Fieldwork
How do I contact the fieldwork coordinator?
Andrea Weid, M.P.A., OTRL
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator
315 Marshall, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
(734) 487-0289
aweid@emich.edu
How are placements assigned?
Placements will be arranged in collaboration with the fieldwork coordinator. The student will be involved in the selection of his/her placements to the greatest extent possible. The method used for placement selection will vary, depending on the availability of spaces and number of students being assigned to fieldwork. The student is expected to honor the assignment to which he/she has been scheduled.
Once I complete fieldwork, do I automatically graduate?
No, you must complete an application for graduation (including payment of fee to cover diploma). Contact the graduate audit office at (734) 487-4203 if you have not received this application form.
How do I register for the NBCOT certification exam?
The application is on the NBCOT website at www.nbcot.org.
I need the university seal on a document. Who do I contact?
Contact EMU Office of Records and Registration.
Once I have NBCOT certification, am I automatically registered in Michigan?
No. NBCOT's certification is national recognition. For state (Michigan) registration contact:
Bureau of Health Professions
P.O. Box 30670
Lansing, MI 48909-8170
(517) 335-0918
www.michigan.gov/healthlicense
For registration for other states, check the "Licensure and State Policy" link on the main page of the AOTA website at www.aota.org.
For licensure in another state, I need addresses & evaluation forms from my Level I and Level II placements. Can I get those from the fieldwork coordinator?
The Occupational Therapy Program does not save these materials beyond three years. Save all of your fieldwork information: syllabi, sites, and supervisor names. You may later need it for obtaining licensure.
I have graduated but I can't take the certification exam yet. How do I sign documentation?
Michigan law states that anyone who is not registered by the state cannot use the protected titles which include OT, OTR, COT, COTA, occupational therapist, occupational therapist registered, certified occupational therapist (or similar titles in dictating the person as such). There are no titles designated for a person prior to completion of Michigan registration or national certification. (Refer to MOTA bulletin, Summer 2001, V.101, 3.)
My fieldwork site wants to hire me as soon as I finish. What are supervision requirements for a new graduate who is not yet certified?
In Michigan, supervision requirements are addressed two ways: by the Public Health Code (state requirements) and third party payors (whose services will be reimbursed). Supervision is not defined in Michigan law because we do not have a scope of practice (registration versus licensure). All major payors require that services are provided by or supervised by an OTR. Since a new graduate is not an OTR and not a student, he or she is functioning, by default, as if she were an aide. According to AOTA Supervision Guidelines, an aide requires direct supervision of an OTR for any service billed as occupational therapy. (Refer to MOTA bulletin, Summer 2001, V.101, 3.)
Where can I start searching for a job?
Try the new American Occupational Therapy Association job link at www.otjoblink.org
