Occupational Therapy (OTD)

An integral part of the program curriculum, the Doctoral Capstone (DC) provides an in-depth exposure to one or more of the following areas:

• administration and leadership,
• program development and evaluation,
• education,
• practice skills,
• research skills,
• and advocacy.

It consists of two parts: (1) the capstone experience and (2) the capstone project.

Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE)

The DCE develops occupational therapists with in-depth skills in one or more of the DC areas. The DCE occurs at a mentored practice setting known as the DCE site. The Doctoral Capstone Coordinator (DCC) will collaborate with the student to establish the DCE site and the required written agreement. During the DCE, the student is mentored by an individual with expertise consistent with the student’s DC area of focus. This mentor, known as the DCE site supervisor, does not have to be an occupational therapist. More than one student may be present and working collaboratively at the DCE site at the same time; however, each student will have individual capstone objectives and focus.

The 14-week (560 hours) DCE, beginning in January of the third year, must be completed after completion of all coursework, Level II fieldworks, and required preparatory activities (i.e., literature review, needs assessment, goals/objectives, and evaluation plan). The DCE is NOT a third Level II fieldwork. As such, the student will identify goals and objectives, requiring approval in advance of the DCE, to achieve the identified advanced skill and in-depth experience. The objectives for the DCE will overlap with the capstone project objectives; however, additional objectives and tasks specific to opportunities within the DCE site will also be developed. All DCE sites are located in the Lubbock area.

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Doctoral Capstone Project (DCP)

The DCP develops occupational therapists’ capacities to engage in scholarly activities. The student completes an individual culminating product to demonstrate synthesis and application of knowledge gained in one or more of the DC areas. The DCP is a highly student-driven process; however, the student works in collaboration with a faculty capstone mentor and possibly a DCE site supervisor to develop an individual plan to achieve advanced learning objectives and produce evidence of scholarship.

The student engages in preparatory activities for the DCP during coursework and prior to the DCE that includes a literature review, needs assessment, goals/objectives, and an evaluation plan. The student must have an approved DC proposal prior to beginning the DCE. The student then engages in scholarship that supports the DCP during the DCE. Following the DCE, the student finalizes and disseminates their DCP. Examples of products that may document this scholarship include a presentation, case report, treatment manual, curriculum, grant proposal, quality improvement project report, program proposal or resource portfolio. Capstones requiring IRB processes will only be granted on joint projects with academic/professional research teams. The student presents their DCP at the TTUHSC OTD Research Symposium prior to graduation.

Program Contact for Doctoral Capstone Inquiries

For more specific questions, please contact the TTUHSC’s Doctoral Capstone Coordinator:
Laurie Stelter, OTR, PhD

Fieldwork education is an integral aspect of our program. Students will be involved in Level I Fieldwork experiences during the first and second year in the program. Students complete 24 weeks of full-time Level II Fieldwork during the third year of the program.

In rare situations, a Level II fieldwork experience may be completed on a part-time basis to meet a student’s accommodation requirements or extenuating circumstances that are documented and approved by the AFWC and Program Director. A part-time placement must be at least 50% of a full-time equivalent that is determined by the fieldwork site’s usual and customary personnel policies and completed within no more than 24 weeks.

Fieldwork education consists of five experiences designed to prepare and expose the student to a variety of applied settings in occupational therapy:

• Level I experiences in pediatrics occur in association with HPOT 6240 Intervention: Developmental and Learning Models II in the Summer 2 semester. The student will actively participate in faculty-led learning experiences within the community to develop professional and therapeutic skills with the pediatric population.
• Level I experiences in mental health occur in association with HPOT 6341 Intervention: Cognitive and Behavioral Health Models in the Summer 2 semester. The student will actively participate in faculty-led learning experiences within the community to develop professional and therapeutic skills addressing behavioral, psychological, and social factors influencing engagement in occupation.
• Level I experiences in adult physical dysfunction occur in association with several courses over the first and second year. Integrated within these select courses, students apply knowledge to practice through participation in progressive comprehensive competency experiences relevant to practice in adult settings and understanding the needs of clients. Specific therapeutic competency experiences include the progressive use of simulated environments, standardized patients, and site visits.
• Fieldwork II 1: This full-time fieldwork experience typically begins in May of the third year and lasts 12 weeks. The student engages in an in-depth experience delivering occupational therapy services to clients, focusing on the application of purposeful and meaningful occupation, administration, and management of occupational therapy services.
• Fieldwork II 2: This full-time fieldwork experience typically begins in August of the third year and lasts 12 weeks. The student engages in an in-depth experience delivering occupational therapy services to clients, focusing on the application of purposeful and meaningful occupation, administration, and management of occupational therapy services. At least one of the two Fieldwork II experiences must be in an adult physical dysfunction setting. The other Fieldwork II experience may be in a different adult setting, a pediatric setting, mental health setting, or other specialist setting (e.g., hand therapy; neuro specialty).

