I have some of the same thoughts.  While I applaud the intention and effort, it has the potential to create additional confusion and ill-feeling in an already emotionally-heightened situation.  Without having consulted all stakeholders, it is easy to think that this is a situation that can be remedied with such a decree.  But in reality, this is why we have a national organization, accrediting body, and federal department of education.  Those bodies are able to look at the situation from a much broader perspective than what one governor with limited insight into the complexities have.  Will students put themselves into potentially harmful volunteer situations with an expectation that it will count towards their program, and then turn around and bring litigation against the university when they find out it doesn't?  What about universities that have made the decision not to continue placements due to liability?  Who is taking the responsibility for both the health and welfare of the student and the patient in these situation?  If a program is forced to accept the volunteer activities, and the student does not pass the national exam, who is responsible and how does this impact each party?  These are only a few of the concerns that would need to be addressed.

I would use caution in asking other governors to follow suit until all of the complexities can be fully considered.

JULIANE CHRESTON OTD OTRL
Professor, Director of Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program
School of Health Professions

p 743.995.7596  |  c 810.516.8171

Concordia University Ann Arbor
4090 Geddes Road
Ann Arbor MI 48105
cuaa.edu

Please note:

The Concordia University Ann Arbor entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation 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<http://www.acoteonline.org/>.

The program must be granted Candidacy Status before students can be admitted to the program. Concordia University and Dr. Chreston are fully committed to the development of the entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program, but prospective students should be aware there is no guarantee that the program will receive Candidacy Status or be allowed to admit students. An ACOTE candidacy decision is expected in April 2022.  Prospective students will be informed of acceptance into the program May 2022 with an anticipated program start of Fall 2022.

The program must be granted Candidacy Status, have a preaccreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). 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 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork as well as an individual 14-week capstone experience within 24 months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program. The doctoral capstone experience must be started after completion of all coursework and Level II fieldwork as well as completion of preparatory activities defined in 2018 ACOTE OTD Standard D.1.3.
________________________________
From: ot-pd@aotalists.org [ot-pd@aotalists.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 1:10 PM
To: ot-pd@aotalists.org
Subject: [OT-PD List - AOTA] - RE: NY is leading!

Need to get clarification from ACOTE whether or not they will be able to accept these “volunteer” hours.  The governor of one state doesn’t override national accreditation.  My reading of this is that New York universities can give academic credit but what that academic credit is and which agencies recognize it will still be up to the accrediting agency.  My take from the info ACOTE has sent out is that something like this will not count unless there are specific objectives and assessment that meet the standards.  It could be a non-traditional setting fieldwork but tasks done under the “volunteer” hours would still need to be under the state’s OT practice act and the student will still need to get at least 8 hours per week of supervision by an OT.  I don’t know about other states, but our students and recent grads are being asked by facilities to do things that are outside of the OT practice act.  We need to be careful that we’re not opening up ourselves and our universities to liability if something goes wrong and the student/clinician is being asked to perform duties beyond our scope of practice.

Sean Roush, OTD, OTR/L
Interim Program Director and Associate Professor
Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy
190 SE 8th Avenue, Suite 361
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Ph: 503-352-7353
Toll Free: 1-877-PAC-UNIV ext. 7353
Fax: 503-352-7360
rous4634@pacificu.edu<mailto:rous4634@pacificu.edu>
(he, his)

From: ot-pd@aotalists.org <ot-pd@aotalists.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 9:57 AM
To: ot-pd@aotalists.org
Subject: [OT-PD List - AOTA] - NY is leading!

NY is leading! I will be writing my concern to Governor Wolf in Pennsylvania requesting he consider something similar.
Thanks for sharing this!

Stephen B. Kern, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor & Director, Master of Science Program in Occupational Therapy
Thomas Jefferson University – Center City Campus
Philadelphia, PA 19107

From: "ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>" <ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>> on behalf of "ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>" <ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>>
Reply-To: "ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>" <ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>>
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 10:43 AM
To: "ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>" <ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>>
Subject: Re: [OT-PD List - AOTA] - Anatomy courses with cadaver dissection

WARNING:  External Email - This email originated outside of Jefferson.
DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the email.

I know Jeff Tomlinson will be sharing this with ACOTE but in the state of New York Cuomo just signed this executive order....email from Jeff:

I wanted to share the following executive order with you asap

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/no-20210-continuing-temporary-suspension-and-modification-laws-relating-disaster-emergency<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__www.governor.ny.gov_news_no-2D20210-2Dcontinuing-2Dtemporary-2Dsuspension-2Dand-2Dmodification-2Dlaws-2Drelating-2Ddisaster-2Demergency%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DslrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ%26r%3D2jgVFkccj13a7f1zQwSS1QiQukDsWX9rqt7aYIQL8tk%26m%3DTOiLXhmU6Q_1Fgw8vonjZXbV-xC28vqMEUHjF34QT2M%26s%3DifNFa47yEMOy-gycZ5OuYOlwYMsp1k1OyQcPnzykGjs%26e%3D&data=02%7C01%7CStephen.Kern%40jefferson.edu%7C578b1700d71c4c533ab508d7d001c073%7C55a89906c710436bbc444c590cb67c4a%7C0%7C0%7C637206578256140559&sdata=6dMoeiFlebBZpRzJmF9Z%2F0INWDPeTXeiKGsZpA9QLxQ%3D&reserved=0>

please note bullet #10

"Any healthcare facility is authorized to allow students, in programs to become licensed in New York State to practice as a healthcare professional, to volunteer at the healthcare facility for educational credit as if the student had secured a placement under a clinical affiliation agreement, without entering into any such clinical affiliation agreement";

I'm going to also forward this to ACOTE, AOTA and the NY SBOT.

Jeff Tomlinson
NYSOTA

On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 10:37 AM AOTA ot-pd List <ot-pd@aotalists.org<mailto:ot-pd@aotalists.org>> wrote:
Hello all,

I am curious as to how those of you who have anatomy courses with dissection in your curriculum are adapting or planning to adapt those courses to a virtual environment.  I know Kristie at NYU shared their modifications a week or so ago but wonder about other programs.

For context, we have a 9-week cadaver anatomy course taught by medical school faculty in the summer.  We have not made any decisions for virtual courses for the summer at this time, but are doing some planning just in case.

Thank you!

Pam

[cid:1710cfdc3764ce8e91]

--
Kristie K. Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA
Associate Professor and Department Chair

NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development
Department of Occupational Therapy

Pless Hall, 82 Washington Square East, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10003

NYU Disabilities, Inclusion & Accessibility Working Group:  https://wp.nyu.edu/disabilityculture/<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.nyu.edu%2Fdisabilityculture%2F&data=02%7C01%7CStephen.Kern%40jefferson.edu%7C578b1700d71c4c533ab508d7d001c073%7C55a89906c710436bbc444c590cb67c4a%7C0%7C0%7C637206578256140559&sdata=d0ylth2sOxUTlO6orV1BWAcrIeCJrEX8Cq9GASKoBJ8%3D&reserved=0>
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