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AOTA. Occupational Therapy Assistant Supervision Requirements. This AOTA document summarizes laws for supervision of COTAs by state. I compared some of the supervision laws of Ohio and Kentucky because I will most likely be working in one or both of these states. As I read through the specific laws for each of these states, I was surprised by the differences. For practitioners living near the border of multiple states, being well-versed in specific state laws will be essential for protecting our licensure. I summarized just a couple specific laws of these two states to give you a better idea of how they may differ state to state. This is a very important document to keep handy, and it goes into much more detail than what I've provided here. In Kentucky, supervising OTs must provide no less than 4 hours per month of general supervision for each COTA, which must include no less than 2 hours per month of face-to-face supervision. This law is more specific in Ohio. In Ohio, OTs must provide supervision at least once a week for all COTAs who are in their first year of practice. The OT must provide supervision at least once a month for COTAs beyond their first year of practice. Ohio law specifies that co-signing client documentation alone does not meet the minimum level of supervision. Supervision is specified as an interactive process that includes review of the following: client assessment, client reassessment, treatment/intervention plan, intervention, and discontinuation of treatment/intervention plan. In Kentucky, OTs may not have more than the equivalent of 3 full time COTAs under supervision at any 1 time. In Ohio, the number of COTAs an OT can supervise varies based upon the OTs job duties. If the OT performs evaluations, direct treatment, and supervision of OT personally, an OT may supervise up to 4 COTAs. However, if the OT does NOT provide direct treatment, the OT may supervise up to 6 COTAs.

This study was particularly interesting considering we are currently paired with clinicians during our level II rotations. The study aimed to determine whether a difference in productivity exists between clinicians supervising and not supervising a Level II occupational therapy student and whether factors including clinician years of experience, practice setting, and clinician productivity without a student could predict clinician productivity while supervising a student. Results indicated no difference in clinician productivity with or without a student. Clinician years of experience, practice area, and productivity without a student were significant predictors of clinician productivity while supervising a student. Study results contradict the belief that supervising Level II fieldwork students lowers clinicians' productivity. Findings suggest that practice area and productivity without a student are important factors influencing the productivity of clinicians supervising a fieldwork student.

This PDF document highlights Kentucky Law regarding occupational therapists supervisory roles. As mentioned under section two, Kentucky Law states that an occupational therapy supervisor must provide at least four hours per month of general supervision for each occupational therapy assistant whom they supervise. Two of these general supervision hours must include face-to-face, direct contact with the occupational therapy assistant. In addition, the supervising occupational therapist must co-sign all documentation within fourteen calendar days of the notation. All supervision must be documented in a log that includes the date/frequency of supervision, type of supervision provided, observation, dialogue, discussion, and instruction provided, as well as the number of supervisory hours worked. The board can perform random audits examining occupational therapists supervision logs. It is important to note that in Kentucky a supervising occupational therapist may not supervise more than three occupational therapy assistants at one time. For those planning on working in Kentucky, this document is useful in outlining supervisory roles/responsibilities of occupational therapy practitioners in terms of supervision.

I feel that is an important document that all of us should look up, read, and study for our individual home states. In Kentucky, an OTR must provide at least 4 hours of supervision a month for each COTA. Within 14 days, an OTR must co-sign all documents. In addition, in Kentucky an OTR can only supervise 3 COTAs at one time.

This exert is specifically from the VA handbook in regards to supervision specifically for health professionals and trainees. This resource provides a strict breakdown of the supervision requirements for supervisors and trainees. It is clear through this policy that strict guidelines are to be followed within this system and this is what I have experienced in my time there. I was intrigued however, that supervisory roles are seen as an educational experience. The following tenet was the first under supervisor regulation--" Supervision is an educational experience provided by a qualified supervising practitioner with a trainee. This relationship is evaluative, extends over time, and has the simultaneous purposes of enhancing the professional functioning of the trainee while monitoring the quality of services delivered. Supervision is provided through observation, consultation, directing the learning and activities of the trainee, and role modeling". I feel that this really stressing the educational importance of being a supervisor.

This document provides a definition for supervision: viewed as a cooperative process in which two or more people participate in a joint effort to establish, maintain and or elevate the level of competence and performance. The authors add that supervision is based on a mutual understanding between the supervisor and supervisee about each other's competence, experience, education and credentials. For me, it was interesting that the authors indicated that supervision is supposed to promote growth, encourage creativity and innovation. Thus, if your relationship with your supervisor does not reflect this then you may want to meet and discuss this document.

This article discusses the general supervision guidelines for OTs and OTAs. It is broken down into four sections which cover general supervision, supervision of OTs and OTAs, roles and responsibilities, and supervision of OT aides. Supervision is defined at a joint effort to establish, maintain, or elevate competence and performance. The article urges OTs to seek mentorship as supervision to maintain competency and increase knowledge. Delegation of tasks to OTAs by OTs should be done with regard to the complexity of the client's needs/the intervention technique, the practice setting, and state/agency requirements.

This is a useful guideline from AOTA that discusses supervision requirements for OTRs, COTAs, and fieldwork students. It discusses general supervision, supervision requirements for OTRs and COTAs, and the differences in the roles of OTR and COTA as well.

