Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Fellowship

About the Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Fellowship

The Occupational Therapy Fellowship provides a world-class, post-professional clinical educational experience in acute and critical care at Erlanger Baroness Hospital.

An effort between Erlanger and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the program’s overall mission is to prepare occupational therapists to meet the diverse and complex needs of patients within our community.

Erlanger is a nationally acclaimed, multi-hospital health system, and serves as the region’s only academic medical center as well as its only Level I Trauma Center. Erlanger houses a comprehensive stroke center and is the area’s sole safety net hospital.

Mission

The mission of the Erlanger and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Fellowship Program is to provide evidence-informed education that will equip occupational therapists to meet the diverse and complex needs of patients with acute illness through critical thinking, clinical skills development, and ethical practice. Graduates of the fellowship program will become compassionate advanced practitioners that exemplify leadership, integrity, and social responsibility. Through the collaboration of the fellow with co-sponsoring organizations and the Chattanooga community, the fellow will participate in advocacy, education, research, and service.

Goals

• Contribute to occupational therapy practice through academic and clinical educational presentations that facilitate professional engagement
• Provide an evidence-informed curriculum emphasizing development of professional reasoning, performance skills, ethical practice, and knowledge of best science to formulate a client-centered occupational therapy plan of care and implement advanced interventions
• Facilitate the advancement of interpersonal skills for effective communication and collaboration during clinical and academic interactions
• Engage mentors and fellows in patient advocacy, ethical practice, leadership, and service activities to serve the community’s needs and foster a culture that facilitates professional engagement
• Graduate advanced occupational therapy practitioners who operate with integrity and provide quality care for various health conditions in the acute care setting

Curriculum

• The program will provide a minimum of 200 mentored practice hours, 150 education hours and 1,400 program hours over the course of 52 weeks.

Modules

• General Medicine: 13 weeks
• Cardiopulmonary: 13 weeks
• Neurology: 13 weeks
• Ortho Trauma: 13 weeks

Eligibility Requirements

Fellowship program eligibility requires completion of an online application form and submission of the following information compiled into a single PDF document and sent via email to [email protected].

• Proof of a Bachelor of Science, Master’s (MOT or MSOT) or Doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy (entry-level OTD or Post-Professional OTD), or unofficial academic transcript demonstrating eligibility to graduate from an ACOTE or WFOT occupational therapy academic program
• Proof of a valid Tennessee Occupational Therapy license. Clinicians licensed in another state may submit their license information and new graduates may submit an unofficial academic transcript and/or NBCOT certification letter to demonstrate eligibility. Licensure verification will be completed by the Director of Acute and Critical Care OT Fellowship
• Proof of an active AOTA membership available on the My AOTA Profile page
• Submission of the online application form and all required application documents (see application requirements page for details)

All eligible fellowship program applicants must also meet Erlanger employment requirements which are conducted/reviewed by the Human Resources department including but not limited to:

• Completed pre-employment requirements including references, background checks, pre-placement health assessments, and drug screening and testing
• Proof of CPR/BLS certification
• Proof of a valid Tennessee Occupational Therapy license

Preferred:

• Completion of a Level II Fieldwork, Doctoral Capstone Experience, or practice experience in the focused area of practice
• TNOTA membership

Application Requirements

Fellowship Application Checklist

Dates/Deadlines

Application

• Opens January 1
• Closes May 31

Interview

• Interviews are conducted by June. The panel interview will be completed in-person at the Erlanger main campus when feasible, however, a virtual interview will be conducted when in-person interviews are not possible.

Decision

• Final candidate selection is determined by a selection committee after evaluating applications and interviews
• The selected candidate will be contacted by Erlanger Human Resources with an offer by July
• The program will accept 1 fellow per year

Program Dates

• Start: end of July/start of August
• Duration: 52 weeks

Compensation/Fees

• The fellow will receive salaried pay commensurate with years of experience.
• The fellow will be a full-time employee salaried at 32 hours per week of clinical practice. Program participation will also include didactic requirements which at times may exceed a 40 hour work week. There will be additional personal study time required.
• The fellow must be a member of AOTA and will be responsible for any membership fees to maintain active status.

This program is currently seeking candidacy status for accreditation through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). While we are pursuing accreditation, please be advised that if the program does not receive AOTA accreditation by the time you complete your fellowship, you will not receive a certificate of completion from an AOTA-accredited fellowship program.