Occupational Therapy has been an established profession for more than 75 years. Since early on in the profession s history, occupational therapists have worked in hospitals, schools, and community health centers. Building on a common professional foundation, occupational therapists may work in specialty areas such as pediatrics, school systems, physical and industrial rehabilitation, mental health, and hand therapy. Most occupational therapists are employed in school systems and rehabilitation and mental health hospitals. Other major employers include nursing homes, home health agencies, residential care facilities, and community centers.
Some occupational therapists are self-employed in private practice.
They often provide direct treatment to clients referred by physicians or other health professionals, or provide consulting and contract services to schools, daycare programs, and nursing homes. Overview of Creighton s Program Creighton s OTD program prepares graduate to fulfill all traditional duties of occupational therapists while helping them become transformative leaders of the profession. The occupational therapy professional doctorate at Creighton University is one of the first such programs in the United States. Significant growth in the depth and scope of occupational therapy practice calls for advanced education in a number of areas. Specifically, the OTD curriculum focuses on the complex relationships between neurologic capacities, occupational meaning and function in the treatment and prevention of disability.