Is Occupational Therapy Right for You? 7 Signs You’re Made for This Career

Posted on by imorris
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Natasha Smet, OTD, highlights the shared qualities that set students up for success in occupational therapy careers.

by Isabel Nelson

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Occupational therapy can be a great fit for those who demonstrate empathy, flexibility, good communication skills, and a curiosity for learning.
  • An occupational therapy career is ideal for students with a drive to help people emotionally as well as physically.
  • The new Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at UWS will help students of any background succeed in training for a career in OT.

What kind of people make good occupational therapists? For Natasha Smet, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA, associate professor and academic fieldwork coordinator of University of Western States’ new Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, the seeds to her career path were sown in an unlikely place. “When I was in high school, a classmate said to me, ‘You should be an occupational therapist.’ I said, ‘I have no idea what that is.’” When the classmate explained it was a nod to Dr. Smet’s creative side as well as her passion for science, she took the compliment and filed the notion of OT away.

Years later, she pursued that notion, leading her to a fulfilling career in therapy and education. Now, she develops tools for inclusive education that welcomes the “beautiful differences” she sees in her students. In fact, there are many traits of a good occupational therapist that Dr. Smet sees in common in students who go on to success in that career.

If you want to learn more about how to become an occupational therapist, Dr. Smet shares inside knowledge about the signs you should become an occupational therapist.

1. Flexibility and Adaptability Make You a Strong Fit for Occupational Therapy

OT students “have to roll with things” because the field demands adaptability across diverse patients and settings.

The word "resilient" spelled out in Scrabble tiles.

“One of the things I think any occupational therapy student has to have is flexibility and adaptability,” Dr. Smet says. “I think that is really important. You have to roll with things.” Since the field encompasses so many settings and therapies and a diverse array of patient needs, both an OT education and the career itself call for students and practitioners to adapt to a multitude of situations.

Dr. Smet advises prospective students wondering about how to become an occupational therapist to research the field before jumping in, as those with a limited understanding of its breadth may be surprised to learn what the job entails. “They’re like, ‘What do you mean I’m going to have to wipe a person’s bottom?’” she says, “but it takes a person with an incredible ability, heart, and mind to be an occupational therapist.”

2. Curiosity and Love of Learning Are Signs You’ll Thrive as an OT

Trained as generalists, occupational therapists can “level up” their skills and pursue new settings to expand their knowledge, Dr. Smet says.

Close up of hands opening a book.

The existence of subspecialties within occupational therapy may appeal to those who are passionate about continuing their education after graduation or who like to follow new interests. Occupational therapists are trained as generalists, meaning there are opportunities to work in other areas of practice.

Dr. Smet says that, as a person who likes to keep her brain occupied, those possibilities were very exciting: “I knew that if I didn’t want to stay within one area of practice, I could change, level up my skills and change my practice setting or change my area of practice.” In a field as varied as occupational therapy, in which a student might even work with horses or dogs as therapeutic tools, a student with a curious mind and a passion for learning would likely be a good fit.

3. Enjoying Science but Not Math Doesn’t Rule Out an Occupational Therapy Career

Occupational therapy can be a “perfect fit” for science lovers who don’t necessarily excel at or enjoy math.

Teacher writing math equation on a chalkboard.

The health care industry can be daunting for students who found math challenging in their earlier education. Dr. Smet says occupational therapy is often a good fit for such students, and she speaks from personal experience. Although she enjoyed the biological sciences, she was intimidated by chemistry and math. “I started college a lot later than most people do because of my own fears and my self-limiting beliefs,” Dr. Smet says, “but that’s why occupational therapy was a perfect fit for me. I find it’s a profession that captures everybody for whom math and science wasn’t their strength or their perceived strength.”

Dr. Smet also believes that good educators can make those subjects more accessible to neurodivergent people too. “There’s so many talented neurodivergent people in this profession, and they go on to receive Ph.D.s in occupational therapy and other disciplines, even though they were told they weren’t good at math or science. They just hadn’t met the right educators or found their people yet.”

4. Seeking Community and Mentorship Is a Trait of Good Occupational Therapists

Dr. Smet says occupational therapy graduates often become proud colleagues with lifelong connections.

Three women and a man looking at a laptop screen.

