Occupational therapy assistant classes at Ross campuses in Hopkinsville, KY or Quad Cities.
The Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate of Applied Science degree program can prepare you for the opportunity to help improve the quality of a person’s life and ability to perform daily activities through rehabilitative exercises and activities. Working as part of a rehabilitation team and under the supervision of an occupational therapist, you will find occupational therapy assistants in a variety of settings including hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, home health care, early intervention, school systems, and psychiatric hospitals.
The goal of occupational therapy is to help clients return to every day activities such as work, play, leisure, and home activities. In order to accomplish this, occupational therapy assistants think creatively to help clients with disabilities.
Occupational therapy assistants work alongside and under the supervision of occupational therapists. They assist occupational therapy clients as they relearn and develop typical daily life skills like eating, getting dressed, working, driving, etc. Occupational therapy assistants can be found in a variety of settings and working with many different types of patients.
Some choose to work with the elderly in their homes, nursing homes, or clinics. Others work with children, helping them to expand their skills in accomplishing fundamental activities. Still others may decide to work with patients that have disabilities that challenge their ability to perform necessary tasks.
Students enrolled in the Ross Occupational Therapy Assistant program are required to successfully complete two different fieldwork components. The first fieldwork experience is a one week full time observation based experience in a psychosocial setting. This one week fieldwork is scheduled during the same month as Intervention in Mental Health allowing students to apply academic principles to real world settings. Once students have completed all academic courses, students are required to complete two 2-month full time fieldwork experiences.
This fieldwork experience allows students to follow and learn from experienced, well respected occupational therapy assistants and occupational therapists. Not only do students build necessary clinical skills, but more importantly gain valuable patient interaction skills. In summary, the four months of fieldwork allows students to apply academic principles to real patient care. The combination of the academic coursework and the fieldwork experience serve as an appropriate starting point for students to pass the certification exam allowing them to be practicing occupational therapy assistants.
Once a student successfully completes the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Ross, they are eligible to take the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) exam through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). In order to be able to work as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, graduates must take and successfully pass the exam.
In addition, most 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.
The total number of graduates from Ross College – Quad Cities/Bettendorf, Iowa, campus for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program during the three-year period of 2016-2018* was 59 with an overall graduation rate of 91%.
The total number of graduates from the Ross College – Hopkinsville, Kentucky, campus for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program during the three-year period of 2016-2018* was 33 with an overall graduation rate of 77%.
NBCOT Certification Examination Performance: For information pertaining to the most recent OTA graduates on the national certification examination, please refer to https://secure.nbcot.org/DATA/SCHOOLstats.aspx
| Graduation Year | Students Entering / Graduates | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 21/19 | 90% |
| 2018 | 14/13 | 93% |
| 2019 | 23/16 | 70% |
| Graduation Year | Students Entering / Graduates | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 10/7 | 70% |
| 2018 | 23/17 | 73% |
| 2019 | 16/12 | 75% |
Ross College Official 3 year Cohort Default Rate (for all campuses under the main campus of Ross Medical Education Center – Brighton, MI) for 2015 is 23.1.
The Associate of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy Program at Ross College – Ross College Hopkinsville and Ross College Quad Cities locations accredited by The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (Acote).
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200 North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929 (301) 652-2682 acoteonline.org
My time at Ross was a great experience. During my externship, I had an interview at a renal clinic. When I graduated, I began working a medical biller.
Michael Newson Graduate Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration student at Roosevelt Park, MI campus Graduation: November 12, 2018
I learned so much in my short time here at Ross. Mrs. Hawley was one of the best teachers I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. She made every day in the classroom enjoyable and amazing. I'm so glad I chose Ross to help me step into my medical career. Now that I've graduated, I feel prepared to start this next chapter in my life and I am very excited.
Jessie Morrison Graduate Medical Assistant student at Knoxville, TN campus Graduation: January 11, 2019
The dental program at Ross in Niles is the best choice I have made in my life so far. I never did well in high school, but my instructor makes it so enjoyable. The director, assistant director, and my instructor are all so supportive and they make sure I am confident in what I am doing. I love the dental program and everyone supporting me. I don't think I would be so successful without them.
Meghan Bayne Graduate Dental Assistant student at Niles, OH campus Graduation: April 27, 2020
Being a student at Ross, I have been able to have a schedule that has worked for me and my family, which is important since I have five children. The instructors have helped tremendously in ensuring that we learn and are confident in the things that are needed for our homework assignments and tests. They become a second family that wants to see you succeed. The staff here at Ross has gone out of their way at times to make sure that I stayed on the right course. Any time that I had a question, they all made themselves available.
Samantha Paige Graduate Medical Assistant student at Fort Wayne, IN campus Graduation: May 21, 2019
Ross has helped me to realize even higher goals than I could have imagined for myself. I like the multi-cultural environment. Ross values diversity and gives back to the community through volunteer opportunities. I have been inspired to even pursue my master's degree and eventually my PhD. With English being my second language, it is a huge challenge for me to grasp the clinical part of the program, but because of the different resources and help that Ross has provided for me, I am more efficient and confident of my abilities as a future medical assistant.
Isabelita Tatman Graduate Medical Assistant student at Fort Wayne, IN campus Graduation: March 27, 2019
