JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) course – part of the Defense Health Agency - recently reached a significant milestone in its commitment to educational excellence by
successfully completing its Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) on-site assessment.
Sponsored by the Uniformed Services University (USU) College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) and supported by the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence and the Naval Medical Training Support Command, the OTA course boasts a long-standing legacy of continuous ACOTE accreditation. This history traces back to its time under the Army Medical Department Center and School before the establishment of METC. This enduring history of accreditation is invaluable to the military medical mission because it serves as the ultimate benchmark for clinical competence. By meeting these rigorous, evidence-based national standards, the Army and Navy are assured that every graduate has satisfied strict occupational requirements.
This accreditation guarantees that military OTAs possess the exact skills, critical thinking, and competence necessary to perform their highly demanding tasks, ensuring that service members receive the highest caliber of rehabilitative care available.
What truly sets the METC OTA course apart from civilian accredited programs is its accelerated, highly rigorous structure. While traditional civilian associate-degree OTA programs typically span two full years, the METC course demands an intense, highly focused commitment over just 34 weeks. The course consists of an 18-week didactic (classroom) phase, immediately followed by 16 weeks of Level II clinical fieldwork.
This compressed timeline requires exceptional discipline and resilience—traits inherent to the U.S. military student—allowing the program to rapidly supply the armed forces with highly competent, mission-ready medical professionals.
To achieve success within this accelerated timeframe, the METC OTA course utilizes a unique instructional design. It relies on a "spiraling curriculum," which progressively builds student knowledge and skills. Core occupational therapy concepts are introduced early, reinforced repeatedly, and applied with increasing complexity as students advance through their coursework and into their fieldwork.
Teaching methods are intentionally tied to this developmental progression. Foundational instruction is supported through traditional lectures, guided discussions, and laboratory practice. As students advance, instruction rapidly shifts toward clinical application, case-based learning, problem-solving, simulation, and fieldwork integration. This allows students to connect classroom theory to real-world occupational therapy practice in a matter of weeks rather than years.
At the heart of this curriculum is the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, which serves as the foundation for clinical reasoning, intervention planning, and occupation-centered practice. Throughout their training, instructional activities reinforce essential threads, including client-centered care, evidence-based practice, leadership, collaboration, and a holistic perspective on health. Rather than being taught in isolation, these concepts are consistently woven across all courses and learning experiences.
The success of the METC OTA course is directly tied to the broader mission of the U.S. military. Occupational therapy practitioners play a vital role in maintaining force readiness and ensuring the health and well-being of service members, retirees, and their families. Depending on their branch, graduates step into highly specialized and demanding roles:
- In the Army: Operating as Occupational Therapy Specialists (68L), graduates are vital to the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) initiative. Their duties often span beyond traditional clinics; they evaluate and treat acute and chronic combat and operational stress, conduct battlefield unit needs assessments, and enhance unit performance through ergonomics, energy conservation, and upper extremity rehabilitation.
- In the Navy: Serving as Occupational Therapy Assistants (L21A), graduates provide critical rehabilitative care in military treatment facilities. They focus on restoring function and preventing disability through upper extremity rehabilitation, mental health support, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery, ensuring Sailors and Marines remain fit for duty and ready for deployment. Additionally, Navy OTAs bolster force readiness by providing care for the dependents of active-duty personnel through Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS), ensuring Sailors and Marines can remain focused on operations in Japan and the Indo-Pacific region.
The Team Behind the Success
This monumental achievement in maintaining ACOTE accreditation would not have been possible without the unwavering dedication, expertise, and tireless efforts of the course's leadership and instructional staff. The current METC OTA team who drove this success includes:
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Lt. Cmdr Cynthia B. DeArmon – Navy Occupational Therapist, Course Director (Sept 2025 – Feb 2026), Navy Service Lead, and Instructor
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Capt. Lyddia A. Revell – Army Occupational Therapist, Course Director, and Instructor
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Lt. Keegan P. Marcantel – Navy Occupational Therapist, Navy Service Lead, and Instructor
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Sgt. 1st Class Jose L. Sanchez-Arquieta – Army 68L Instructor and Non- Commissioned Officer in Charge
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Mr. Anthony D. Papp –Occupational Therapist, Instructor, and Academic Field-work Coordinator
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Mrs. Sherri L. Morris – Instructional Systems Specialist
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Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Foster – Army 68L Instructor
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Petty Officer 1st Class Lindsey L. Pruett – Navy L21A Instructor
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Staff Sgt. Luis D. Diaz Perez – Army 68L In-structor
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Staff Sgt. Jazmine Perez – Guest Instructor, Army Enlisted Subject Matter Expert Depart-ment (ESMED) at U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE)
The team also extends its gratitude for the invaluable support provided by Dr. Suzan F. Bowman and Petty Officer 1st Class Jason O. Service from the METC Standards and Evaluation department, whose contributions were vital to the success of the on-site visit.
Additionally, the course honors the foundational contributions of former OTA course director Maj. Tara J. Troianello. Although she has since relocated to another assignment, her leadership and groundwork were instrumental in paving the way for this successful accreditation effort.
Through the combined efforts of its exceptional staff, strategic partnerships, and a rigorous curriculum, the METC OTA course continues to set the standard for military medical education, proudly preparing the next generation of practitioners to support the nation's armed forces.