Program Overview - Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in Rockhurst University’s Occupational Therapy program. We are happy you have chosen to visit our website to learn more about the occupational therapy profession, our academic program, faculty, students, and the Rockhurst experience.

Rockhurst University is located in the vibrant and culturally diverse community of Kansas City, Missouri. The Department of Occupational Therapy, which is housed within Saint Luke's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, began its first cohort in 1991. Since that time, we have enjoyed a strong reputation and continue to attract students from all over the country.

As a Jesuit institution, Rockhurst University boasts the three academic themes of learning, leadership, and service throughout all degree programs. Occupational therapy students take part in hands-on learning within the classroom, community, and while at a multitude of clinical settings. Our students have access to several learning experiences that include anatomy cadaver lab, cutting-edge equipment for assessment and intervention, faculty practice in the community, and dynamic lecture and lab spaces, including a soon-to-be simulation lab. Our students continue to have a strong success rate for first-time test takers on the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) examination. Rockhurst graduates have exceled in a variety of clinical practice settings, have found careers in academia, have become leaders in the profession, have mentored our fieldwork students, and have maintained close connections with us.

Our faculty and staff are supportive of students' learning needs and dedicated in providing a positive and inclusive learning experience. Faculty members are clinical experts in their fields and are well-respected leaders and scholars within the local, state, national, and international levels. In addition, we work with many occupational therapy practitioners and other professionals for guest lectureships, adjunct opportunities, and fieldwork supervision.

We completed our transition to offering the entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate degree and obtained full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) in the spring of 2023. During their onsite visit, ACOTE listed the following strengths of our program:

1. Administration: The administration is commended for their support of the department through not only their understanding of the holistic nature of occupational therapy and the ability of program students, graduates, and faculty to advance the university’s mission throughout the community, but also through their provision of many state of the art learning facilities (ex. Seelos Simulation Center and spaces in the St. Ignatius Science Center and the Pedro Arrupe Hall).
2. Administration and Department: The administration and occupational therapy department are commended for their provision of multiple scholarships (The Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean’s Scholarship, Teresa R. LaManno Scholarship, Rues Family Scholarship, and Emerging OT Professional Scholarship) that facilitate increased access to occupational therapy education for students in need and recognizes students for their dedication to Rockhurst’s values.
3. Program Director: The program director is commended for fostering a departmental culture that considers the Jesuit values of cura personalis (care for the whole person), magis (more), reflection and discernment, contemplation in action, and wisdom in everything they do such that it is evident to others within the campus and local community that the students display those values in everyday lived experiences as future occupational therapy practitioners.
4. Academic Fieldwork Coordinator: The fieldwork coordinator is commended for her innovative approach to level I fieldwork. The three fieldwork I courses are designed in such a way to foster a building sense of confidence and competence related to the occupational therapy process regardless of client population or practice setting as students progress through the series.
5. Faculty: The faculty are commended for their collegiality, collaboration, coordination of resources and support, and commitment to intentionally build learning experiences for students that are not only scaffolded for increased depth within and across courses, but also that allow for direct application to real world clinical experiences while adhering to the focus upon learning, leadership, and service.
6. Students: The students are commended for their ability to exude professionalism and behave as proactive learners throughout their didactic and fieldwork experiences. Fieldwork educators and Advisory Board members consistently commented that students arrive to fieldwork experiences with solidified professional behaviors and demonstrate a curiosity and thirst for knowledge that stands out above and beyond students from other programs.