There are too many occupational therapy educational programs in New York State

There is an alarming increase in the number of accepted applicant and developing occupational therapy programs in New York State. The current entity responsible for the accreditation of these programs is the Accrediting Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), a function of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).According to data provided by AOTA and ACOTE, there are 22 accredited occupational therapy masters-level degree programs in NY State and 12 accredited associates-level occupational therapy assistant degree programs.There are two additional developing masters-level degree programs, ten applicant doctoral-level programs, and one applicant masters-level program. Of the developing and applicant programs, approximately half are new and the other half are existing accredited programs that are seeking to add an additional degree level.The question that is never asked is “How many occupational therapy educational programs can be reasonably supported in a single state?” California has 11 accredited occupational therapy programs and 6 accredited occupational therapy assistant programs. Florida has 12 accredited occupational therapy programs and 21 accredited occ upational therapy assistant programs (half are from a single educational entity, an interesting issue unto itself). Pennsylvania has 18 accredited occupational therapy programs and 12 accredited occupational therapy assistant programs. Texas has 11 accredited occupational therapy programs an...

Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - July 11, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice policy Source Type: blogs