As part of Indiana Wesleyan University’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program, students and faculty extend their learning beyond the classroom through immersive global experiences. Each year, the program partners with organizations around the world to explore diverse healthcare systems, cultural contexts, and approaches to occupational therapy.
Through hands-on service and collaboration with local professionals in places like Belize and Curaçao, students gain a deeper understanding of global health, community engagement, and the ways occupational therapy can support individuals across different settings and cultures.
On the Caribbean island of Curacao, OTD students and faculty are immersed in the island culture to gain a better understanding of what healthcare is like living on an island and experience how having a disability impacts occupational roles. Students gain a better understanding of what services are available for those recovering from injury or with a developmental disability.
While at Soeur Hedwig School , OTD students spend time with the teachers and aids working alongside them to educate and provide resources on how to best help the children at the school from an occupational therapy perspective. Students and faculty work individually with students with a variety of diagnosis from spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and downs syndrome. The school is government funded, which provides some unique opportunities and challenges for the students and teachers.
While at the SGR Rehabilitation Center , OTD students learn from local occupational therapists on the challenges of the healthcare system while getting a chance to learn from practitioners of a different culture and educational background. Our partners at the school and the rehab center are supportive of the OTD students and are excited to learn from them as well.
Additionally, while on the island, OTD students tour a variety of other sites including the local hospital, a dolphin rehabilitation center, and a low vision foundation.
Explore Curacao
In the country of Belize, the WGO team prepares a mix of learning and service experiences for the IWU OTD team. The group travels across the country vising a variety of health care facilities in the cities and small communities to learn about health care accessibility and offering support where needed.
While at The Palm Center, students meet an Occupational Therapist (OTD) who specializes in mental health to learn about theory implementation and use of occupations in the residential facility. As there are no OTs in the country of Belize, this OTR is contracted from Cuba to offer services to the residents of the facility. Students come prepared to collaborate with the OT to deliver a hands-on group with a focus on culturally relevant social and cognitive skills, fostering creativity and independence.
While in the community, students and faculty collaborate with a missionary physician, meeting families who have experienced injury or disability to complete culturally relevant assessment and consultative services. The WGO team then partners with these families to offer continued support after the IWU team returns home.
Explore Belmopan