If your dream job involves networking and mentorship, you have one of the key traits of a good occupational therapist. “In this profession, we welcome you into a professional community,” Dr. Smet says. “We look forward to having you as our future colleague because we want to see you at professional conferences.”

Dr. Smet says that one of the great joys of educating in the field of occupational therapy is taking her students not just to the finish line but beyond it. “We want to be the types of people that say,  ‘That was one of our graduates, and we’re so proud that they’re one of our colleagues.’” Dr. Smet says the desire to work with future students is reflected in the work that has been put into building the new OTD program.  “We’re excited to welcome this new cohort joining the best profession.”

5. Empathy and Communication Skills Define Successful Occupational Therapists

Empathy is a core trait of a good occupational therapist. “You’ve got to put your heart into what you do,” Dr. Smet says.

Two women talking over coffee.

One of the qualities Dr. Smet finds crucial in occupational therapists and OT students is empathy. “It’s very rare to find a learner coming into an occupational therapy program who doesn’t already come in wanting to be a helper,” she says. Students who don’t prioritize empathy or whose focus is only financial gain, Dr. Smet says, don’t suit the role well. “The people who think they’re coming in to make the big bucks, they don’t last very long. We can usually see those players pretty quickly and early on.” Dr. Smet says OT is a job that she puts her whole heart into, as a practitioner and an educator, and that successful occupational therapists do the same.

Dr. Smet adds that it’s also important for any health care provider to have good communication skills but that some parts of the role of an occupational therapist, particularly treating patients with specific needs or limitations, require high-level communication skills: “You have to be adaptable with your communication skills and your style, because you have to be able to communicate at varying levels to meet a patient and a client where they’re at.”

6. Creative Problem-Solvers Often Excel in Occupational Therapy Careers

Calling OTs “solution architects,” Dr. Smet highlights the blend of compassion, science, and creativity that defines the profession.

Three young men sitting at a table looking at laptops.

If a student enjoys using creative solutions or out-of-the-box thinking to solve problems, that might indicate they would be a good fit for occupational therapy. Dr. Smet describes herself and other OTs as “solution architects” because of their creative approaches to critical problem solving and providing care that best suits patients’ unique needs.

“Occupational therapy is a blend of compassion, science, creativity, and culture,” Dr. Smet says. “You have to have a lot of different skills to be a well-rounded occupational therapist. You have to have a good critical-thinking brain.”

7. Passion for Mental Health Care Is a Key Trait for Occupational Therapists

Occupational therapy careers go beyond physical healing. “Everything we do has a mental health component,” Dr. Smet says.

Close-up of a person pushing their fingertips together.

According to Dr. Smet, there’s a common misconception that occupational therapy is about treating only the hands or the upper body. OT is much more about working with the whole body, and that includes the mind. Dr. Smet says, “If you talk to a hand therapist, like our program director, Dr. Michele Tilstra, she will tell you: 90% of her job as a hand therapist is mental health, because you do most of your work talking to the person.”

“Body dysmorphia after injuries, emotional regulation in child patients, everything we do has a mental health component,” Dr. Smet says. If a career in health care appeals to you, and you value a whole-person approach to healing, occupational therapy might be an ideal career path for you to pursue.

Start Your Occupational Therapy Career With the UWS Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program

Ready to take the next step? Start your application today by completing the form below to connect with our admissions team. Discover how the UWS OTD program can help you achieve your goals.

If you’ve been wondering how to become an occupational therapist or searching for the best graduate programs for occupational therapy, the new Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program at University of Western States is built to help you succeed.

In just two years, this hybrid program prepares you with the knowledge, clinical experience, and professional support network to launch your career as an occupational therapist. Pending accreditation, graduates will also be eligible to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Certification Exam.

Ready to take the next step? Start your application today by completing the form below to connect with our admissions team. Discover how the UWS OTD program can help you achieve your goals.

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education Grants Candidacy Status to University of Western States Doctoral Program

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University of Western States (UWS) announced today that its new Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). This designation marks an important milestone in the accreditation process and affirms the program’s readiness to admit and educate students beginning in January 2026.

Occupational therapy is one of the fastest-growing health care professions, driven by an aging population, increasing rates of chronic conditions, and the need for rehabilitation after illness or injury. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of occupational therapists is projected to grow 14 percent between 2024 and 2034—much faster than the average for all occupations.

