The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY >Occupational TherapyProfessor Linda Tickle-Degnen, Chair; ClinicalReasoning, evidence-based practice, research methods, andtherapeutic behavior and motivationProfessor Sharan L. Schwartzberg, Group theory andpractice, psychosocial rehabilitationAssociate Professor Diana Bailey, Emerita Health carepolicy, health care management, research methodsAssistant Professor Gary Bedell, Rehabilitation outcomesmeasurement, pediatrics, HIV/AIDS, research methodsSr. Lecturer Janet Curran Brooks, Physical dysfunction,hand and upper extremity rehabilitationLecturer Jennifer Buxton, Assistive technologyLecturer Molly Campbell, Assistive technologyLecturer Regina Doherty, Clinical reasoning, ethics andcognitionLecturer Mary Beth Kadlec, Occupation and adaptationand early interventionLecturer Paul C. Leavis, PhysiologyLecturer Monica Pessina, Anatonomy, neuroanatomyLecturer Sharon A. Ray, Pediatrics, kinesiology, schoolbasedpractice, sensory integration, oral-motor controlLecturer Deborah Rochman, Pain management, proceduralreasoning, evidence-based practiceLecturer Stephen N. Sarikas, AnatomyLecturer Scott Trudeau, Psychosocial dysfunction, gerontologyLecturer Elizabeth Ratcliff Whitney, NeuroanatomyFieldwork Coordinator Mary Alicia Barnes, FieldworkeducationFieldwork Coordinator and Lecturer Michael Roberts,Management, Fieldwork educationThe Boston School of Occupational Therapy, thefirst of its kind in the country, was founded in1918 at the request of the surgeon general of theUnited States Army to meet the need for personnelin military hospitals. It was later reorganizedon a civilian basis and in 1921 was incorporatedas a nonprofit educational institution under thelaws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.In 1945 the Boston School of OccupationalTherapy became affiliated with Tufts Universitythrough the College of Special Studies. As aresult of a merger between Tufts University andthe Boston School of Occupational Therapy inJanuary 1960, the legal name was changed toTufts University-Boston School of OccupationalTherapy. It became a department within Arts andSciences and is currently housed on the Medford/Somervillecampus at 26 Winthrop Street.The goal of occupational therapy is to developan individual’s ability to handle life tasks andactivities in a way that enhances the quality oflife. Occupational therapy focuses on both preventiveand rehabilitative services.GRADUATE PROGRAMThe department offers both master’s and doctoraldegree programs which prepare graduates for workas clinical specialists, administrators, researchers,and educators. The program interfaces the socialand the health sciences, recognizing the importanceof the profession’s theoretical base in boththe liberal arts and the sciences.Clinical reasoning is the central organizingframework of the curriculum. It provides a foundationfor clinical decision making and interactionthat considers theoretical and procedural componentsof therapeutic interventions. Human behaviorresults from dynamic interaction between theindividual’s innate potentials and characteristics,and experiences with people, objects, and events inthe environment. In ongoing clinical reasoningseminars, the faculty and students examine theseinteractions in the context of clinical and community-basedpractice.MASTER‘S DEGREE PROGRAMThe master’s degree program prepares students forentry-level positions in occupational therapy orprovides postprofessional graduate studies for therapistswith a bachelor’s degree in occupationaltherapy.Entry into the master’s degree program can beaccomplished in different ways, according to theacademic degree and professional status of theapplicant. Two types of master’s degrees areoffered: master of science in occupational therapy(M.S. in O.T.) without a thesis requirement, forstudents interested in an applied professionaldegree, and master of arts (M.A.) or master of science(M.S.) with a thesis requirement, for studentsinterested in a research-oriented academic degree.Both professional and postprofessional programsare offered. Program options are describedbelow.202