Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Fellowship Program

Program Mission

The mission of the Tampa General Hospital Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Fellowship Program is to cultivate advanced practitioners in acute and critical care through evidence-based practice, expert mentorship, scholarly inquiry, and interprofessional collaboration. Fellows will develop specialized clinical reasoning and leadership skills to provide exceptional, patient-centered care for medically complex individuals across acute and intensive care settings. In alignment with Tampa General Hospital's vision to be the safest and most innovative academic health system in America, the program prepares occupational therapists to improve patient outcomes, advance professional practice, and lead innovation in acute and critical care rehabilitation.

Program Overview

Goals and Objectives

  • Provide occupational therapy services for medically complex patients across acute and critical care settings, including ICU, trauma, transplant, cardiac, neurological, and surgical populations, while adapting interventions to support participation in meaningful daily activities and safe functional recovery.
  • Integrate occupational therapy into the interprofessional critical care team by supporting early mobilization, delirium prevention, family engagement, discharge planning, and patient-centered care throughout the hospitalization.
  • Use current evidence and emerging best practices to guide clinical decision-making, provide advanced care, evaluate outcomes, and identify opportunities to improve functional outcomes in acute and critical care patient populations.
  • Participate in program development, quality improvement, and service advancement initiatives that enhance the delivery of occupational therapy and improve the patient experience across the continuum of acute care.
  • Share knowledge and promote professional growth through mentorship, education, and scholarly activities that support occupational therapy practitioners, students, patients, families, and members of the healthcare team.

Curriculum:

  • The Acute and Critical Care Fellowship Program is a 12-month, 53-week program consisting of the following learning modules:
    • Tampa General Hospital new team member orientation – 1 week
    • Introduction to Acute Care – 8 weeks
      • Orthopedics – 4 weeks
      • General Med-Surgery – 4 weeks
    • Acute and Critical Care Areas of Focused Practice – 39 weeks
      • Vascular/Vascular Surgery – 5 weeks
      • Trauma/Surgical Trauma* – 11 weeks
      • Neurology/Neurosurgery – 11 weeks
      • Cardiac/Cardiothoracic Surgery/Transplant* – 12 weeks

      *Pre-transplant and post-transplant patients will be seen throughout these modules. One week is built in at the end for the final exam and wrap-up coursework.

    • Choose your own adventure – 4 weeks
      • Return to a setting of your choice
      • Exploration of additional practice areas: Burn, pediatrics, emergency department…and more!
    • Project Completion, Final Presentations, Program Evaluations, and Assessment – 1 week  

Additional learning opportunities include participation in multidisciplinary rounds, medical review boards, and observations with clinical pharmacy, orthotics/prosthetics, respiratory therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, and inpatient surgical cases.

Breakdown of teaching hours during the 51 weeks of education (excluding the orientation and final/wrap-up weeks):

  • Clinical Practice
    • 28 hours per week during educational weeks (1,344 total hours)
  • Didactic Learning
    • 4 hours per week during educational weeks (192 total hours)
  • Mentored Service Delivery
    • 8 hours per week during educational weeks (384 total hours)
    • Mentored service delivery will include direct one-on-one meetings with mentors, case studies, self-initiated research with mentor review, journal clubs, interdisciplinary rounding, and other educational components to enhance the fellow’s learning.

Hours

Most on-site fellowship activities occur Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 7 PM. The fellow’s work schedule will be flexible and allow for patient care, training, mentoring, study time and preparation. Schedules are coordinated by the fellowship program coordinator and will not exceed 40 hours per week of direct program participation. Additional personal study time will be required.

Weekend/Holiday Requirements

The fellow will be responsible for working every fifth weekend with designated days off during the week prior and the week following the scheduled weekend. The fellow will also be responsible for working the following holidays: Christmas Day (December 25) and Independence Day (July 4).

Accreditation Information

The TGH Acute and Critical Care Fellowship Program has received a 10-year accreditation from the American Occupational Therapy Association effective August 2026. The next re-accreditation application cycle is due in March 2036, with an interim report due in January 2031.

Program Contact Information

For any questions, please contact us at:
Email: OTfellowship@tgh.org
Phone: 813-844-7226