Gannon University Athletics issued the following announcement on Jan. 28.
David LeVan, D.H.S., associate professor of occupational therapy.
Occupational therapists help patients achieve optimal participation in life’s occupations after experiencing disruption due to injury, illness or disability. In other words, they help people live their best lives.
But what does it look like to become an occupational therapist and enter this rewarding career field?
We got in touch with Gannon’s own David LeVan, D.H.S., associate professor of the occupational therapy program at our Erie campus to answer this question.
In this interview, LeVan answers common questions and shares program opportunities and other insights for those who want to become an occupational therapist.
View the video or read the transcript below to get his thoughts.
Can you introduce yourself?
Hi, there. My name is David LeVan. I'm an associate professor in the Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy program at Gannon University here in Erie, Pa. It's really nice to have some time today to share with you all the great things that we're doing here in this program.
What is unique about Gannon’s occupational therapy program?
I think one of the major things I can tell you is we have a tremendous commitment to a high-quality education through the use of innovative and creative teaching and learning techniques.
I think one technique that really comes to my mind that I know we do well and our students value is hands-on learning experiences throughout our entire program from start to finish.
How is Gannon preparing students to become occupational therapists?
Our students are going to participate in a variety of these hands-on learning experiences, and they include interprofessional, education activities, field trips, pro bono clinic, and even community-based programs.
I want to share with you a few examples of how these programs work and what our students are doing to really help define that commitment.
Our interprofessional education labs are (where) our students and faculty come together from different disciplines. They work as a team, and in that process, they also learn about how each team member contributes to improving the client's goals. That would be in the case of when we're out there training, or if we're actually in a place where we want to be in a community and we want to share a common goal with a group of people.
Another fantastic opportunity that we have available to our students is our Little Knights Pediatric Pro Bono Clinic for children and families. This is a place where our students can connect the classroom right to the clinic. They provide occupational therapy services to children and their families. And in doing that, they really get a chance to experience their future role as occupational therapists.
Finally, through a variety of partnerships, our community-based programs are designed to teach our students the value of service and for me the value of services really having our students understand that it is so important to do things to help other people without expecting something in return. And I think that's just a tremendous value in these experiences. They do a lot of different things that are community programs. They may be coaches at a fitness and training program for adults with physical challenges. They may be boxing partners at a wellness class for adults with Parkinson's disease, war, they may be actually teaching children and families in the community about living well through a television program.
What occupational therapy skills can students expect to learn?
(Gannon’s) unique community-based learning experiences really help our students grow skills.
Those skills could be forming a therapeutic relationship. This is where they meet someone for the first time and they establish trust. They also have a chance to really learn what it's like to motivate and encourage a client and help them meet their goals.
Once our students graduate from these variety of unique learning experiences, they are finding career opportunities and a variety of settings. That is such a nice thing to hea
Thank you for your time.
I'm hopeful that this video that I shared with you today is helpful to you and I certainly thank you for your time and I look forward to hopefully seeing you in the classroom.
Learn more about Gannon’s occupational therapy program.
Original source can be found here.
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