RADFORD -- Douglas Mitchell and Cynthia Creighton were contentedly working at Barry University in Miami when they spotted the job listing for a founding chair and director of clinical education for Radford University’s Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program. Mitchell, the director for Barry’s occupational therapy program, and Creighton, Barry’s assistant director for the OT program, said they were not actively seeking new jobs. However, “we could not pass up the opportunity to develop an innovative program from scratch at RU,” Mitchell explained.

Applying last summer, Mitchell and Creighton were respectively named Founding Chair and Founding Director of Clinical Education for RU’s MOT program. Now only several weeks into their jobs, Mitchell and Creighton are working diligently to apply for program accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education, a process they hope to complete by April 2009 so the first RU MOT class could be admitted during the 2009-2010 academic year. If accreditation is granted, RU will become the first institution in the Commonwealth to offer a MOT program emphasizing rural healthcare needs. The closest occupational therapy program is offered at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

The MOT program is one of two new programs to be implemented in the Waldron College of Health and Human Services in more than 15 years. The other, a doctoral degree in physical therapy (DPT) and the second doctoral program at RU, is currently recruiting a departmental chair and director of clinical education.

Occupational therapy, or skilled treatment that helps individuals with special needs achieve independence in all facets of their lives, is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of occupational therapists is expected to increase 23 percent over the next eight years. However, there is a significant national shortage of occupational therapists according to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

In an effort to locally combat that shortage, RU proposed the MOT program, which recently received approval by the Virginia General Assembly. Featuring courses that will prepare students to help clients return to their life occupations, the MOT program will have a unique focus on rural healthcare. Ultimately, the college hopes to produce graduates committed to serving the local community.

“Our mission is to attract students from the Southwest Virginia and Appalachian regions,” said Mitchell. “We want to educate students who will stay in the area. This area has two of the biggest populations that need our services: the aging population and young children with disabilities. RU wants to address the needs of this community.”

Creighton explains that while there are national standards every occupational therapy program must meet, understanding the uniqueness of each demographic is vital.

“There are cultural differences in the occupations that people need to and want to be able to do,” she said. “For example, in Miami people go shopping or to the beach in their leisure time. In this area, they are more likely to play a musical instrument or work in the garden. Our curriculum will emphasize the occupations that are valued in a rural environment.”

The program is also designed to be interdisciplinary, providing students the opportunity to work with others from complementary programs, including RU’s Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology program, social work, speech-language pathology, recreation therapy and nursing.

Creighton and Mitchell are currently in the process of developing a mission and vision for the MOT program, relying heavily on RU’s 7-17 Strategic Plan that sets forth a goal of becoming among the top 50 master’s universities in the nation.

“The university’s plan emphasizes the very things we are moving toward in this program,” Creighton explains. “We want to create a curriculum that is distinct and rigorous and encourages student-centered teaching and learning.”

“We are also very interested in the transformational process highlighted in the strategic plan,” Mitchell added. “Our courses will challenge students to examine their assumptions and develop new ways of thinking. We hope that our graduates will be skilled and caring health professionals who will be among the most sought after by employers in the community.”

To learn more about Radford University’s MOT program, contact Douglas Mitchell at (540) 831-7643 or dmmitchell@radford.edu or Cynthia Creighton at (540) 831-7638 or ccreighton@radford.edu. For more information about occupational therapy, visit the American Occupational Therapy Association’s website at http://www.aota.org.