Are you an occupational therapy student interested in going into the hand therapy setting but are unsure of where to start or worried you do not know enough? Then this is the place for you!
Mission of the Website:
Help OT students succeed in hand therapy
What is on the website?
Various learning modules designed to teach foundational skills needed when working in hand therapy
The learning modules contain written text, graphics, and quizzes to reinforce learning
Topics include:
Anatomy
Common diagnoses/conditions
Manual therapy
Modalities
Orthosis fabrication
Outcome measures
Wound care/healing
This website is not designed to prepare individuals for the NBCOT or CHT examination, but rather increase competence and confidence in those who are interested in hand therapy.
Additional Information
OT programs focus on preparing students as entry-level generalists so they are ready to work in a wide range of settings and with multiple populations
Hand therapy is a highly specialized setting that requires advanced clinical reasoning, orthopedic knowledge, and hands-on skills, which are typically gained through fieldwork and post-graduate experience
This website is not intended to teach you everything you need to know to succeed in hand therapy, but get your foot in the door and feel more confident when either doing a fieldwork rotation or starting a job
It is NORMAL to not know or understand everything when first learning this information
It takes lots and lots of studying and practice to feel comfortable learning this material
Do not be discouraged, if you want to go into hand therapy be patient and stick with it!
Tips
Take notes by hand or on the computer while looking at information
Take breaks often and do a section or two at a time
Teach yourself outloud or to someone else about a topic after becoming more comfortable with it
If you can explain it simply, then that means you understand it well
Get Started!
Explore the tabs at the top left of the page to start learning