Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected healthcare students throughout the country and their anticipated graduation dates. Occupational therapy students are required to complete 24 weeks of fieldwork experience. As a result of the effects of COVID-19, many occupational therapy students have been displaced from their fieldwork sites. Current policy states that occupational therapy students are to complete their fieldwork experience and then may take the National Board Certification of Occupation Therapy (NBCOT) Exam. Once students complete their fieldwork and pass the NBCOT, they are eligible to apply for state licensure.

Occupational therapy students are requesting that NBCOT allow students to sit for the NBCOT Exam before completing fieldwork experience. This allows students to prepare for the exam during this time off while displaced from fieldwork. Students are not requesting to be licensed prior to completing fieldwork, they are asking to sit for the exam and receive licensure once fieldwork has been completed. Research suggests that students have higher passing rates when they take standardized board exams closer to the end of their academic course work. Research further reveals that there is a negative relationship between a greater time frame from the end of academic coursework and NBCOT scores.



The New York State Department of Higher Education declared they will exempt prospective educators in education preparation programs (EPPs) from completing certification exams should testing centers remain closed after May 1 as a result of COVID-19. They suggest that first-year employers provide additional learning opportunities and mentorship. Although occupational therapy students are not asking to be exempt from the NBCOT, they are requesting that accommodations be made to sit for the exam prior to fieldwork completion and licensure be granted once fieldwork has been completed.



Students in the occupational therapy field hope that NBCOT follows other professional councils in assisting students to meet their professional goals in the midst of COVID-19. This allowance expedites the number of occupational therapists present in the field once students have completed fieldwork requirements. Occupational therapists are vital during this pandemic as many physical and mental health barriers have developed and continue to develop as a result of COVID-19. Occupational therapy students are eager to enter the healthcare industry, participate in COVID-19 relief programs, and promote self-efficacy in all individuals.