Whitworth’s Occupational Therapy Program Earns Prestigious National Accreditation
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The university was notified May 6 by ACOTE that the program has been approved for the next seven years, the maximum period that could be awarded for initial accreditation.
The ACOTE accreditation gives graduates of Whitworth’s OTD program eligibility to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy exam. Graduates who successfully complete the NBCOT exam will be certified as Occupational Therapists Registered (OTR®).
The Report of the Accreditation Council, issued after members’ site visit on Oct. 21-23, highlighted the significant investment Whitworth has made in resources to enhance student learning outcomes and stronger preparation for fieldwork and capstone projects.
“Accreditation for the maximum allowable seven years is an affirmation of excellence in our curriculum, our faculty and our facilities,” says Mike Ediger, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “It is a tremendous testament to the brilliant and tireless work of the OTD team over the last five years.”
The OTD program welcomed its first cohort in fall 2022, with new cohorts added each year as the accreditation process progressed.
Whitworth’s OTD program is designed as a full-time, three-year sequence that prepares graduates to work in healthcare, community and educational settings. Students can expect to complete the program in nine consecutive semesters.
Students are being taught by some of the best educators in this industry and participate in labs and trainings inside a 38,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building complete with an activities-of-daily-living lab, a motion analysis research lab, exercise physiology labs, anatomy labs, simulation labs, a Bioness Integrated Therapy System and new virtual reality technology.
“This VR technology allows for the evaluation and treatment of clients who are seeking services for such things as rehabilitation of their motor functions, cognitive skills and visual perception skills,” says Loriann Helgeson, associate professor of occupational therapy and department chair. “It will also be used in the management and improvement of behavioral health conditions including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It serves our OTD program mission to graduate students who are evidence-based practice scholars who provide, and advocate for, best practice standards.”
Whitworth’s OTD students complete clinical placements in settings such as traditional hospitals, school systems, community centers and skilled nursing centers.
The university is still seeking full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) for its Doctor of Physical Therapy program. That site visit was conducted in September. An announcement is expected sometime later this month.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university has an enrollment of about 2,500 students and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, associate director of media relations, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
