textbook with title "Trauma, Occupation, and Participation"

New textbook explores need to address trauma in occupational therapy

Amy Lynch, associate professor of instruction in the occupational therapy program, has edited a new textbook that represents a first in occupational therapy: a comprehensive guide to help practitioners and students better understand and respond to trauma experienced by the clients they serve. “It’s what we do every day as OTs, but there hasn’t been a master textbook. It was a book that needed to be written and I was honored to be called upon to serve our profession in this manner,” says Lynch, who is the lead editor and co-authored several chapters of  Trauma, Occupat...
Occupational therapy
Faculty
two OT students help one student move from a chair to a wheelchair

Entry-level OTD offers new path to career in occupational therapy

The College of Public Health is enrolling its first class in the entry-level doctoral program (eOTD) in occupational therapy, offering students a new way to receive an advanced degree through Temple’s nationally ranked OT program, which recently celebrated 50 years educating practitioners and research leaders. The eOTD program begins classes in the summer of 2022 and is accepting applications through February.    “Our evolution to this degree program makes so much sense,” said Kim Gargin, associate professor of instruction in health and rehabilitation sciences and di...
Occupational therapy
a child sits in a chair decorated as a rocket ship, with the words "to infinity and beyond" written on the chair.

Despite COVID challenges, OT students create and deliver adaptive devices

Five-year-old Eli has a rare and severe condition called Cornelia de Lange syndrome that limits him in multiple ways. He is nonverbal and has difficulty communicating. He needs support to stand.  His condition created a challenging assignment for the Temple graduate occupational therapy students who chose to custom-build helpful adaptive devices for Eli as their semester-long project in the hands-on Assistive Technology class. “I had in my mind what kind of equipment would most benefit Eli, but I wanted the students to figure it out themselves,” says Colleen Carroll, Eli...
Occupational therapy
Community
Students
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Kristie Patten

Alumna Patten recognized with AOTA's highest honor

Kristie Patten, a two-time Temple alumna who earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy and a PhD in educational psychology from Temple, has been recognized with the highest academic honor in her profession. The American Occupational Therapy Association has named Patten recipient of the 2021 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award, which honors an individual who has “creatively contributed to the development of the body of knowledge of the profession through research, education, and/or clinical practice.” Patten is currently vice dean for academic affairs at New...
Alumni
Awards
Occupational therapy
students use safe practices and social distancing during occupational therapy class

A look at hybrid education during the coronavirus pandemic

Summer lab sessions for Human Dynamics in Occupational Therapy, a first-year graduate course, demonstrated how essential classes—those where educational objectives can't be fully met online, such as hands-on clinical courses—can safely blend in-person instruction with stay-home online lectures. Students wore surgical masks and plastic face shields. They fanned out into four classrooms to avoid crowding together.   “Luckily, we have the whole first floor of STAR [the Aramark Student Training and Recreation Complex],” says Kimberly Gargin, interim program director for o...
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Occupational therapy
Coronavirus