics to thoroughly understand each client’s occupational profile and meet the unique needs of each client. They have the necessary basic math skills to analyze data to report performance in an accurate manner in documentation and understand the objective data respective to client outcomes. English 101 is prerequisite to every course taught in our program due to the need for OT practitioners to be able to communicate and discourse in a professional manner related to client care, documentation, team communication, and all matters related to professional advocacy and promotion.  

Once in program, Anatomy & Physiology and Lifespan Development courses set the foundation for learning in all first-year courses with respect to the effects of diseases and disorders on the occupational performance of clients. Courses that rely on information from these classes include OTA 120/121, OTA 122, OTA 131/132, OTA 133/134, OTA 128, OTA 102 and 103, and OTA 124. Success in program hinges on understanding these underlying concepts. 

Below outlines the course sequence for each track.

HYBRID Track	TRADITIONAL Track
OTA Curriculum Sequence = 90 credits
OTA Foundational Classes	OTA Foundational Classes
Quarter 1 (11 credits) spring	Quarter 1 (15 credits) fall
OTA 100 Introduction to Occupational Therapy (3)	OTA 100 Introduction to Occupational Therapy (3)
OTA 101 Life Span Growth & Development in Humans (3)	OTA 101 Life Span Growth & Development in Humans (3)
OTA 102 Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology (3)	OTA 102 Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology (3)
OTA 103 Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology Lab (2)	OTA 103 Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology Lab (2)
	OTA 111 Fundamentals of OT as Health Care Providers (2)
Quarter 2 (9 credits) summer	OTA 112 Fundamentals of OT as Health Care Providers Lab (2)
OTA 111 Fundamentals of OT as Health Care Providers (2)
OTA 112 Fundamentals of OT as Health Care Providers Lab (2)	Quarter 2 (13 credits) winter
OTA 122 Physical Disabilities 1 (3)	OTA 124 Fundamentals of Gerontology (3)
OTA 123 Physical Disabilities 1 Lab (2)	OTA 120   Developmental Disabilities 1 (3)
	OTA 121   Developmental Disabilities 1 Lab (2)
Quarter 3 (10 credits) fall	OTA 122   Physical Disabilities 1 (3)
OTA 120   Developmental Disabilities 1 (3)	OTA 123   Physical Disabilities 1 Lab (2)
OTA 121   Developmental Disabilities 1 Lab (2)
OTA 131   Physical Disabilities 2 (3)	Quarter 3 (13 credits) spring
OTA 132   Physical Disabilities 2 Lab (2)	OTA 126 Clinical Seminar 1 (1)
	OTA 127 Clinical Seminar 1 Lab (1)
Quarter 4 (11 credits) winter	OTA 128 Application of OTA 1 (1) *
OTA 124 Fundamentals of Gerontology (3))(a	OTA 130 Professional Advocacy Experience (1)
OTA 126 Clinical Seminar 1 (1)	OTA 131 Physical Disabilities 2 (3)
OTA 127 Clinical Seminar 1 Lab (1)	OTA 132 Physical Disabilities 2 Lab (2)
OTA 130 Professional Advocacy Experience (1)	OTA 133 Psychosocial Dysfunction (3)
OTA 133 Psychosocial Dysfunction (3)	OTA 134 Psychosocial Dysfunction Lab (1)
