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Occupational Therapy Assistant

Program Overview

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program prepares you with the entry-level skills and knowledge to provide patients with treatments that improve their ability to achieve independence in everyday activities and to enjoy life to its fullest.

Working under the direction and supervision of an occupational therapist, you will learn to:

  • Provide occupational therapy interventions for patients with various impairments
  • Monitor their progress while following an occupational therapy plan of care
  • Effectively educate and communicate with patients, families, and other healthcare providers
  • Instruct patients in performance of activities of daily living
  • Teach patients to use adaptive equipment or modifying tasks to increase successful participation in meaningful occupations
  • Educate patients in health and wellness

Due to the nature of the work environment and the physical exertion often required to assist patients, you will need to have a moderate degree of strength. For example, you will need to be able to lift patients, kneel, stoop, and stand for long periods of time.

Students should be aware that a felony conviction can have a serious and negative impact on eligibility for certification and NBCOT Early Determination Review as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.

Hands-On Learning Opportunities

  • Occupational Therapy Assistant students gain hands-on experience through patient scenario simulation. These scenarios replicate all rehabilitation settings.

  • Clinical: Gain 600 hours of real-world work experience ensuring you have the skills you need to succeed in your future career.

Accreditation

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Hawkeye Community College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).

ACOTE
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200
North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929
301-652-6611
acoteonline.org

Hawkeye Community College Accreditation

National Certification Examination

All states require licensure in order to practice. State licensure is usually based on the results of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Certification Examination.

Successful completion of this program qualifies the student to test for license/certification in the state of Iowa.

Graduates who successfully pass the National Board Certification for Occupational Therapy and have their scores immediately sent to designated states are able to practice once the individual state’s licensure criteria is met. Graduates who have been practicing and plan to move to a different state need to review that state’s occupational therapy practice acts. As a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) you have access to the OTA licensure requirements by state.

National Certification Examination
Graduation
Year		 Students
Entering/
Graduating		 Graduation
Rate		 Number of
First-Time
Test Takers		 Percentage of
First-Time
Test Takers
Who Passed
the Exam
2016 18/16 89% 14 100%
2017 16/16 100% 16 100%
2018 18/15 83% 14 93%
2019 17/15 88% 9 60%
2020 16/13 81% 11 100%
Total 85/75 88% 51 90%

Careers

Positions

Occupational therapy assistants work in a wide variety of settings including homes, hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, community centers, outpatient facilities, schools, and nursing homes.

Example Careers and Average Wages
Entry Average Experienced
Occupational Therapy Assistants $43,800 $55,100 $60,700

Source: 2020 Iowa Wage Report, Iowa Workforce Development

Employers

The following is a partial list of employers who have hired graduates from this program:
Business Location
Blue Stone Therapy Locations throughout Iowa
Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Millennium Therapy Locations throughout Iowa
Northern Iowa Therapy Locations throughout Iowa
Rehab Visions Locations throughout Iowa
Reliant Rehab Locations throughout Iowa
Unified Therapy Dubuque, Iowa

Associations

Admissions Requirements

In order to be considered for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program, students must provide the Admissions office with the appropriate documentation showing completion of all requirements. Appropriate documentation consists of:

  • Updated assessment scores. -AND/OR-
  • A transcript or academic evaluation showing successful completion of course requirements (i.e. developmental coursework).

It is the student’s responsibility to:

  • Monitor their progress towards meeting admissions requirements,
  • Notify the Admissions office when requirements have been met, and
  • Provide the Admissions office evidence of meeting the requirements.

Step 1: Applying to Hawkeye

  1. Apply for admission at Hawkeye.

  2. Request to have your official transcripts sent to the Admissions office.

Step 2: Required Assessment / Success Courses

Students must meet minimum score requirements and/or successfully complete the required college success courses in English, reading, and math with a "C" grade or higher at Hawkeye Community College or comparable courses at another accredited college. For appropriate college success course placement, work with your program advisor.
ACT COMPASS ACCUPLACER ACCUPLACER:
Next Generation		 Success Course *
19 Math 42 Algebra 85 Elementary Algebra 259 QAS

MAT-063 Elementary Algebra
19 English 65 English 82 Sentence Skills -OR-
06 Essay		 253 Writing

ENG-061 College Preparatory Writing II
19 Reading 82 Reading 76 Reading 251 Reading

RDG-040 College Preparatory Reading III

Applicants can take the ACT assessment or the ACCUPLACER assessment at Hawkeye. Pre-registration is required.

* Success course credits do not apply towards graduation requirements.

Step 3: Pre-Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

Prerequisite Coursework

Prerequisite coursework may be completed at Hawkeye Community College or transferred in from an accredited educational institution, with the exception of HSC-108 Introduction to Health Professions, which must be completed at Hawkeye.

See the suggested sequence of study for a list of prerequisite courses.

Learning Contract Process

Students who may be missing a few fall prerequisite courses can initiate the Learning Contract Process to complete fall prerequisite coursework and continue on in the program.

To enroll in the Learning Contract Process:

  1. Students must have a GPA of 2.75 or higher.
  2. Contact the Program Director to request the Learning Contract Process documents.
  3. Complete and return the Learning Contract Process documents to the Program Director no later than one week before the spring semester.
  4. The Program Director, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, and assigned Pre-Program Advisor will meet to discuss the information. Once a decision has been made, the Program Director will email the student informing them of the decision.
  5. If approved, the student will work with their Pre-Program Advisor to register for spring courses. Students must register for 13 credits or less in the first spring semester.
  6. Approved students will meet with the Program Director, either virtually or face-to-face, to finalize the Learning Contract Process.

Observation Hours and Program Application

Students interested in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program must complete the Observation Hours Assignment and complete the OTA Program Application by November 1 to be considered for the upcoming cohort.

Step 4: Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Acceptance

Applicants who have completed all admissions requirements in steps 1–3 will be offered acceptance based on the date their applicant file was completed. If many students share the same date for completing their applicant file, the second criteria used will be the GPA from the prerequisite courses.

Students will be notified via their Hawkeye email of their acceptance status. Failure to confirm acceptance will result in the loss of the seat in the program.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program professional coursework begins each summer semester and has a limited number of seats available.

Changes are taking place within healthcare facilities nationally. These changes directly affect all health programs at Hawkeye Community College. The Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO), which accredits healthcare facilities across the country, enforced background screening September 2004 and has set requirements mandating that students in a healthcare field must now complete the same background check as hospital employees. As a Health student of Hawkeye Community College, you will be required to complete a criminal background check, sex offender, child abuse and dependent adult registry. The outcome could possibly affect your opportunities to participate in the clinical setting.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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