The Once and Future Programme: Educational Innovation in Occupational Therapy

During the late 1960s and early 1970s while the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists was wrestling with issues of educational standards, Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario was developing two diploma programmes in occupational therapy and physiotherapy with input from McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences. This article reviews the development of the Mohawk College Diploma Programme in Occupational Therapy and focuses on several unique features of the curriculum which proved to be the strengths of the programme. These features, problem-based small group learning, strong partnerships with the clinical community and non-traditional fieldwork placements, formed a strong base for the subsequent development of the degree completion programme at McMaster and the new second degree undergraduate (BHSc.OT.) programme in Occupational Therapy. The reference to “The Once and Future Programme” emphasizes the fact that the new undergraduate programme in Occupational Therapy at McMaster University has successfully built upon the strengths of the earlier Mohawk College Diploma Programme.