Program: AS-25535

The Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program provides students with opportunities to develop interpersonal and clinical skills, and promotes lifelong learning within an environment of excellence to ensure a successful career in healthcare.

Occupational Therapy is a vital healthcare service whose practitioners use occupation (purposeful activity) as a means of preventing, reducing, or overcoming physical, social, and emotional disabilities in people of all ages. Some of the responsibilities of occupational therapy assistants include carrying out treatment interventions designed by an occupational therapist, adapting the environment for individuals with psychosocial and physical dysfunctions to maximize independent function, and teaching the use of adaptive equipment, and compensatory techniques to facilitate performance of daily activities.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is a limited-admission, 70-credit hour, AS degree program. Each OTA applicant must first be admitted to the College and meet pre-admission requirements. Twenty-four applicants are selected each year by the Selection Committee for program enrollment in the spring semester. The College reserves the right to change the requirements of the OTA program as needed.

The program is offered on the Winter Haven Campus. OTA courses are offered from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., typically two to three days a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; or Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, depending on the term). The program requires full-time commitment throughout the year, including the summer. It contains 14-credit hours of clinical fieldwork (Level I and II), which are completed at various sites in Polk County and adjacent counties.

Admission Criteria

The application period for the OTA program is September 1 through October 31. The following are the minimum requirements for admission to the Occupational Therapy Program:

1. Prospective students must gain acceptance to Polk State College as degree-seeking students with all required admission documents received by the Registrar’s Office.
2. Students must complete any required Developmental Education courses.
3. Students must have an overall GPA of 2.0 upon application to the program.
4. The following prerequisite courses must be completed (prior to admission to the program) with a grade of C or higher:

• BSC 2085C - Human Anatomy and Physiology I
    
• PSY 2012 - General Psychology
    
• ENC 1101 - College Composition I
    

5. Students must complete 20 hours of observation of occupational therapy services. Hours must be documented on the OTA Program Observation Hours Form.

Note: Observation hours are valid for up to three years from the date of completion.

Please note that prerequisites to a program and courses that can be taken prior to admission to a program can change. Students not yet admitted may be required to take additional or alternate prerequisites prior to admission to the program. 

Additional Program Requirements

A.   The following must be completed no later than the first day of class by each student admitted into the program, and documentation is to be submitted directly to the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator:

1. Completion of a physical examination.
2. Completion of all immunizations and communicable disease screenings, including a Tuberculosis PPD, Tetanus vaccination or booster (must have been done within the last 5 years), MMR vaccine (Measles/Mumps/Rubella) or an MMR titer, a Varicella titer, and a Hepatitis B vaccination (optional, but recommended).
3. Certification in CPR.
4. Certification in AIDS/HIV precautions (1 hour).

B.  The following must be completed by a designated date in April, in preparation for the summer fieldwork rotations:

1. Submission of a Level II Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) background check.
2. Completion of 10-panel drug screening.
3. Completion of finger printing for documentation.

Students need to update the above admission requirements every year. Information regarding the completion of these additional admission requirements is provided by the faculty during the orientation meeting scheduled in November.

Admission Process

1. The electronic application for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is completed online.
2. The electronic Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Application Form and instructions are accessible under the “Admission and Selection Process” link on the OTA webpage. The application form is only available during the designated application window, and must be completed and submitted electronically between September 1 and October 31.
3. The date and time of receipt are posted on the application form.
4. No application is considered if it is submitted before or after the admission window.
5. No application is considered until all necessary Polk State College admission documentation is received and processed by the Registrar’s Office (i.e., application to Polk State College, transcripts, and residency paperwork).

Selection Process

The OTA Program determines the number of available seats for each entering class (usually 21-24 students). In the event that there are more qualified applicants than available seats, selection of candidates is conducted by a lottery. The OTA Program Admission Committee randomly draws the names of qualified applicants from the available pool until all available seats are filled, and then the names of ten additional qualified applicants are drawn as alternates. Selected candidates and alternates are notified via e-mail during the first week in November.

Work Sites

Typical work sites for OTAs are rehabilitation units and centers, nursing homes, psychiatric units, mental health agencies, forensic facilities, community-based agencies, developmental disabilities agencies, pediatric agencies, schools, higher education institutions (community colleges), and industrial settings.

Program Cost

The program’s cost is approximately $9,800. This cost estimate includes tuition, books, lab fees, uniforms, name tag, certification exam, Florida licensure, CPR and AIDS certification, physical exam, background checks, drug screening, and fingerprinting.

Certification Examination

Graduates of the program are able to sit for the National Certification Examination for the Occupational Therapy Assistant, administered by the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT), 800 S. Frederick Ave., Suite 200, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4150; telephone: (301) 990-7979. The examination is offered throughout the year, with a cost of $520 if taken within the United States. After successful completion of this exam, the graduate becomes a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT exam and the ability to obtain a state license.

Florida Licensure

Graduates need to apply for Florida licensure upon successful completion of the certification exam. Graduates must contact the Florida Board of Occupational Therapy licensing board to obtain the application documents for licensure. The current fee for Florida licensure is $180. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to attain state licensure. Prospective students should be aware that a Social Security Number (SSN) is required to be issued a certificate or license by the Florida Department of Health, which is the licensing authority for healthcare licenses in Florida.