OTA 134 Psychosocial Dysfunction Lab (1)
OTA 128 Application of OTA 1 (1)*
	OTA Advanced Practice Classes
OTA Advanced Practice Classes	Quarter 4 (13 credits) fall
Quarter 5 (8 credits) spring	OTA 200   Developmental Disabilities 2 (1) *
OTA 200   Developmental Disabilities 2 (1) *	OTA 201   Developmental Disabilities 2 Lab (2)
OTA 201   Developmental Disabilities 2 Lab (2)	OTA 202   Ethics, Society and Professional Practice (3)
OTA 202   Ethics, Society and Professional Practice (3)	OTA 210   Therapeutic Practices in OT (3)
OTA 212   Therapeutic Group Leadership (1)	OTA 211   Therapeutic Practice Clinical Skills Training (2)
OTA 213   Therapeutic Group Leadership Lab (1)	OTA 212   Therapeutic Group Leadership (1)
	OTA 213   Therapeutic Group Leadership Lab (1)
Quarter 6 (8 credits) summer
OTA 210   Therapeutic Practices in OT (3)	Quarter 5 (12 credits) winter
OTA 211   Therapeutic Practice Clinical Skills Training (2)	OTA 222   Clinical Seminar 2 (1)
OTA 220   Therapeutic Group Activities 2 (1) *	OTA 223   Application of O T Co-op 2 (1) *
OTA 221   Therapeutic Group Activities Lab 2 (2)	OTA 220   Therapeutic Group Activities 2 (1) *
	OTA 221   Therapeutic Group Activities Lab 2 (2)
Quarter 7 (10 credits) fall	OTA 224   Therapeutic Adaptations (2)
OTA 222.   Clinical Seminar 2 (1)	OTA 225   Therapeutic Adaptations Lab (3)
OTA 223    Application of O T Co-op 2 (1) *	OTA 228   Pre-Fieldwork Experience Seminar (2)
OTA 224    Therapeutic Adaptations (2)	Level II Fieldwork Classes
OTA 225    Therapeutic Adaptations Lab (3)	Quarter 6 (12 credits) spring
OTA 228    Pre-Fieldwork Experience Seminar (2)	OTA 240   Fieldwork Experience Seminar 1 (1)
Level II Fieldwork Classes	OTA 245   Co-op Fieldwork Experience 1 (11) *
Quarter 8 (12 credits) winter	Quarter 7 (12 credits) summer
OTA 240   Fieldwork Experience Seminar 1 (1)	OTA 241   Fieldwork Experience Seminar 2 (1)
OTA 245   Co-op Fieldwork Experience 1 (11) *	OTA 246   Co-op Fieldwork Experience 2 (11) *
Quarter 9 (12 credits) spring
OTA 241   Fieldwork Experience Seminar 2 (1)
OTA 246   Co-op Fieldwork Experience 2 (11) *
* Requires Off Campus Day Time Hours for the following Classes:	* Requires Off Campus Day Time Hours for the following Classes:
OTA 128 = Average of 3 hours, once a week for 10 weeks	OTA 128 = Average of 3 hours, once a week for 10 weeks
OTA 223 = One-week full time (week determined by OTA program)	OTA 223 = One-week full time (week determined by OTA program)
OTA 201 = Average of 12 to 15 hours for one quarter over 5-week period of time	OTA 201 = Average of 12 to 15 hours for one quarter over 5-week period of time
OTA 221 = Average of 24 hour over an 8-to-10-week period of time	OTA 221 = Average of 24 hour over an 8-to-10-week period of time
OTA 245 = 40 hours of full time of fieldwork experience off campus	OTA 245 = 40 hours of full time of fieldwork experience off campus
OTA 246 = 40 hours of full time of fieldwork experience off campus	OTA 246 = 40 hours of full time of fieldwork experience off campus

