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Entry
Level Master's Degree | Five
Year Program | Two
Year Program | Ph.D.
"Occupational Therapy
at Duquesne University promotes not only intellectual growth, but also enhances one's personal and
spiritual growth." - Susan Borellis
The curriculum philosophy is organized around
the concepts of occupational performance and person-environment
interaction. Occupations are “chunks of culturally
and personally meaningful activity in which humans
engage that can be named in the lexicon of our
culture” (Clark, et. al 1991 p.301). They
are the essence of productive living. Occupational
therapists focus on the occupations performed
by people that enable them to live their lives
to the fullest extent possible. Occupations may
be combined in various ways and forms to promote
an individual’s occupational performance
in various roles and activities of daily living
including self care, work, education, play, leisure,
rest and relaxation.
Occupational therapists work with persons of
all ages to promote an individualized, self determined
balance of occupations. Occupational therapists
promote client-centered practice by involving
persons in choosing the performance issues which
receive attention. Occupational performance is
developed and enhanced by treating the “whole
person” and attending to physical, psychological,
social and cultural issues as influenced by the
environment. Person-environment interaction refers
to the dynamic process whereby an individual has
the potential to influence their environment,
and vice versa.
Occupational therapy direct and indirect service
delivery contexts are exceedingly diverse. They
include but are not limited to acute care, industrial
rehabilitation, physical rehabilitation, mental
health, long-term care, home care, case management,
consultation, school systems, early intervention,
community services, education, disease prevention
and health promotion. Important related concepts
such as quality of life, productive function,
independent living, full access, social-political
integration, multiculturalism, and balanced lifestyles
are central to occupational therapy practice.
As a result, graduates of this program must be
able to evaluate emerging information, anticipate
new practice opportunities, develop new knowledge,
participate in research, guide professional decisions,
cooperate effectively with a variety of groups,
and serve as professional leaders and community
advocates. These competencies are the essence
of occupational therapy service delivery and underscore
the principles that guide this program.
The curriculum is designed to enable Duquesne
University occupational therapy students to achieve
the above knowledge and skills through a broad,
well balanced, and fully integrated curriculum
that emphasize the liberal arts, human sciences,
science and art of occupational therapy, and professional
development that are essential to occupational
therapy practice and leadership.
The faculty strive to exceed the expectations
for entry-level professional education in order
to develop graduates who excel in their clinical
competence and reasoning, provide professional
leadership, use and create new knowledge, and
promote effective collaboration with service providers
and consumers. The use of effective clinical reasoning
based on critical evaluation of information, ethics,
standards of practice, and the ability to facilitate
responsible cooperation among individuals are
woven throughout this curriculum. |