“The launch of the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program reflects our deep commitment to preparing the next generation of health care leaders who are grounded in a whole-person approach,” said Nathan Long, Ed.D., president of UWS. “This program offers students the flexibility to pursue a meaningful career in occupational therapy without having to uproot from their communities.”

Created with working professionals and career changers in mind, the UWS OTD program uses an innovative hybrid model that combines primarily online coursework with a small number of intensive on-campus residency experiences. This structure removes relocation barriers common to many traditional programs while maintaining a rigorous, hands-on education.

Candidacy Status is the first step in the multi-phase accreditation process. It recognizes that the university’s OTD program has demonstrated substantial compliance with ACOTE’s rigorous standards and is progressing on the pathway toward full accreditation. The program will next undergo a pre-accreditation review and on-site evaluation before being considered for Accreditation Status. Once that milestone is achieved, graduates will be eligible to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT®) examination to become licensed Occupational Therapists, Registered (OTR).The UWS OTD program is now accepting applications.

To apply and learn more, visit uws.edu/doctor-of-occupational-therapy.

 

UWS Student Finds Inspiration in Community-Based Clinical Education

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The CBCE program places students in internships and preceptorships that provide invaluable hands-on training and needed care to the communities they serve.

As is often the case with people who become chiropractors, Jessie Hrushka learned the value of the field as a patient. While studying nursing in college, she suffered a health issue that led her to seek a chiropractor’s care. “I was getting bad headaches in school and decided to go to a chiropractor,” Hrushka says. Having entered college looking to help others through health care, her positive experience with chiropractic led her to see the field as a potential path for herself. “I thought, ‘Oh, this is an option,’” she adds.

In addition to her experience as a patient, Hrushka encountered the chiropractic field as part of her nursing studies. “I was shadowing a chiropractor and loved it,” she says. Considering the field further, she realized that it aligned with her values as an aspiring health care practitioner. “I was interested in conservative care where I could help provide people with lasting results and not with pharmaceuticals,” she says.

Learning Through Practice

Ben Partridge, DC, a chiropractor Hrushka shadowed had received his degree from University of Western States. When it came time to apply to a chiropractic program, Hrushka was so sold on the UWS program that she never completed her applications to other schools. She says she chose the Portland program because it was more evidence-based than others she considered and because it focuses on the physical therapy and rehab aspects of chiropractic, not merely manipulation. “When I have my own practice one day, I would like to do a lot of the rehab and physical therapy and not just adjustments,” she says.

Hrushka secured her first internship through UWS’ Community-Based Clinical Education website. Looking for a practice near her family in Colorado Springs, she contacted Michael Macri, DC, of Evergreen Spine & Sports Medicine, who is participating in the CBCE program whom she had shadowed in the past.

“I really loved the way that he ran his practice,” Hrushka says. “They did a lot of physical therapy rehab, a lot of soft tissue as well as adjusting.” Additionally, Hrushka appreciated the scope of the practice, which included massage therapy, acupuncture, and a muscle relaxation technique called dry needling. “The literature says that the more modalities you use, the better results you get,” she says. After observing for her first week, she began performing adjustments. By the end of her internship, she was conducting most of the visit.

An Eye-Opening Journey

Having graduated from University of Western States in June 2025, Hrushka is currently completing her preceptorship at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her experience in the VA system, which began in April and which runs through September, has been a stark contrast to her internship in Colorado Springs. The needs of the patients she sees now are much different than those she encountered during her internship, and the community she serves in Fayetteville faces a shortage of doctors.

Fayetteville is home to one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the country, so the chiropractic clinic is almost always at or over capacity, according to Hrushka. This makes it difficult for the two chiropractors on staff to see patients as often as would be best for their recovery. In addition, the VA’s patients are older, and most suffer from chronic pain, so their needs differ significantly from those of the young, healthy athletes Hrushka treated in Colorado Springs.

A typical day at the VA begins at 8:30 a.m. New patient visits begin with Hrushka taking a full patient history. “It’s the most thorough history ever,” she says. After this comes a physical exam and treatment. For follow-up visits, Hrushka asks patients how they have been since their last visit and, in addition to providing adjustments, Hrushka says, “We teach them exercises and stretches to do when they go home, because there’s such a long time in between visits.”