 

The Advising process is an integral part of our program. Two methods of Advising take place. While in the didactic portion of program, students are advised once per quarter which is chosen by the college where students meet with their program advisor. The Advising process begins with a self-assessment where the student critiques themselves on life-long learning-resourcefulness, communication, professional behavior and writes measurable goals to accomplish. Goals are generated from a reflection of the assessment.  OTA faculty then solicits feedback from all instructors and meets with each student and collaboratively reviews self-assessment and feedback. Faculty monitor student’s growth in areas identified.  Recognizing that one time per quarter is not adequate; instructors have integrated self-reflections for students to complete during their class. This allows the student to have ongoing self-assessment of skills required to be successful, such as self-learning, engagement, preparedness, and resourcefulness.  Students are then required to seek peer feedback about each of the performance areas. This will allow students to develop intrinsic feedback with the goal of being a self-regulated learner.  Methods used is verbal processing or written.  All faculty, adjunct and full time, is expected to provide students with positive feedback as well as growth areas, so a consistent message is provided. In OTA 111/112, students are introduced to advising, personal and professional growth. While on fieldwork, the student’s performance is monitored by the course instructor by communicating with the student, fieldwork educator, and online course participation. 

In the students first year, the students are registered in the following courses;  quarter is dependent on which program track the student chooses.

OTA 100, Introduction to Occupational Therapy, which introduces students to the practice of occupational therapy including history and philosophical base. It begins teaching students the origins and basic understanding of the occupational therapy practice framework to include domain and process, the occupational therapy process and the promotion of health. This course introduces students on ethics and professional behavior.

OTA 102/103, Applied Anatomy & Lab students build off of pre-requisite science courses, with more in depth learning of anatomy of the musculoskeletal system including bony landmarks; origins, insertions, innervations of muscles and fundamentals of clinical kinesiology. Key instruction to this course is the application portion and its relationship to the delivery of occupational therapy. Students rely on this course to prepare for understanding principles in OTA 120/12, for example.

OTA 101, Life Span Growth and Development in Humans,  provides students with a foundation of what to expect in the lifespan in preparation of higher level and specific course work.  It includes a basic study of the basic theories and processes of normal human growth and development, practical assessment and integration of all components psychosocial, physical and cognitive, relative to the needs of recipients of occupational therapy.

OTA 111/112, Fundamentals of Occupational Therapy as Health Care Providers and Lab, students learn basic patient-therapist interaction, importance of this interaction to development of the patient’s occupational profile and its impact on therapy interventions and goals. In addition, students learn communication skills, and medical terminology.  Students are trained in the foundational skills of HIPAA, HIV/AIDS training, infection control and blood borne pathogens.  In addition, an emphasis is placed on study skills and time management, skills that are required throughout program. Students are also introduced to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, documentation and task analysis in order to prepare them for consequent OTA courses. Students are also introduced to Advising, professional growth and self-assessment.

OTA 124, Fundamentals of Gerontology, students study physical, emotional and social processes involved in normal aging plus a brief study of the pathology associated with the aging process. The course emphasizes techniques used in maintaining independence, adjusting to the special problems of aging and utilization of community resources. Principles learned in this class are applied to many courses. An example of application of material leaned is development and management of groups in OTA 221.

OTA 120 and 121, Developmental Disabilities Lecture and Lab, the role of the OTA in different pediatric settings and the influence of legislation and laws that have influenced OT practice. Students study conditions that impede normal growth and development with special emphasis on CP, intellectual disability, ADHA/ADD, autism disorder, childhood genetic disorders, and learning disabilities. It begins exploration of developmental treatment methodologies with opportunity for experiential learning of patient handling techniques.  The OTPF is integrated into the course as it applies to pediatric practice.  Documentation is also part of this course.  Students have been introduced to the basics on OTA 111/112 and in this course re-introduced to it in order to understand application to the pediatric population.

OTA 122/123, Physical Disabilities Lecture and Lab, students understand the effects of heritable diseases, genetic conditions, disability, trauma, and injury to the physical and mental health and occupational performance of the individual.  They are to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the structure and function for the human body, utilizing and applying concepts learned in OTA 102/103, to include the biological and physical sciences of specific clinical conditions.   As students are learning these concepts they begin to describe and demonstrate basic assessment and treatment approaches utilized in occupational therapy intervention of the physically disabled through practical experiences in a lab setting. The OTPF is integrated into the course as deficits are explained and its impact on occupation.

OTA 126/127 and 128, Clinical Seminar and Lab 1 and Application of OT co-op experience 1, student go out to their first fieldwork.  At this Level 1 fieldwork, students participate in supervised clinical experience with clients in a community health care facility.  This fieldwork includes observation, planning and implementation of patient treatments as assigned by the clinical supervisor. OTA 126, 127 are concurrent courses to the fieldwork experiences.  Students are assigned a variety of assignments that facilitate integrating knowledge in all previous course work.  Students continue with learning the OTPF as they see it in practice during fieldwork and use it to begin applying their documentation skills. In addition, it continues to teach students about client therapist interaction, clinical issues and therapeutic techniques.  The instructor poses questions to the students that assist them to apply the knowledge learned in OTA 120 and OTA 122. 

