All 50 states require a license to legally practice occupational therapy and provide services to clients. This license is required after completing your degree program and certification exams.
AOTA- Licensure boards by state
Kansas Board of Healing Arts- Occupational Therapist
Missouri Board of Occupational Therapy
Continuing Education (CE) is extremely important in the health and allied health profession. CE courses allow professionals remain up-to-date on the latest practices, technologies, and trends. In most fields, CE units are necessary to maintain certification. Listed below are resources for CE courses.
Missouri Health Professions Consortium
FSBPT- Continuing Competence Initative
GSO- Great Seminars Online
CE for physical and occupational therapists
RehabEdge
Search within the Physical Therapy discipline for CE courses by different categories (topic, location, format, provider, etc)
Becoming an member of a professional organization is important for connecting with other professionals in the field, continuing education, and finding jobs or internships. Several organizations have annual conferences and provide scholarship opportunities for student members. Many also have a social media presence or maintain a forum or listserv.
AOTA- American Occupational Therapy Association
KOTA- Kansas Association of Occupational Therapists
MOTA- Kansas City District Missouri Occupational Therapy Association
World Federation of Occupational Therapists
These organizations are not specifically for physical therapists, but support similar allied health professionals.
American Board of Sport Psychology
ACRM- American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
AOSSM - American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
ASMI- American Sports Medicine Institute
AASP - Association for Applied Sport Psychology
NSCA- National Strength and Conditioning Association
AAA- American Association of Anatomists
AAA on Facebook
AACA- American Association of Clinical Anatomists
AACA Listserv
FSBPT- Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy
FSBPT Message Boards (login required)
WCPT- World Confederation for Physical Therapy
WCPT on Facebook, WCPT Forum
The following local public libraries provide access to research databases in the health field. You may be required to sign up for a library card, which is typically free of charge, and you may be able to receive reciprocal benefits between the library systems.
Johnson County Library Health and Wellness Research Resources
This public library system has 14 locations in southwest Kansas City.
Kansas City Public Library Health and Wellness
KCPL has a central library and 9 branches located primarily in downtown Kansas City.
Mid-Continent Public Library Health and Medicine Resources
Mid-Continent has 32 locations throughout the Kansas City region.
Kansas State Library Health Databases
The Kansas State Library resources are available through any local Kansas public library.
