Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Mission, Vision & Educational Philosophy

OTD Program Mission Statement

The Methodist University Doctor of Occupational Therapy (MU OTD) Program cultivates exceptional occupational therapists as whole persons who contribute substantially to the profession and community. The program is committed to advancing human health and wellness through participation in authentic everyday life activities. The program fosters the development of our students, emphasizing critical thinking and the use of contemporary evidence-informed practice, to develop knowledge, specialized skills, and the ability to deliver culturally responsive and client-centered care with all persons, groups, and communities.

OTD Program Vision Statement

The MU Department of Occupational Therapy is a leader in occupational therapy education. The department generates diverse, compassionate, and ethical occupational therapy leaders who engage, enrich, and empower the profession and their communities as a bridge between biomedical and sociocultural health through authentic, daily life activities.

OTD Program Educational Philosophy

Occupational therapy (OT) is the bridge between health science and the social-cultural human arts.  Historically, OT started in mental health by utilizing meaningful activity to improve the lives of those with mental illness.  We were inherently rooted in psychology, cognition and sociology even before we immersed ourselves in today’s health and medical models of care. OT is not just about recovery from an illness or disability, but it is authentically focused on the capacity of meaningful daily activity participation to improve health and well-being in anyone, regardless of age or health status. The Methodist OTD program will embody these professional foundations by being the bridge between the School of Health Sciences and other university programs.  Consistent with the core mission of the university to nurture moral values; the faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Methodist University strongly endorses the view that occupational therapy professional is an applied scientist, whose conduct represents the values and ethics inherent in the profession by recognizing the dignity of each client.

The Department of Occupational Therapy also values an evidence-based and theory-driven approach for clinical decision making in the development of a contemporary, authentic clinician. Inherently, this requires active engagement in scholarly inquiry. As such, our curriculum has a scholarship component that emphasizes a deliberate and collaborative effort between faculty and students to enhance the body of knowledge for the profession of occupational therapy and/or the delivery of occupational therapy education. We believe that this approach will enable the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program to consistently challenge, engage, enrich, and empower the occupational therapists of tomorrow.