Essential Functions

Occupational therapists are health care professionals with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of the skills that support meaningful and satisfying participation in “occupations” including self-care, work, and play/leisure. The University of Cincinnati (UC) Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree program is a rigorous 36-month program dedicated to preparing entry-level occupational therapy generalists for practice across all age groups in common practice settings, such as hospitals, schools, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and home health as well as in emerging or non-traditional areas of practice such as community- based settings, industrial rehabilitation programs, primary care, and research. The physical, cognitive, psychological, emotional, and professional demands of occupational therapy practice are reflected in student expectations in UC’s OTD Program. 

Occupational therapy educational programs must ensure students graduating from their programs possess the knowledge and skills to serve “as a direct care provider, consultant, educator, manager, leader, researcher, and advocate for the profession and the consume” (ACOTE, 2018). Therefore, students must have the capacity to assess and analyze the occupational performance of clients, provide occupational based interventions, and effectively communicate with clients, families, members of the interprofessional team as well as other stakeholders in clinic settings, schools, and local community as well as across the state and nation.  

Essential functions for occupational therapy students are defined by many OT educational programs to outline specific skills students need to possess or develop in order to successfully complete the OT educational program (including fieldwork and the doctoral capstone) and practice as an occupational therapist. Essential functions reflect the necessary knowledge, clinical skills and abilities, and interpersonal competence necessary to graduate as an occupational therapy entry level generalist. Students must be able to perform the following tasks (with or without reasonable accommodation) safely, reliably, and efficiently in accordance with legal and ethical standards throughout their entire occupational therapy education at UC: 

• Attend class for up to 8-10 hours per day including being able to attend class activities as well as sit, stand, and maintain upright posture for several hours at a time. 
• Have the physical capacity to complete tasks such as bending, carrying, climbing, grasping, heaving, lifting, pulling, pushing, reaching, sitting, crawling, sight, hearing, speaking, stooping, kneeling, use of hands, walking, and writing. 
• Be able to comprehend and follow both verbal and written directions. 
• Have the intellectual skills to recall and comprehend large amounts of didactic information under time constraints and apply this information to the practice of occupational therapy. 
• Utilize appropriate verbal, nonverbal, and written communication with clients, families, and others. 
• Select, perform and document appropriate occupational therapy procedures used to assess the function of cognitive/mental/perceptual status, activities of daily living, behavior, social performance, functional capacity, ergonomics, vital signs, endurance, sensation, strength, tone, reflexes, movement patterns, coordination, ROM, balance, developmental stage, soft tissue, joint motion/play, pain, cranial and peripheral nerve function, posture, gait, functional abilities, assistive device fit/use, and the pulmonary system. 
• Determine the occupational therapy needs of any client with perceived or potential movement, cognitive, perceptual, emotional, and/or psychosocial dysfunction. 
• Develop and document a plan of care for a client with occupational performance deficits across the lifespan. 
• Recognize the psychosocial impact of dysfunction and disability and integrate the needs of the client and family when implementing the plan of care. 
• Perform intervention procedures in a manner that is appropriate to the client’s status and desired goals. These include but are not limited to skills training in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, group interventions, cognitive rehabilitation, exercise, developmental activities, balance training, coordination training, transfer training, orthotics fabrication, positioning techniques, and CPR. 
• Possess the ability to manage a full client caseload and the ability to recognize and appropriately respond to emergency situations.  Have sufficient endurance to continue performing a variety of exertional activities for up to 8-10 hours in-person.
• Demonstrate ability to apply universal precautions. 
• Participate in the process of scientific inquiry. 
• Maintain composure and continue to perform duties with clients experiencing personal distress and demonstrating challenging behaviors and/or attitudes. 
• Apply teaching/learning theories and methods in health care and community environments with the goal of health care promotion and prevention. 
• Demonstrate management skills, including planning, organizing, supervising, delegating, and working as a member of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Develop responsibility for lifelong professional growth and development. 
• Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, honesty, caring, fairness, responsibility, concern for others, accountability, interest, tolerance and motivation.
• Accept constructive feedback, and if needed, modify behavior. 
• Demonstrate the ability be self-reflective and evaluate one’s own personal growth and development. 
• Maintain good hygiene and self-care skills to ensure safety and health of self and individuals the student interacts with.
• Possess the emotional stability to perform in stressful or rapidly changing environments, such as an intensive academic program and a variety of clinical situations, which may involve pain, grief, death, stress, communicable diseases, blood and body fluids, etc. 
• Have competence in computer use sufficient for participation classroom and distance learning activities. 
• Act in accordance with professional values, ethical standards, and appropriate demeanor essential for quality, client-centered care. 

The OTD Program at UC welcomes all qualified applicants regardless of age, gender, heritage, ethnicity, race, religion, or disability. The Program acts in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including changes made by the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008. Certain disabilities can interfere with a student’s ability to complete the program of study and acquire the skills and requirements necessary for the practice of occupational therapy. Students with disabilities have the right to full and equal access at the University of Cincinnati. The Accessibility Resources office will work with OT faculty to identify reasonable accommodations to ensure an equitable opportunity to meet all requirements for your course. The Accessibility Resources office is also a resource for coordinating access and accommodation to all non-academic programs and opportunities available to UC students and potential students.   If you require accommodations due to disability, please contact The Accessibility Resource Office at 513-556-6823 or AccessResources@uc.edu.  

Reasonable accommodations can be made to compensate for some, but potentially not all, limitations. 

Students should be aware that those that interfere with patient care, safety or require the use of an intermediary may be incompatible with independent occupational therapy professional practice. In accordance with the accreditation standards of the Accreditation Commission for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), the OT program has the prerogative and ultimate responsibility for selection and evaluation of its students, the design, implementation, and evaluation of its curriculum, and the determination of who is eligible to be awarded a degree. 

Students accepted into the OTD Program will sign below to indicate if they are able to fulfill the essential functions listed. Please note this is in addition to passing an annual physical and annually submitting the Physical Update Form. Admission and retention decisions reflect both academic and nonacademic factors, including ability to perform essential functions. A student who is unable to fulfill essential functions as described above may have their offer of admission withdrawn or be dismissed from the program if:

1. He or she has requested and received a reasonable accommodation and is unable to meet program qualifications including the “Essential Skills and Requirements.” 
2. The requested accommodation(s) would fundamentally alter the nature of the University of Cincinnati OTD Program, or  
3. The requested accommodation(s) would create a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of the student or others. 

Students will be required to have a physical examination and receive all required inoculations on an annual basis and must submit a physical form each year.