OTD Newsroom

Tessa Kight, Assistant to the Program Director and Division Chief of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Q: What excites you about this role at Duke?  
A: I am excited to be working with students and professors! I went to graduate school at Duke and love the academic environment.  

Emily M. D'Agostino, DPH, MS, MEd, MA, Director of Community-Engaged Research Practice; Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, discussed her recent study examining the impact of asthma on children’s physical activity levels with MedPage Today.

Severe, persistent asthma in children is linked to decreased physical activity, which may, in turn, lead to poor physical fitness. Longitudinal research assessing asthma severity as a predictor of physical fitness is limited among the pediatric population.

It’s official! Duke University’s Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program has been granted accreditation from the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) for seven years. 

Duke OTD joins 90 other programs accredited to award a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy and 483 programs awarding OT degrees at the associate, bachelor, master, doctorate levels. 

The Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) has had a busy fall connecting students with each other and the OT profession.

Earlier this month, SOTA hosted a successful Friendsgiving in partnership with the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD).

Dr. Tomeico Faison is an assistant professor and director of minority recruitment for the OTD program.  She earned a bachelor's and a master's from UNC-Chapel Hill in radiologic science and occupational therapy respectively. She earned a clinical doctoral degree in occupational therapy with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship from Boston University.

What sparked your interest in serving?

Duke University’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate program students and faculty were strong contributors to this year’s North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association Fall Conference held November 3-5 at Rowan Cabarrus Community College.

Along with key presenters, Capstone Coordinator and Assistant Professor Cambey Mikush, OTD, OTR/L, was honored with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award at the Annual Lunch and Awards Ceremony (Read more)

Each year the NCOTA Annual Awards North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (NCOTA) recognizes and honors colleagues who have made significant contributions to the profession of occupational therapy.

We are celebrating Native American Heritage Month and honoring the many ways that individuals and communities have contributed to and uplifted our nation.  We are proud to honor the members of our own OTD family, first-year student Ahriyanna Bullard and third-year student Carnell (Cal)Yazzie. 

Second-year OTD student Peyton Gemmell led a short course, An Occupational Perspective on Navigating Food-Related Occupations for Adults with ADHD, at the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association’s fall conference held Nov. 3-5.