This document, created by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), serves to provide a definition of supervision and outline the parameters concerning effective supervision in order to improve the delivery and quality of occupational therapy services. According to the AOTA, supervision is defined as a cooperative process where two or more people collaborate with one another in an effort to establish, maintain, and/or elevate an individual's competency and job performance. Upon proper certification, occupational therapists are independent practitioners; however, it is recommended that new practitioners seek mentorships in order to promote professional growth. This document further explains the various principles concerning an occupational therapist role in supervising an occupational therapy assistant, providing a brief overview. More specific requirements concerning occupational therapy supervision are outlined in state laws.

This page provides an overview of the laws and regulations in Ohio regarding supervision in occupational therapy practice. It discusses specific supervision practices for students, assistants, unlicensed individuals, etc.

This web resource outlines Ohio Law concerning occupational therapists supervisory roles. A supervising occupational therapist is responsible and accountable for the actions of an occupational therapy assistant, occupational therapy assistant student, occupational therapy student, and unlicensed personnel, such as an aide or technician. A full-time supervising therapist who performs evaluations and is not directly responsible for providing occupational therapy treatment may supervise six occupational therapy assistants. However, a full-time supervising therapist who performs evaluations and maintains his/her own caseload may supervise no more than four occupational therapy assistants. A supervising occupational therapist must meet weekly with occupational therapy assistants who have less than one year of clinical experience, and monthly for those who have more than one year of clinical experience. This web resource provides vital information for those of us who are planning on working in Ohio.

This web resource outlines West Virginia law regarding occupational therapists supervisory roles. Under West Virginia law, it is the responsibility of the occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant to decide the appropriate frequency and quality of supervision to ensure that the occupational therapy assistant is providing both safe and effective occupational therapy services to their patients. A supervising occupational therapist who is supervising an occupational therapy assistant with less than one year's experience is responsible for providing general supervision and must be available as needed by telephone, electronic, or written communication. Additionally, the occupational therapist must provide direct contact supervision to the occupational therapy assistant every two weeks at the work site. The same supervision rules apply to an experienced occupational therapy assistant except direct contact is only required monthly. The occupational therapist must document any type of supervision. This particular document did not mention how many occupational therapy assistants an occupational therapist can supervise at one time. This document is beneficial in highlighting the supervisory roles of an occupational therapist, for anyone considering working within West Virginia.

In this article, the authors describe three main functions that OTs should encompass when supervising assistants: educate, manage, and support. Also, supervisors should use a variety of leadership styles and approaches to effectively meet the diverse needs and personalities of assistants and students alike.

According to the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy, approximately 60% of therapists are in a supervisory role and are responsible for providing support and supervision to assure that patient goals are being addressed and met. One study outlined in this article examined occupational therapists comfort level with supervisory roles and found that many occupational therapists do not feel comfortable in a supervisory role. This article outlines three important aspects of supervision that occupational therapists should uphold in order to improve their comfort with supervision and improve the quality of their supervision. Occupational therapists should educate, manage, and support. In order to complete these three functions of supervision it is important to utilize various leadership styles to better reach those whom you supervise.

This article is intended to be used by OTs who wish to establish supervision systems. It is a practice-based paper, based on 10 years of experience of the author Elaine Hunter in evolving a supervision structure for occupational therapists. The benefits and potential difficulties are described with an emphasis on the need to understand he aims of supervision. The essential components of quality supervision are presented and a brief overview of a supervision package is provided as one way to implement supervision for OTs. It highlights the four main considerations and essential components in supervision. The article also depicts the difference between supervision in OT and the broad medical field. * This is a link to the abstract. I was able to access and print off the full article at my fieldwork site last week, but cannot from the computer I am currently on (I cannot sign into my Shawnee account through the library web page).

This is a resource produced by the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland. This information gives guidance for supervision of assistants and students. The resource is divided into five chapters with references and appendices also provided. Chapter one provides an introduction and rationale for the need of such as resource discussing supervision in occupational therapy. Chapter two gives definitions for what professional supervision is and is not in occupational therapy, as well as modes, functions and dual approaches in supervision. Chapter three discusses the components of supervision policy in occupational therapy. Chapter four gives an in-depth discussion of intervention strategies to enhance supervision. The final chapter provides a conclusion to the resource. References and Appendices follow with samples and discussion about a project process. This resource gives great information about supervision and allows the readers to gain a perspective of occupational therapy in Europe.

This article is about an occupational therapist who has worked in many settings and discussed the importance of supervision in her career. The therapist stated that she needed supervision from more experience practitioners when she first started working. the article stated that she found an experienced practitioner and discussed her actual cases with the practitioner. the supervisor would go over psychodynamics, therapeutic use of self, and clinical reasoning. The author states that this sort of professional supervision is important to become a well rounded practitioner that the patience best interest in mind.

This particular PDF document outlines occupational therapy supervision requirements by state. I know there are several individuals in our class who had stated they were interested in becoming traveling occupational therapists, so this document would be very beneficial for you. As I mentioned in other postings the degree of supervision differs from state to state, as well as the means of supervision. For instance, in Kentucky an occupational therapist must provide at least four hours of supervision per month, with two of those hours requiring face-to-face communication. However, in Alabama an occupational therapist must supervise an occupational therapy assistant at least 5% of their work hours per month with direct on-site supervision. While the general overview concerning supervisory roles are basically the same from state to state, the amount and type of supervision required differs from state to state.

Supervision is an expectation in the field of occupational therapy. This overview shares what an OT is to do when working with an OTA or a therapy aide. Supervision is also required if an OT elects to be a fieldwork educator. The specific roles of the therapist are outlined in this handout.