Health Science (B.S.)

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Student Learning Outcomes for Health Science:

Students will be able to:

Analyze the factors that enable and/or hinder participation in meaningful occupations across the lifespan in multiple contexts.
Articulate the importance of occupation and its influence on health and wellness.
Analyze the body of evidence that relates to the understanding of health and human occupation.
Apply knowledge of culture and global health care patterns and systems to analyze complex cases.
Demonstrate professionalism through effective oral and written communication.
Demonstrate professionalism through interpersonal relationships.
Demonstrate critical self-reflection, promoting independent learning.

This degree serves as a prerequisite to the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (OT) or the entry-level Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD). Students completing only this course of study are not eligible to become registered occupational therapists, but have academic credentials that qualify them to be employed in health care and community settings. Students are required to complete 126 credits to obtain their degree.

The Health Science major requires:

Off-campus experiential learning includes service-learning in the first three years and clinical placements in the fourth year.

Fourth Year Required Courses (only if accepted into the OT graduate degree program by meeting the entrance requirements):

OT 505 - Occupational Therapy Evaluation: Adult Populations
OT 515 - Occupational Therapy Evaluation: Pediatric Populations
OT 525 - Occupational Therapy History and Theory
OT 532 - Occupational Therapy Intervention: Adult Populations
OT 533 - Occupational Therapy Intervention: Pediatric Populations
OT 534 - Scholarship I: Analysis of the Literature
OT 571 - OT Fieldwork Level I
OT 590 - Graduate Project Practicum
NOTE: If students do not meet the entrance requirements to move onto the Occupational Therapy graduate degree program by the end of the junior year, they may complete the B.S. in Health Science Degree in the senior year with the following requirements: 20 credits of elective courses at the 300-400 level as approved by the Occupational Therapy Program.

First Year Suggested Courses:

FYS 100 - First-Year Seminar
EN 100 - PLE Writing and Language
BIO 111 - Molecules, Cells, & Animal Systems
HE 105 - Introduction to Health and Wellness
HE 110 - Occupations across the Lifespan
PSY 105 - SSC Introduction to Psychology
MA 250 - MA Sports Analytics or
MA 251 - MA Probability and Statistics
Power of Language: Other Core course (4 credits)

Notes:

All HE/OT courses must be taken in the semester indicated. BIO 111 should be completed in the fall semester of the first year and must be completed during the first year. MA 250 or MA 251 needs to be completed in the first year.

Students should take 16 credits each semester of the first year.

If possible, avoid taking Social Sciences core other than PSY 105 or Natural and Physical Sciences core other than BIO 111 and NEU 125, because these courses are required in the major. If students complete other courses (that will ultimately count as electives) in these areas of understanding, it creates challenges related to completing requirements for minors and studying abroad.

First year students have already been notified of their acceptance into the occupational therapy program. Each first year student is assigned a faculty contact person from the program. A student with further questions should be referred to his/her contact person or to the Program Director.

Additional requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences:

All students accepted into the OT program must take Anatomy and Physiology (BIO 201 and BIO 202 ) at Elizabethtown College.

OT students must achieve a grade of C- or higher in all required courses, including all courses with an HE or OT prefix; BIO 111 , BIO 201 and BIO 202 , MA 250 or MA 251 ; PSY 105 and NEU 125 . Students may repeat courses in accordance with College policies. Students choosing to repeat a course required for the major are strongly encouraged to discuss repeat options with their academic advisors.

Students must achieve an overall cumulative grade point average of 2.00 to earn a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences.

Requirements for admission into the Occupational Therapy Graduate Program:

OT students must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.9 by the end of the junior year to be admitted into the OT graduate degree program, which begins in the senior year.

Students, in conjunction with their academic advisor, must also complete an essay to capture their professional development over their academic career. The purpose of this essay is to identify professional growth goals for entry-level practice. No student will be excluded from the graduate program based on the essay. If the composition does not meet the required expectations, repeated drafts guided by the academic advisor may be necessary. Essays are due at the end of the junior year to the Program Director by May 1.

Accreditation

The Occupational Therapy program has maintained a fully-accredited status since 1976 by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). The BS/MS Occupational Therapy degree program is fully accredited. The Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) has received Pre-accreditation status as of May 2023. The organization can be contacted at ACOTE, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929; phone (301) 652-6611 or email accred@aota.org; www.acoteonline.org.