OTA 130, Professional Advocacy Experience, because students have a better understanding of the OT profession, we begin acquainting students with therapy practitioners’ responsibilities in professional activities and promotion of occupational therapy to other professional consumers, third party payers and the public.

OTA 133/134, Psychosocial Dysfunction Lecture and Lab, students begin to learn techniques used to meet mental health needs within the occupational setting.  It includes application of psychological frames of reference, clinical conditions, and the application of occupational therapy for these conditions.  Integration of the OTPF and documentation is done in the course.

 

Students in their second year begin advanced practice classes where they apply their foundational knowledge learned in their first year.

OTA 200/201, Developmental Disabilities 2, an advanced level course that expands students’ understanding of conditions that affect children. Learning from 120 and 121 is then integrated into course curriculum and the focus is on task analysis, assistive technology, and devices and occupation based approaches. The course provides students with an opportunity to complete intervention planning and implement the plan in a service learning opportunity.  Documentation, using the OTPF, as a guide, is done for the service learning opportunity. 

OTA 202, Ethnics, Society and Professional Practice, provides an overview and understanding of professional ethics and responsibilities, expanded from OTA 111/112 and OTA 130, including ethical principles professional development, healthcare reimbursement systems and healthcare laws. A critical analysis of social issues including socioeconomics, social justice, cultural awareness and diversity factors related to the practice of occupational therapy in preparation for Level 2 fieldwork.

OTA 210 and 211, Therapeutic Practices in OT and Clinical skills training, that incorporates the models of practice and application of theories learned in previous courses, OTA 100, OTA 104, OTA 131, 132, in a clinical context in the analysis, selection and use of activities in a therapeutic activity while addressing the needs in a diverse patient population. Simulation is used in order for the student to practice their skills with different case studies. Emphasis is placed on application of the OTPF in the development of intervention targeting ADL and IADL.  It also includes instruction in the responsibilities a COTA has in the areas of documentation, record keeping service operations, discharge planning and research. 

OTA 212, 213, Therapeutic Group Leadership and Lab, students study group dynamics as related to occupational therapy.  Students learn to plan and implement activity groups appropriate for patients or clients of all ages. Students are able to integrate content learned in course focused on OTPF, documentation, activity analysis and psychosocial dysfunction 

OTA 220/221 Therapeutic Group Activities Lecture and Lab, students learn to plan and implement socio-culturally appropriate therapeutic leisure and social activities for patients/clients in a variety of community settings. Emphasis is on gradation, adaptation of leisure and social activities for a variety of patient/client diagnoses.  Students are expected to critique their group process and give peer feedback. Content from OTA 104, 202 as well as previous course content is applied.

OTA 222/223, Clinical Seminar 2 and Application of OT Co-op, students complete a 1-week fieldwork where they apply all information learned in their fieldwork site.  Focus is on utilization of the OTPF, nightly documentation, and timeliness with documentation, activity analysis and grading. Students identify challenges on fieldwork which can involve ethical dilemmas and time management and how to prepare for fieldwork level 2. Students also provide nightly reflections that include what they observed, participated in, and what they have learned, clinically or personally. Once back on campus, the group as a whole discusses potential barriers and methods to overcome the barriers to be successful.

OTA 224/225, Therapeutic Adaptations and Lab is a advanced course where students demonstrate previously learned technical skills as well as their knowledge of physical dysfunctions, learned in OTA 122, 123, 131, 132, 210, and 211, as they work with a variety of material to design, modify adapt and fabricate special equipment and assistive devices for the disabled.  Students will demonstrate and articulate the use of technology to support performance, participation, health and well-being.

OTA 228, Pre-Fieldwork Experience Seminar prepares the student for successful completion of level 2 fieldwork. The course emphasizes further development of documentation skills, self-assessment for full time fieldwork, job search skills, service operations and supervision issues as well as preparation for the NBCOT exam.