Takeaways for a Future of Service

The CBCE program offers students more than hands-on experience; it also provides flexibility in choosing internship locations, whether close to home or in areas where they hope to practice. This geographic flexibility is intentional, exposing students to varied patient demographics and regional health systems. As Patrick Battaglia, DC, assistant vice president of CBCE, explains, “In our community-based education program, students work with diverse populations, veterans, active-duty military, and Native populations. They’re exposed to a diversity of regions and health systems, big health systems like the VA and small private clinics. Students get a rich exposure across the diversity of the health care system that they will be operating in.”

For Hrushka, her experience in the CBCE program gave her a greater understanding of a chiropractor’s work as well as a grasp of how wide the patient experience can be, depending on the practice. Through the benefit of seeing a large number of patients, she gained confidence in diagnosing and treating people based on their varying needs. “In a sports clinic, if your population is all young, healthy people, you can make them feel fantastic and think, ‘Wow, I just healed this person,’” she says. “With other patients, it’s important to focus on, ‘I’m still helping them even if I can’t heal them 100%.’”

Looking ahead, Hrushka must take the fourth and last part of her board exam. She hopes to get licensed in Colorado and find a clinic to work for. “I am very passionate about the conservative care side of medicine,” she says. “It’s helpful to focus on what the patient can do for himself rather than going to a doctor every week for the rest of his life. I like to teach my patients the exercises and tools they can use for long-term relief.”

For more information on all programs at University of Western States, please fill out he form below.

A Whole-Person Approach to Patient Wellness

Posted on by pciampanelli
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Explore how UWS’s focus on whole-person health allows for a comprehensive approach toward patient care, considering all aspects of well-being including physical, mental, and social factors. Learn more about how we teach a whole-person approach for better overall patient care.

Whole-Person Approach to Patient Care

What is whole-person care? Whole-person care is a evidence-based and patient-centered approach, that evaluates the patient’s physical, mental, and social factors. The focus is to treat root causes of disease and dysfunction with holistic, individualized approaches to health and well-being. Teaching future medical professionals to consider the whole person in their evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and patient management, not just suppressing symptoms. This approach factors in physical, mental, and social wellness to guide treatments and patient care management.

Patient-Centered Approach to Nutritional Wellness

Human nutrition is the provision of essential nutrients in food and the process of transforming it into body tissue and energy. Proper nutrition supports good health and bodily functions, whereas poor nutrition can weaken the body and immune system. Poor nutrition typically stems from poverty, food security, or a poor understanding or execution of meeting nutritional requirements for the body.

University of Western States offers a Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine program with a professional certificate, Master of Science, and a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition degree. Each program builds students’ knowledge on how to take a whole-person approach to nutrition by using ​​natural methods, specifically diet, lifestyle, and mental or emotional health as a central focus. UWS teaches this comprehensive understanding of whole-person consideration and evidence-driven data as a forefront model for health care practice that seeks to address the causes of disease, dysfunction, and poor nutrition rather than suppressing symptoms.

Patient-Centered Approach to Mental Health Wellness

Mental health is the emotional and psychological well-being of an individual. It influences how one thinks, feels, and acts. This is why it is important to understand a patient’s mental health and how it may affect their stress, and relationships, as it can hinder any healthy habits.

UWS reinforces the whole-person approach in all graduate degrees, including our Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Our future mental health counselors learn to provide treatment to individuals, families, and couples for a range of mental health conditions that affect emotional health and relationships. CMHC graduates use a patient-centered approach to address concerns such as anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, stress, and suicidal impulses. The methods and techniques for treating each condition are fully adapted to the individual—their life experience, lifestyle, current state of mind, and genetic factors that may contribute to mental illness.

Professional counselors use evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people confront the challenges that keep them stuck and develop healthier patterns. This process can be both cathartic and emotional, and counselors are trained to respond to crises such as suicidal thoughts or vocational burnout with skill and compassion. In addition, professional counselors may support clients in building creative outlets that promote well-being, such as exercise, meditation, or other activities that foster expression and creativity. At UWS, our program is uniquely aligned with sport and performance psychology, giving graduates the added ability to support athletes, military and tactical personnel, and other high-achieving professionals in both their mental health and performance needs.

