(a) A licensed occupational therapy assistant shall practice under the supervision of an occupational therapist who is licensed in Tennessee.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 63-13-206
Board: means : (A) As used in part 2 of this chapter, the board of occupational therapy. See Tennessee Code 63-13-103
Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
Occupational therapist: means a person licensed to engage in occupational therapy practice under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 63-13-103
Occupational therapy assistant: means a person licensed to assist in occupational therapy practice under the supervision of an occupational therapist. See Tennessee Code 63-13-103
(b) The supervising occupational therapist is responsible for all services provided by the occupational therapy assistant, including, but not limited to, the formulation and implementation of a plan of occupational therapy services for each client, and has a continuing responsibility to follow the progress of each client and to ensure the effective and appropriate supervision of the occupational therapy assistant according to the needs of the client.(c) The supervising occupational therapist shall assign to the occupational therapy assistant only those duties and responsibilities that the occupational therapy assistant is qualified to perform.(d) The board shall adopt rules governing the supervision of occupational therapy assistants by occupational therapists. Those rules may address the following:
(1) The manner in which the supervising occupational therapist oversees the work of the occupational therapy assistant;(2) The ratio of occupational therapists to occupational therapy assistants required under different conditions and in different practice settings; and(3) The documentation of supervision contacts between the supervising occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant.(e) The rules adopted by the board shall recognize that the frequency, methods and content of supervision of occupational therapy assistants by occupational therapists may vary by practice setting and are dependent upon the following factors, among others:
(1) Complexity of the client’s needs;(2) Number and diversity of clients;(3) Skills of the occupational therapy assistant and the supervising occupational therapist;(4) Type of practice setting; and(5) Requirements of the practice setting.