OTA 240/245 and 241/246 Fieldwork Experience Seminar 1 and Co-op Fieldwork Experience 1 and Fieldwork Experience 2 and Co-op Fieldwork Experience 2, students discuss, and problem solve fieldwork experiences, read and discuss literature appropriate to fieldwork and review OTA program content in preparation for national certification exam.  Fieldwork experiences include practice in one of the following areas: physical disabilities, psychological dysfunction, geriatrics, developmental disabilities, pediatrics, work hardening/pain management or hand therapy under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapy practitioner.

It is important to faculty that we always assess our program to ensure that our students are meeting the community standards and current practice set by the profession.  A variety of tools are used to evaluate the program:

Course Evaluation - Students complete an evaluation of instructors teaching methodologies and provide feedback regarding the content of each course.  Faculty meet to discuss feedback and adjust the current material by reviewing content that is presented prior to each course as well as determining the extent that the content prepares students for subsequent higher level coursework.  Lecture, discussion, lab and clinical experiences are reviewed to determine the effectiveness in meeting course objectives and accreditation standards. When changes are made to the courses, a review of impacted courses and objectives is completed to ensure courses are meeting the objectives set by the accreditation body while meeting current standards of practice.

Student Evaluation of Fieldwork Experience– Students complete the Student Evaluation of Fieldwork Experience at the end of each Level 2 experience.  This evaluation has two purposes. First, it provides the AFWC with feedback about the specific Level 2 fieldwork site experience. Second, it guides the program assessment for needed curricular changes to prepare the student for changing trends in community practice respective to client centered care. 

In addition, at midterm, the AFWC inquires with each Fieldwork Educator to determine the student’s ability to integrate program threads identified above as well as specific application of information and skills learned in program to actual client situations.  This information, as well as the information gathered from the Student Evaluation of the Fieldwork Experience, is reported to the full-time faculty. Student Evaluations of the worksite are grouped by practice settings and answers to specific to questions are summarized and then presented to the faculty.  Together faculty decide whether changes need to be made to current curriculum in order to mirror best practice as well as community practice. Full time faculty, Adjunct faculty and the Program Director are responsible for assessing the data, identifying strengths and weaknesses and determine what changes are to be made, if any.  The data gathered with the final decision from full time faculty is then shared with adjunct faculty to guide changes in their specific course work and interactions with students. Any proposed changes or confirmed changes are reported to the Advisory Board.

Exit Survey: Students are provided with an electronic survey during their last level 2 fieldwork. This gives us data on the pre-advising process, in program advising process, and courses that were taken as well as the facilities component. Once data is collected faculty review, share data with the advisory board and make appropriate changes. This can be in the form of course content, resources and equipment, for example.

Post Graduate Survey: This is completed 6 months after graduation.  Students who have graduated from GRC OTA Program are asked to complete a post-graduate survey to provide feedback about the coursework and its’ relevance to current employment and market conditions.

Employer Survey: Employers also solicited to provide feedback regarding the OTA graduates employment readiness and professional behaviors, salary, and general feedback about Green River graduates. 

Data collected from the Exit survey, Post Graduate Survey and Employer Survey, are used to guide program planning, implementation, and ongoing evaluation. 

Advisory Board: This board is composed of practitioners in the field with a variety of practice experience and in different practice settings.  The board provides the program with feedback about our current curriculum, provides ideas for marketing and helps stir progression for the program as it relates to marketing, best and current practice, opportunities for students, and program changes so that we can facilitate successful, well rounded, educated students 

Through the course content, advising process, and systematic evaluation processes, Green River College Occupational Therapy Assistant Program continually strives to fulfill Green River College’s vision for 2020 to be ranked among the very best in student completion and success and be an invaluable community partner and asset with robust and diverse revenue streams. We believe that the GRC mission to prepare entry-level occupational therapy assistants with the knowledge, skills, values and professional behaviors necessary to effectively provide occupation-based intervention to reach desired outcomes to a diverse population and practice settings will be met through systematic and ongoing evaluation of the program.