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App State announces new master’s degree in occupational therapy

Program to help address OT shortage in rural NC, welcomes first cohort in fall 2024

View larger image

During clinical rotations, occupational therapy students will be able to provide services to clients who visit the outpatient clinics operated by App State’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services. The outpatient clinic at Levine Hall includes a simulated apartment, providing occupational therapists the opportunity to work with patients as they practice their functional skills in a home-like environment. Photo by Chase Reynolds

“This program will not only help meet critical rural health care needs, but it will also help ensure that students who live in North Carolina and wish to be occupational therapists are able to receive a cost-effective master’s degree that will allow them to live, work and practice in our state.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

By Amanda Mlekush
Edited by Anna Oakes
Posted June 10, 2022 at 8:56 a.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Beginning in fall 2024, Appalachian State University’s new Master of Science in occupational therapy (OT) program will help address a critical lack of occupational therapists in Western North Carolina.

“This program will not only help meet critical rural health care needs, but it will also help ensure that students who live in North Carolina and wish to be occupational therapists are able to receive a cost-effective master’s degree that will allow them to live, work and practice in our state.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

The program, to be offered through the Beaver College of Health Sciences’ new Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, received approval from the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors in April.

“This program will not only help meet critical rural health care needs,” said App State Chancellor Sheri Everts, “but it will also help ensure that students who live in North Carolina and wish to be occupational therapists are able to receive a cost-effective master’s degree that will allow them to live, work and practice in our state.”

Occupational therapists offer specialized care to restore physical and cognitive function and enhance quality of life for children and adults with autism, dementia, developmental disabilities or those who may be recovering from surgery, a stroke or an injury. As part of an interprofessional health care team, occupational therapists work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, home health, schools and private practices.

“There is a critical need for occupational therapists, particularly to care for patients in rural areas such as Western North Carolina,” App State Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris said. “Our program will be the first public university master’s OT program in this region.”

The new program aims to prepare students to become certified occupational therapists in North Carolina, where hundreds of OT job openings were available as of this spring, according to Indeed.com. Currently, only three public universities in the state offer a comprehensive, entry-level clinical degree in OT, producing approximately 70–80 graduates per year, combined.

The degree program is designed to be cost-effective, allowing students to graduate within six semesters or 66 credit hours. The program will meet the rigorous accreditation requirements of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education.

“This program expands the professional health care educational opportunities for students who choose App State,” said Dr. Marie Huff, dean of the Beaver College of Health Sciences. “We will be placing students in clinical rotations here in Western North Carolina. We want students to integrate into our communities, if they aren’t already part of them, and we want them to stay here because we need them here.”

Nearly three-fourths of App State’s approximately 142,000 living alumni live and work in North Carolina, contributing to the state’s growing economy and quality of life.

Dr. Gary McCullough, associate dean of research and graduate education in the Beaver College of Health Sciences and executive director of the Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services, noted that it is integral to understand and appreciate the rural populations served by the program.

“Learning how to effectively work with rural populations is key to helping clients improve how they function in their particular home and work environments, which are different from the environments of individuals in large cities with greater access to facilities and services,” McCullough said.

View larger image

App State’s new M.S. in occupational therapy program will be housed in the university’s Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a five-story, 203,000-square-foot facility located in Boone’s Wellness District. Photo by Appalachian State University

“Our OT students will have the opportunity to assess and treat clients collaboratively with students in speech pathology, nutrition, social work and more. This type of interprofessional education opportunity is critical to their future success.”

Dr. Gary McCullough, associate dean of research and graduate education in the Beaver College of Health Sciences and executive director of App State’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services

About App State’s occupational therapy master’s program

Applications for the program’s first cohort will open in fall 2023. The new program will be housed in the Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a five-story, 203,000-square-foot facility located in Boone’s Wellness District. The OT program will use two state-of-the-art specialized training laboratories in addition to classroom space.

“Our OT students will have the opportunity to assess and treat clients collaboratively with students in speech pathology, nutrition, social work and more. This type of interprofessional education opportunity is critical to their future success.”

Dr. Gary McCullough, associate dean of research and graduate education in the Beaver College of Health Sciences and executive director of App State’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services

During clinical rotations, occupational therapy students will be able to provide services to clients who visit the outpatient clinics operated by the university’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services. The outpatient clinic at Levine Hall includes a simulated apartment, providing occupational therapists the opportunity to work with patients as they practice their functional skills in a home-like environment.

Faculty and staff will supervise OT students within their areas of expertise, and “our OT students will have the opportunity to assess and treat clients collaboratively with students in speech pathology, nutrition, social work and more,” McCullough explained. “This type of interprofessional education opportunity is critical to their future success.”

In addition to the clinics, the Beaver College of Health Sciences has secured collaborations for clinical rotations with regional health care providers Appalachian Regional Healthcare System and Novant Health, as well as Watauga County Schools.

The OT master’s program will become the eighth graduate degree program offered by the Beaver College of Health Sciences, joining master’s programs in athletic training, exercise science, health administration, nursing, nutrition, social work and speech-language pathology.

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About the Beaver College of Health Sciences

Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS), opened in 2010, is transforming the health and quality of life for the communities it serves through interprofessional collaboration and innovation in teaching, scholarship, service and clinical outreach. The college enrolls more than 3,600 students and offers 10 undergraduate degree programs, nine graduate degree programs and four certificates across six departments: Nursing, Nutrition and Health Care Management, Public Health and Exercise Science, Recreation Management and Physical Education, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Social Work. The college’s academic programs are located in the Holmes Convocation Center on App State’s main campus and the Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art, 203,000-square-foot facility that is the cornerstone of Boone’s Wellness District. In addition, the college supports the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness and has collaborative partnerships with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program, UNC Health Appalachian and numerous other health agencies. Learn more at https://healthsciences.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

“This program will not only help meet critical rural health care needs, but it will also help ensure that students who live in North Carolina and wish to be occupational therapists are able to receive a cost-effective master’s degree that will allow them to live, work and practice in our state.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

“Our OT students will have the opportunity to assess and treat clients collaboratively with students in speech pathology, nutrition, social work and more. This type of interprofessional education opportunity is critical to their future success.”

Dr. Gary McCullough, associate dean of research and graduate education in the Beaver College of Health Sciences and executive director of App State’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services

Alum's donation paves the way for new speech therapy camp at App State
Alum's donation paves the way for new speech therapy camp at App State
April 19, 2022

Inspired by his daughter’s positive experience at a speech therapy camp, alumnus Dr. Ed Rankin ’79, along with his wife, Thuy Le, donated funding to App State to support a similar program at the university — it will be the first summer camp of its kind in North Carolina.

Read the story
App State’s online RN to BSN program receives scholarship support for students in Western NC
App State’s online RN to BSN program receives scholarship support for students in Western NC
April 14, 2022

Students in 18 Western North Carolina counties and the Qualla Boundary will have new opportunities to receive scholarship support for App State’s online RN to BSN program thanks to a recent $150,000 donation from Dogwood Health Trust.

Read the story
App State offers students pathway for assured admission to UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
App State offers students pathway for assured admission to UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Nov. 19, 2021

App State has partnered with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to offer an Early Assurance Program (EAP) for currently enrolled and incoming App State students with an interest in pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy. The first class of App State EAP students will begin the Pharm.D. program in fall 2022.

Read the story

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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