PPOTD Course Descriptions

Pre-requisite Courses

OT800 Ethics in Health Professions & OT
(Prerequisite, On Demand Course-Free, 0 Cr)
The Ethics course is a bridge and review course designed to enable the OT practitioner to begin the Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral student process with the foundational knowledge and skills for applying principles of ethics as it relates to health professions and all areas of practice and professional development.

OT801 Evidence-based Practice & Human Subjects Training
(Prerequisite, On Demand Course-Free, 0 Cr)
The Evidence-based Practice & Human Subjects Training (EBP-HST) course is a bridge and review course designed to enable the OT practitioner to begin the Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral student process along with the foundational knowledge and skills for applying principles of evidence and research within all areas of practice and professional development. Students take Citi Human Subjects Training portion of the course via Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC).

Foundational Core Courses

OT900 I-LEAD: Inclusive Leadership, Equity, Advocacy & Diversity (3cr)
The I-LEAD course focuses on inclusive leadership, equity, advocacy, and diversity. The course will cover evidence-based, emerging, and timely leadership styles and theories, including transformative and compassionate leadership. The course highlights the importance of inclusion, individualism, inter-professionalism, intersectoral collaboration, integration, and impact-driven practices for leading and managing in organizations.

OT910 Research and Evidence-based Outcomes (3cr)
The Research and Evidence-based Outcomes course explores theory, research, and evidence-based practice as it relates to equitable and inclusive health care, community-based initiatives, education, and business practices. Through evaluation and critique of evidence, students integrate their learning by creating a research project designed to create change and make an impact at the local, national, or global level. Student projects are created and designed in alignment with their Doctoral Project.

OT920 Global Health Policy: The Role of the Occupational Therapist Leader (3cr)
The Global Health Policy: The Role of the Occupational Therapist Leader course provides an in-depth analysis and framework for understanding global health policy and the impact on social, political, and economic systems and context. Students examine the research, evidence, and theory in global health policy and implications for advocacy practices to inform new policy initiatives. An examination of the role of government, private, and nonprofit entities in the United States and abroad is explored.

OT930 Health Promotion, Well-being & Prevention LifeSteps 360 (3cr)
The Health Promotion, Well-being & Prevention LifeSteps 360 course enables students to examine determinants of health and well-being and implement innovative, inclusive, and evidence-based interventions for promoting a healthier, more equitable society. Students explore socio-cultural factors and needs of marginalized, vulnerable, and underserved communities. Students integrate evidence-based, holistic, inclusive and multisectoral approaches for developing and evaluating health promotion programs that make a sustainable impact at the local, national, and global level.

OT940 The OT Educator: High Impact Teaching & Learning In Higher
Education & Adult Learning Settings (3cr)
The OT Educator course provides students with high impact practices for teaching in higher education and adult learning settings. The course focuses on innovative, inclusive, and interactive teaching and learning practices that meet global societal needs for the diverse learner. The course prepares new and advanced educators with the essential tools to thrive and lead in academic settings.

Optional Core

OT 901 is an Optional Core Course & Is Included As Part of All Concentrations/MBA Option

OT 901: Entrepreneurship: The Business, Social & Global Innovator (3cr)
Students will learn and apply skills for understanding and reinventing themselves as an entrepreneur and leader in organizations, community-based settings, and global environments. Students examine the theory, evidence, research, and policy that impacts entrepreneurship in today’s society and global economy. Students understand and apply concepts of equity, innovation, and creativity in alignment with start-up, small and existing businesses. Students develop and evaluate the outcomes of a business plan and transform that plan into one that is inclusive and innovative, designed to address community and societal-based issues, and impacts global change and sustainability. Students create a legal business name and entity and disseminate their business using equitable digital-based platforms.

Health Promotion Concentration

OT 931: eHealth: Equitable Digital Practices & Innovation (3cr)
Students will learn and apply skills for using evidence-based and equitable digital health products and services for meeting societal needs at the local, national and global level. Students examine the history, theory, evidence, research, and policy that impacts digital health practices, health care costs, and reimbursement constraints. Students learn and apply concepts of equity, inclusion, and innovation using digital health approaches for client assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Students explore approaches including telehealth, telemedicine, telecare, mhealth, and digital informatics practices. Students create an innovative, evidence-based eHealth design product or service model and disseminate it using equitable eHealth digital platforms and mechanisms.

OT 932: Lifestyle, Mindset & Behavior Change (3cr)
The Lifestyle, Mindset, and Behavior Change course provides students with opportunities to learn and develop essential skills for utilizing transformational health approaches coupled with a growth mindset and positive thinking as mechanisms for promoting positive, healthy behavior change. A primary focus of the course will be addressing the holistic health needs of at-risk and vulnerable individuals and groups using inclusive and equitable evidence-based models and practices.

OT 933: Life Skills & Wellness Coaching the Athlete & Artist (LSWCAA): Traditional Sport, eSport, Para Sport & Performer of Arts (3cr)
The Life Skills & Wellness Coaching the Athlete & Artist: Traditional Sport, eSport, Para Sport & Performing Artist course enables the student to learn and apply inclusive, evidence-based health promotion and life skill approaches for athletes and performers including traditional, eSport, Para Sport & Performing Artists. Students learn the history, policy, trends, ethics and socio-cultural norms of sport, athletics and various forms of performing and apply principles of inclusion, equity, health promotion and health education. Students utilize a holistic, person-centered mind-body-spirit approach for evaluating and addressing the personal, social, virtual, and environmental contexts for promoting health, self-efficacy, preventing illness, injury and chronic conditions and for having healthy habits, daily routines and life satisfaction. The ultimate goal of the course is for the student to collaborate with the athlete and performer and intersectoral partners in order to facilitate healthy role performance, life skills and career paths that lead to optimal health, quality of life and meaningful life roles beyond sport and performing.

Doctoral Project

(The Doctoral Project course is taken a minimum of 3 times and up to 5 times)

OT 973 Doctoral Project (1cr each)
Students in this course utilize their professional vision, mission and goals to design their unique doctoral project action plan and bring that vision to life with the development of an evidence-based and innovative practice, policy, program or product geared toward making a local, national or global societal impact. Students finalize, present, and disseminate their Doctoral Project through leadership, academic, clinical, business, community, professional or scholarly methods.