Technical standards and essential functions
The Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program at Bowling Green State University has identified technical standards all students must meet and maintain for enrollment and progression, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Meeting the technical standards enables successful completion of the program and the delivery of safe and effective client care during fieldwork and in future clinical practice. These technical standards are competencies stipulated by standards of typical OT practice.
General physical and mental health
Students must maintain general health to operate under the typical demands and performance requirements for daily classroom participation and learning activities of the program and the OT profession.
Physical demands
You must be able to perform:
- 8+ hours of work daily
- Frequent use of the hands with a simple grasp, a firm grasp and manual dexterity skills
- Intermittent lifting of heavy loads
- Repetitive motion
- Sitting, standing and walking
- Occasional kneeling, twisting, bending and stooping
- Occasional stair climbing or negotiating on uneven terrain
- Frequent lifting, pushing and pulling up to 20 pounds
- Occasional lifting, pushing and pulling 20-50 pounds
Problem solving and critical thinking
Students must be able to problem solve and think critically based on verbal, visual and written information within a limited time frame consistent with contemporary clinical practice setting expectations.
Students must be able to:
- Plan and organize treatment prescription
- Practice time management to coordinate course requirements
- Demonstrate insight and judgment for safety and prognostication
Sensory abilities
Students must possess sufficient visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile abilities to allow them to gather and interpret data.
Perceptual-motor skills
These include hand-eye coordination, body-eye coordination and object manipulation.
Computer technology skills
Personal laptop and access to the internet for web-enhanced and web-based courses are required.
Communication and interpersonal abilities
- Access learning management systems
- Participate in synchronous and asynchronous learning
- Utilize working microphones and cameras with recording capabilities
- Participate in computerized testing
- Conduct research
- Prepare multimedia presentations
- Access online medical information
- Review and enter data in electronic medical records
- Effective communication among group members and faculty
- Management of high-stress situations while maintaining full intellectual abilities
- Development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with classmates, faculty, staff, all members of the healthcare team and clients
- Recognition of one’s own emotional state and the emotional states of others
- Management of personal emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict
- Engagement with clients and families in a way that establishes confidence and trust
- Acceptance of constructive criticism and initiation of appropriate behavior modification
Additional information
These technical standards guarantee that applicants and students can meet the requirements established for this program, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- If the student cannot articulate how, even with reasonable accommodation, the student would be able to meet the program qualifications, including these technical standards and essential functions
- If it becomes apparent that the student cannot meet the technical standards and essential functions even with reasonable accommodation
- If the requested accommodation(s) would fundamentally alter the nature of the OTD program at BGSU or create a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of others
Technical standards apply to classrooms, laboratories, and clinical settings. The BGSU OTD program uses independent clinical education sites that may or may not be able to offer the same reasonable accommodations that are made available by BGSU.
The OTD program at BGSU is sensitive to the needs of individuals with disabilities and does not discriminate against qualified candidates with disabilities. The OTD program is in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including changes made by the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008.
The OTD program works closely with BGSU Accessibility Services to serve the needs of students with disabilities. Individuals who have questions regarding reasonable accommodation should contact Accessibility Services at 419-372-8495.
Updated: 11/22/2024 09:29AM