Undergraduate Catalog 2008-2009

Robert Burkard
Chair

Jo A. Schweitzer
Director of Clinical Education

Susan M. Nochajski
Program Director

The Occupational Therapy Program, as part of the Rehabilitation Science Department in the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, is based on the philosophical belief that people have a vital need for occupation. Occupation is defined as the meaningful and productive ways in which people use their time. It includes activities such as self-care, play, learning, work, and leisure. A persons engagement in occupations fulfills four primary functions: (1) to acquire skills and behaviors necessary for insuring one's survival, (2) to achieve a sense of quality in one's life, (3) to contribute to the progress and well-being of society, and (4) to promote one's personal physical and mental well-being. The ability to engage in occupation and realize these four functions may be compromised as a result of illness, disability, or other life circumstances.

A fundamental principle of the Occupational Therapy Program is that human beings learn and adapt through active engagement in occupations. Learning and adaptation occurs when a person receives information from his or her senses, processes it, and compares it with knowledge and experience previously obtained. Through repetition of these experiences, new behaviors are demonstrated and used. These fundamental concepts are applied to the clients that we prepare our students to work with, as well as to the students themselves.

Clients who receive occupational therapy services are engaged in active, meaningful occupational activities. Following observation, evaluation, and consultation with the client and family, therapists choose activities that are appropriate for the individual's developmental level, skill level, and the environment in which the client will function. This is done to enable the client to move towards occupational goals and a greater degree of health and independence.

The entry-level professional Occupational Science/Occupational Therapy program is a five year combined BS/MS program. Preceding their professional preparation, students receive a liberal arts education in their pre-professional studies. The professional program, structured to prepare students for personal and professional development, is flexible enough to meet the needs and interests of individual students while still ensuring that upon graduation they will be competent to enter the profession.

Professional-level classes begin in the summer immediately preceding the junior year. The ten-week summer program includes ANA 407 Gross Human Anatomy (6 credit hours), which meets daily for eight weeks, and OT 351 OT Practice Skills I (2 credit hours), which continues for ten days following ANA 407. Three additional academic semesters and a summer at the undergraduate level provide learning experiences structured to integrate theory and practice. During the second semester of the fourth year, students progress to the MS component of the program. At this time, students register for six months of full-time supervised fieldwork experience.

Students choose fieldwork sites by a lottery system and in consultation with the fieldwork director. Additional fieldwork experiences in such specialized areas of practice as developmental disabilities, substance abuse, and ergonomics are available as electives. The program maintains clinical affiliation agreements with more than 150 health-care facilities throughout the United States for student placement. Students should expect to leave the Western New York area to fulfill this requirement. Upon completion of fieldwork, students return to the campus for the fifth year of the program. Students must complete all requirements of the professional component of the program, including fieldwork and the graduate research project, within a five-year time period.