Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Technical Standards

Technical standards are essential abilities and characteristics required for admission, progression, and graduation from the LSU Health Shreveport School of Allied Health Professions.  The following standards consist of certain minimum physical and cognitive abilities and sufficient mental and emotional stability to assure that students are able to complete the entire course of study and participate fully in all aspects of the academic and clinical curriculum, with or without reasonable accommodations:

Intellectual Ability and Problem Solving: 

An occupational therapy student must possess the ability to:

• Understand, remember and synthesize information from a variety of sources and to make logical decisions based on that information, often in the moment, resulting in effective and efficient solutions.
• Apply complex theoretical concepts to real world problems, adapting solutions according to environmental feedback.
• Generate numerous alternative solutions to problems.
• Guide one’s own learning through reading and other forms of self-instruction.
• Write coherently, objectively and succinctly without spelling and grammatical errors consistent with APA guidelines.

Sensation/Observation

• Hearing and vision within functional range (ability to hear soft voices, attend to signs of distress in client, to read small print, etc.).
• Ability to regulate tactile, vestibular, and olfactory input from the environment. 
• Ability to attend to details consistently with distractions.
• Comfortable with being touched and touching others.
• Ability to perceive proprioceptive, tactile, and sensory input from clients in order to complete evaluations and treatment.

Body Function

• Sufficient strength and endurance for moderate to strenuous activity 8 hours a day.
• Ability to lift 20 lbs. independently from floor to overhead.
• Ability to perform 50% of a physical transfer of client up to 200 lbs. with assistance or assistive device, from bed, tub seat or wheelchair.
• Sufficient motor planning skills to navigate complex healthcare environment safely.
• Sufficient manual dexterity to use evaluation tools, splinting materials, adaptive equipment, etc.

Emotional Regulation and Communication

• An occupational therapy student must possess the ability to:
• Manage and monitor own behaviors through self-reflection.
• Organize and manage time in order to complete educational and clinical responsibilities.
• Cope with stressful situations including assignment deadlines, constructive feedback from faculty and peers, public speaking, changing environments and schedules, emotionally laden interactions with clients, etc.
• Willingly to work with a diverse client population including persons of various ages, disabilities, sexual preferences, ethnic, racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Identify and interpret emotional affect, nonverbal cues, and response to intervention by individual clients and groups of clients.
• Communicate (verbally, non-verbally, and in writing) professionally in English with clients/patients, family members, caregivers, faculty, and colleagues.  Acknowledge and respect individual values and opinions to foster harmonious working relationships.

Professional

An occupational therapy student must possess the ability to:

• Abide by the American Occupational Therapy Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice: www.aota.org.
• Maintain CPR certification.
• Abide by the Program’s professional dress code and professional development policy outlined in the LSU Health Shreveport Program in Occupational Therapy Student Handbook.
• Comply with Program requirements to complete one three-month fieldwork out of state and accept all fieldwork and capstone placements as scheduled by the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and the Doctoral Capstone Coordinator. This includes arranging transportation and living accommodations for all fieldwork and capstone placements in a timely fashion and abiding by all policies in the LSU Health Shreveport Doctor of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork and Capstone Experience Manuals. 
• Comply with the full tuition of fieldwork and capstone experience courses. 

LSU Health Shreveport seeks to comply with the American with Disabilities Act by providing reasonable accommodations, including resources and services, for students with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, a temporary disability, or pregnancy complications resulting in difficulties with accessing learning opportunities.