Any applicant applying for a license as an occupational therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant shall file a written application provided by the board, showing to the satisfaction of the board that he meets the following requirements:

(1) Residence: Applicant need not be a resident of this state;

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(2) Character: Applicant shall be of good moral character;

(3) Education: Applicant shall present evidence satisfactory to the board of having successfully completed the academic requirements of an educational program in occupational therapy recognized by the board:

(a) The occupational therapy educational program must be accredited by the committee on allied health education and accreditation/American Medical Association in collaboration with the American Occupational Therapy Association;

(b) The occupational therapy assistant educational program must be approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association.

(4) Experience: Applicant shall submit to the board evidence of having successfully completed a period of supervised fieldwork experience arranged by the recognized educational institution where he met the academic requirements or by the nationally recognized professional association:

(a) For an occupational therapist, a minimum of six months of supervised fieldwork experience is required;

(b) For an occupational therapy assistant, a minimum of two months of supervised fieldwork experience is required.

(5) Examination: An applicant for licensure as an occupational therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant shall pass an examination approved by the board upon recommendation by the occupational therapy committee;

(6) Certification: In order to apply physical agent modalities as defined in § 36-31-1, an occupational therapist or occupational therapist assistant is qualified pursuant to this subdivision, as follows:

(a) Has successfully completed twenty-five hours of American Occupational Therapy Association or American Physical Therapy Association approved education covering physical agent modalities and completed a supervised mentorship to include five case studies on each class of modality to be incorporated into patient care;

(b) Is certified as a hand therapist by the Hand Therapy Certification commission or other equivalent entity recognized by the board; or

(c) Has completed education during a basic occupational therapy educational program that included demonstration of competencies on each class of the physical agent modalities.

A supervising therapist or mentor may be a physical therapist, a certified hand therapist, or an occupational therapist who has completed a supervised mentorship and has five years of clinical experience utilizing each class of physical agent modalities; or an occupational therapist who has graduated from an occupational therapy program whose curriculum includes physical agent modality education.

Source: SL 1986, ch 323, § 6; SL 2005, ch 205, § 2; SL 2021, ch 175, § 8.