Findlay, Ohio – Students who graduated in 2005 from The University of Findlay’s Master of Occupational Therapy (OT) Program have achieved a 100-percent first-time passage rate on the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Certification Exam. The 2005 national average was 84 percent.

Overall, the program’s average passage rate from 2003-2005 was 95 percent, compared to the national average of 82 percent for the same time period.

The NBCOT is a not-for-profit credentialing agency that provides certification for the occupational therapy profession. According to the educational standards set by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education, occupational therapy programs must have a minimum passage rate of 80 percent in order to be in compliance for accreditation.

According to Dr. Tom Dillon, director of UF’s OT Program, the perfect passage rate reflects the program’s high quality and culture of excellence. “The quality of our program is a direct result of the excellent teaching and qualification of our OT faculty,” said Dillon. “We also have dedicated students who believe in the principles of occupational therapy and aspire to the absolute highest caliber of a practitioner they can be.”

Dillon adds that UF’s program is very contemporary compared to other graduate OT programs because of the strong emphasis on community-based practice and incorporating societal trends such as the Internet and ever-changing lifestyles.

“Occupational therapy focuses on helping people complete everyday tasks like making dinner and getting dressed,” explained Dillon. “In the past, most occupational therapy has been done in a hospital or clinical setting. We go beyond that to ensure that our graduates also are prepared to help patients in their homes and in long-term care facilities. Our students are also involved with several prevention programs including a summer camp geared toward helping children make healthy lifestyle choices and an ‘eHealth’ program that helps senior citizens use the Internet to find accurate health care information.”

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