Immediate action is required to address the crisis in occupational therapy fieldwork education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accreditation is a function that ensures quality in higher education. Many accreditation functions in higher education are regional, and schools must engage those accreditation processes in order for students attending to be eligible for many forms of financial aid. Many professional educational programs are also accredited by discipline specific organizations , which are in turn themselves monitored by national accreditors . In sum, there are multiple layers to the educational accreditation process that all serve as a quasi-public protection to ensure quality. The occupational therapy profession has a discipline specific accreditor, named the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). This group has a statement on educational quality that can be found here. This policy states that a profession is distinguished by a variety of factors. Among these are a set of recognized educational standards for professional preparation; a credentialing mechanism