Durham Technical Community College offers a two-year associate’s degree program to train occupational therapy assistants in the Triangle area. The curriculum prepares graduates to work under the guidance and supervision of a registered occupational therapist (OTR/L). Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs) help registered therapists in all aspects of occupational therapy from screening and assessment to treatment and documentation.

OT is a rehabilitation profession that focuses on doing and action. OT professionals work with people to improve their ability to participate in work, leisure, and self-care activities. They work with all age groups in a wide variety of settings. Children are assisted with school and play skills. Adolescents are assisted with prevocational and social skills. Adults are assisted in recovering from injuries or helping them cope with long-term illnesses or disabilities. Older adults are assisted in regaining skills or making changes in their homes for safer or more independent living situations. OT personnel work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, nursing homes, community settings, home health agencies, psychiatric and mental health centers, hand therapy sites, and other health care settings. Treatment may be conducted in individual or group sessions. Activities that are personally meaningful are also used to assist clients in meeting their goals. OT personnel must be flexible, empathetic, organized, and creative to provide clients with the best opportunities to progress and achieve what is important to them.

Acceptance for admission is conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. All admissions requirements must be completed prior to a student’s placement on the waiting list. Courses are offered in a sequential order, starting once each year. All eligible students may take non-OTA prefix courses as soon as they complete college admission requirements for curriculum students. Students may elect to complete the program on an extended part-time basis, with faculty consultation; however, full-time clinical internships are a critical part of the OTA training program and must be completed within 18 months of other class work to successfully complete the program. Clinical sites are spread throughout the region, and reliable transportation is essential.

After completing the curriculum plan of study, the student is awarded an Associate in Applied Science degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Questions regarding accreditation should be directed to the AOTA Accreditation Department, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220 or by phone at (301) 652-2682. For further information about OTA programs contact AOTA at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20824-3425 or by calling (301) 653-AOTA.

Graduates from the program are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for occupational therapy assistants. This exam is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT, 301-990-7979). For the three-year period 2006-2008, the program had 26 graduates. Twenty-five graduates sat for the NBCOT examination, with 24 graduates passing on their first attempt. This is a pass rate of 96 percent for first-time test takers who graduated from the OTA program. All 25 graduates who took the exam during this time period have passed the test and become certified occupational therapy assistants. The state of North Carolina requires licensure based on completion of an accredited program and passage of the NBCOT examination in order to practice under OTR supervision. These processes are separate from the college’s program and graduation requirements.

Employment opportunities for Occupational Therapy Assistant program students and graduates can be viewed on the student/graduate employment page.

If you have any questions or want further information about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program please contact Susan Cheng at 919-536-7233, ext. 8103 or visit the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (NCOTA) web sites.