Why study Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) at CCC

Occupational Therapy changes lives!

Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants work in collaboration to support patients and clients in their ability to engage in activities that matter and speak to the individuals’ unique self for improved health and wellness, living a self-directed life, and reaching one’s maximum potential. Occupational therapy practitioners are licensed health care professionals that facilitate participation in everyday living (AOTA, 2020) with the use of meaningful and therapeutic activities to help individuals to do the things that they need and want to do at all stages of their lifespan. Occupational Therapy is an evidence-based and science-driven profession focused on the implementation of best practices grounded in research.

An Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) is a practitioner that works to help individuals to increase independence with activities of daily living. OTA’s work to facilitate problem-solving, strength, and coordination in the process of recovery from illness, injury, or disability to help individuals develop skills they don’t have or to recover skills that have been lost. Occupational Therapy Assistants work directly with patients on a consistent basis and follow treatment plans under the direction of the supervising Occupational Therapist.

Occupational Therapy Assistants implement treatment plans and design interventions to address patient and client goals. Interventions commonly used by an OTA include helping people recovering from illness or injury to regain function through retraining and/or adaptations, providing support for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes, helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and home, as well as addressing psychosocial needs to foster hope, motivation, and empowerment.

Our Mission & Philosophy:

The Clovis Community College OTA program is focused on providing a quality educational program that values the uniqueness of all human beings and produces competent, professional entry-level occupational therapy assistants to serve the diverse populations and settings within Fresno/Clovis, the central San Joaquin Valley, the state of California and the nation. It is also the charge of the OTA Program to encourage students to be stellar professionals and life-long learners.

Mission

Creating Occupational Independence – One practitioner at a time

We strive to provide exceptional academic education including experiential learning opportunities and embedded fieldwork experiences to prepare future practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills to support people in living meaningful and fulfilling lives.

• We foster our students’ critical thinking, innovative learning, and engagement in effective clinical reasoning.
• We embrace the diversity of our students and our community while focusing on the individual to develop client-centered interventions grounded in meaningful occupation.
• We cultivate community healthfulness through partnerships with local organizations within our community to enhance student learning and success.
• We promote lifelong learning and professionalism to meet the needs of a growing self, a dynamic profession, and an ever-changing society.

The philosophy of the Clovis Community College OTA program embraces the fundamentals of human occupation with the belief that we as humans are dynamic and complex beings and for whom engagement and activity provide meaning to each unique individual. The Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) Model is foundational to the OTA program. Using the PEO model, it is recognized that each individual brings forth their own distinctive set of experiences and intrinsic motivators that are impacted by society, culture, attitudinal position, and environment is interwoven within a continuous cycle of response, growth, and adaptation. Through this lens, it is recognized that each student brings their individual attributes (strengths) and multi-faceted dynamics to engage in learning with each other, within their environments, and within the future profession of occupational therapy assisting.

Approach to Learning and Instruction

The profession of occupational therapy is dynamic and fluid to meet the individual needs of our clients while substantiated with science, research, and evidence to support and guide our practices whilst grounded in the use of meaningful occupation. We believe in educating students to become innovative, client-centered, forward-thinking, and flexible practitioners. Students will be challenged to apply newly acquired knowledge and skills to address healthcare needs on an individual, local/community, and societal level. We strongly believe that each student brings a rich fabric of experiences, beliefs, values, strengths, and styles to the interactive learning experiences upon which to draw. We aim to cultivate each individual student’s strengths and talents to maximize the development of their unique self on their professional journey.

All core pre-requisite and general education coursework must be completed prior to beginning the OTA program. The OTA professional courses must be completed in the designated sequence and within 30 months of the initial program start. All OTA program courses must be completed with a grade of C or better following program grading guidelines.
Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate in Science Degree 2023-2024

*Course includes Fieldwork Experience I
**Course includes Fieldwork Experience II

Note: All OTA core courses must be completed prior to going on to fieldwork level II. All required courses must be completed with a “C” grade or better per OTA Program grading guidelines.

Career Opportunities

The healthcare industry is growing in Fresno County. According to the State of California Employment Development Department, four major Fresno hospitals (Community Regional Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Saint Agnes Medical Center, and VA Central California Health Care System) provide healthcare services to those in the community, which include therapy services.

According to the Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division, 2016-2026 Occupational Employment Projections for California, Occupational Therapy Assistants are projected to increase by 31.6%

Accreditation Status: Accredited

The Clovis Community College associate-degree-level occupational therapy assistant (OTA) program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Students must complete 16 weeks of Level II fieldwork within 18 months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program