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Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

Within the field of occupational therapy, the issue of transitioning from an entry-level master's degree to an entry-level doctorate degree is under debate. As such, it is important to investigate the impact of the transition in order to help make educated decisions about the potential future of the profession.This study analyzed retrospective data collected from six cohorts at one Midwestern university to analyze the impact of the transition to an entry-level doctorate on diversity, admission and matriculation rates, and fieldwork reservations. No statistical difference in diversity between masters and doctorate level cohorts was found but it is of note that it approached significance (χ2 (1) = 3.32, p = 0.07). There was a slight decrease in number of total students that applied to the program (7.75%) and the number of fieldwork reservations (5.23%), however this was accounted for by a 60% increase in occupational therapy programs in the state the study took place. Results of this study provide preliminary data of how one university has succeeded in the transition to an entry-level doctorate and can be used to inform other programs as they consider this transition.

Biography

Rebecca Ozelie, DHS, ORT/L is an Associate Professor and the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator at Rush University in Chicago, IL. Dr. Ozelie is actively involved in research and teaching with a focus on physical disabilities, fieldwork and occupational therapy education.

Kia Burks, Samantha Lee, Kathryn Riggilo and Michelle Sivak were Doctorate Students at Rush University in Chicago, IL at the time of the study.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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