OTD Newsroom

The IPEC Center is planning for the Foundations for Learning in Interprofessional Practice (FLIP!) Workshop, Part 2 - Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 1:30 – 4:00 p.m.  The workshop brings 500+ first-year students from the ABSN, MBS, MD, OTD, PT, and PA Programs back to the IPE and Pearson buildings for an afternoon workshop – continuing to build upon and practice the skills of working successfully in interprofessional teams.     

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. 

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.

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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).

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. 

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. 

Have you seen the Iwama Mamas play?  The team is a group of Duke OTD students who participate in Duke Intramural Sports’ basketball, flag football, soccer, and pickleball games. The Iwama Mamas just wrapped up the flag football and pickleball season but are looking forward to a soccer playoff game at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, Nov. at Cohan Fields. Next semester, basketball and pickleball will resume.