Facilities that have occupational therapy clinical education agreements with TTUHSC may be used for Fieldwork sites. The Academic Fieldwork Coordinator provides detailed information for selection procedures. The student may provide preferences for certain setting types and for the location of Fieldwork II placements. The program has opportunities locally, across the state, and other states across the US.

Resources for Fieldwork Educators

Numerous resources for fieldwork education and supervision are available on The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) website.

Program Contact for Fieldwork Inquiries

For more specific questions, please contact the TTUHSC’s Academic Fieldwork Coordinator:
Megan Taylor, OTR, OTD, CLT

OTD Vision Statement

To earn recognition for elevating the practice of occupational therapy by promoting our distinct value as clinicians and professionals.

OTD Program Mission

To provide students with a strong foundation in professionalism, critical reasoning, and practice skills to become competent occupational therapists who use meaningful occupations to help people improve their health and well-being.

Philosophy Statement

The value of a profession lies within its professional identity and its distinct contribution to society. A deep understanding of the profession’s core subject is critical for the development of a strong professional identity and articulation of the profession’s distinct value. The core subject of the occupational therapy profession is the dynamics of occupation. Dynamics of occupation is a construct that characterizes how occupation—engagement in meaningful, necessary, and familiar activities—affects a person’s health and well-being. Dynamics are forces that influence growth, development, or change within a system or process. The dynamics of occupation can be understood as the forces related to occupational engagement that impact health and well-being.

Occupational therapists believe that being occupied in meaningful, necessary, and familiar activities is a source of health and well-being for human beings. These activities, or occupations, encompass areas that include: self-care, learning, work, play, leisure, social participation, and sleep/rest. Each person has a unique configuration of meaningful occupations that relate to their roles, habits, routines, contexts, and environments. Various life circumstances and health conditions can disrupt a person’s ability to engage in valued occupations.

Occupational therapists use their understanding of the dynamics of occupation to provide occupational therapy interventions that help people do the day to day activities that are important and meaningful to them. Occupational therapists work collaboratively with individuals, families, caregivers, and other groups whose life patterns and abilities to engage in valued occupations have been altered for various reasons (e.g., cognitive or developmental problems, injury or illness, social or emotional deficits, aging process). Occupational therapist apply critical reasoning and practice skills as they evaluate, plan, facilitate, and reflect on client care. The distinct value of occupational therapy is to improve health and well-being through facilitating participation and engagement in occupations at home, school, workplace, community, and various other settings.

Occupational therapy education must provide opportunities for students to integrate a wide range of topics learned to the core subject—dynamics of occupation—so that students profoundly understand and clearly articulate the distinct value of occupational therapy. Developing a deep understanding of the dynamics of occupations requires that students:

• Learn what constitutes an occupation and how to analyze activity demands
• Learn how to assess a person’s unique occupational profile
• Learn how to analyze occupational performance
• Learn how occupations can be disrupted, impoverished, or changed over time
• Learn how underlying neurological and physiological mechanisms that positively and negatively affect occupational engagement, performance, and participation
• Learn a therapeutic strategies, techniques, and activities to help people engage, perform, and participate in meaningful occupation
• Learn methods to evaluate changes in occupational participation, health, and well-being

A career in occupational therapy is a challenging profession that calls on the therapist to use clinical reasoning and creative skills to meet the unique needs of clients.

Occupational therapists use their clinical reasoning and therapeutic skills to implement a process of occupation-based evaluation and intervention in a variety of settings, including at home, in school, in the workplace, or in the community, a hospital, or clinic. For example, as an occupational therapist, you could help a child with autism participate fully in school and social situations; you could work with a person who is recovering from a hand injury so they can return to work; you could assist a person with mental illness in learning to manage a daily medication routine or help an older adult who experiences physical and cognitive changes following a stroke to resume household tasks.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that jobs in occupational therapy will grow by 14% from 2024-2034, much faster than average for all professions.
• For more information about the profession of occupational therapy visit the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).