The mission of the Department of Occupational Therapy is to prepare holistically and humanistically trained professionals with a solid liberal arts and science foundation. In keeping with The University of Scranton Mission, life-long learning and the pursuit of truth and wisdom through scholarship is encouraged through emphasis on evidence-based practice and research. The Department strives to develop in the students a keen sense of ethical responsibility, with sensitivity to global diversity and social justice issues as they embrace their vocation. The Department therefore espouses the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and the values contained in its principles, namely, beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, privacy, confidentiality, duty, justice, veracity, and fidelity. Academic, professional, psychosocial, and spiritual growth of the student is carefully nurtured through an intensive mentoring program in which faculty develop close relationships with their student mentees. This practice is consistent with the University's mission to facilitate growth and development of the students as advocated by the Jesuit pedagogical tradition.

Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

The Department of Occupational Therapy at The University of Scranton ascribes to the view of the human being as a complex, dynamic, adaptive system. As such, individuals are always inherently motivated to act and interact adaptively with the environment through occupation in order to survive and thrive. Meaningful occupation is therefore viewed as essential for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well being of humans. Loss of the ability to engage in meaningful occupation (whether due to disease, age, or any personal or environmental factors) may lead to an inability to effectively adapt to one's environment. This may diminish one's sense of dignity as a human being and one's sense of meaning and purpose in life, ultimately causing unhappiness and discontentment. The role of Occupational Therapy is to facilitate through therapeutic use of self, the human being's engagement in meaningful occupations, thus enhancing his/her own complex dynamic adaptive system. By using occupation to foster the ability to interact with and master the environment, occupational therapists enhance human dignity for individuals whose ability to engage in meaningful occupations may have been compromised. This in turn advances the individual's pursuit of health, wellness and a self-directed life.

VIEW OF HUMANITY

The Department of Occupational Therapy at The University of Scranton advocates a holistically conceptualized, person-centered approach, which is based on the view of the individual as the center of focus in therapy. Inherent in this approach is the belief that the person (a complex dynamic, adaptive system) is capable of self-direction, regardless of ability or disability. Additionally, the Department holds the fundamental belief that one's environment forms the context of human functioning. We consider environmental context to include not only one's physical surroundings, but also the full richness that is brought by one's familial, emotional, spiritual and community connections.

APPROACH TO LEARNING/INSTRUCTION

Human beings, as self-directed individuals, are motivated to learn and achieve progressively higher levels of understanding, knowledge and skills. Each learner must be actively engaged in the process, taking into account his/her own learning style. Since the person is not a passive recipient, he/she learns best by self-directed engagement. This individualized, active learning occurs on a continuum, with an ongoing exchange between learner and environment. The emerging individual is a person with a mature understanding of self and a commitment to life long learning.