Whole-Person Approach to Social Wellness

Social wellness is the relationships and interactions between people. Maintaining social wellness can be done through spirituality, contemplative practices, and building healthy relationships. Spirituality can be practicing religion or faith and applying the values to real-life scenarios. Contemplative practices include self-reflection and analysis for deep concentration and quieting the mind during times of distress. The goal is to explore the cause and effect of one’s emotions and reactions, breaking it down into understanding, and processing the next steps rather than being overwhelmed. Contemplative practices are practical, radical, and transformative for self-awareness and can be achieved through therapy, meditation, or other reflective practices. Building healthy relationships is made easier through awareness, intention, and boundaries. All of which heavily rely on honesty with oneself and the other, trust, respect, and communication.

If a patient is struggling in one area of physical, mental, or social wellness, it can make it harder to maintain wellness in the other areas. This is why future medical professionals need to take into consideration the whole person, pinpointing the cause of a condition, rather than suppressing the symptoms.

Using a Patient-Centered Approach in Your Career

The University of Western States offers a variety of graduate programs in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. We offer an accredited master’s degree in nutrition that combines holistic and integrative health. Start your journey as a future medical professional with a graduate degree that teaches a whole-person-health approach to patient care.

University of Western States Counseling Programs Receive National Accreditation from the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council

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University of Western States (UWS), a leader in whole-person health education, has received national accreditation from the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) for its Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs. The 100 percent online Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling can be taken independently or as a specialization within the Doctor of Education in Sport and Performance Psychology. Both the standalone program and the specialization are accredited.

“The demand for trained counselors and psychologists continues to rise across the U.S., and our programs are designed to meet that demand with both compassion and clinical rigor,” said Nathan Long, Ed.D., president of UWS. “This accreditation underscores the quality of our counseling curriculum and the strength of our university’s commitment to whole-person care.”

The MPCAC accreditation affirms that UWS counseling programs meet rigorous national training standards, preparing students to pursue licensure and make an immediate impact in mental health care settings. As the country faces a critical shortage of mental health providers, this recognition signals to prospective students and employers that UWS graduates are equipped to meet today’s most pressing mental health needs.

UWS offers two online counseling pathways that combine flexibility with clinical depth—one at the master’s level and one integrated into a doctoral program focused on performance psychology. Both prepare students for licensure and provide real-world clinical experience through supervised fieldwork and applied learning opportunities.

According to Mental Health America’s 2024 Annual Report, more than 122 million people live in federally designated mental health workforce shortage areas, and only 27 percent of need is currently being met. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts these shortages will continue to grow over the next 15 years—particularly for licensed counselors, psychologists, and addiction specialists. UWS programs are structured to respond to this urgent gap by expanding access to high-quality training and offering clear, workforce-aligned pathways into clinical practice.

Benefits of Earning a Nutrition Degree From the United States

Posted on by pciampanelli
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UWS Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine is 100% online. Discover the benefits of earning an international nutrition degree.

Along with the prestige of earning a degree from the United States, the University of Western States (UWS) offers an innovative nutrition and functional medicine program. This nutrition program is online and available to not just United States citizens but also international students. Discover the differences between our online nutrition programs offered at the graduate level and learn more about the benefits of earning a degree from the U.S., specifically from UWS.

U.S. Nutrition Program Overview From UWS

As part of University of Western States, the Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine program is 100% online. This includes the graduate certificate, master’s degree, and doctoral degree, making it easy for international students to earn their graduate degree from the United States. Our nutrition program teaches students how to use cutting-edge clinical tools and research to guide their assessment and health management of patients through diet and nutrition. With each degree progression, the curriculum goes more in-depth on how to utilize nutrition for health and wellness and treating various conditions. All of our program details are available in our catalog, along with specific course information.

Nutrition and Functional Medicine Certificate

The graduate nutrition and functional medicine certificate prepares active health professionals to blend whole-person functional medicine approaches and clinical nutrition strategies into their practice framework. This will allow graduates to provide a broader range of personalized patient care.

Online Master’s in Nutrition and Functional Medicine

Our international nutrition master’s degree, the Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine program, prepares students worldwide to provide science-based health care to improve or optimize patients’ physical and psychological health by presenting the nutrition subject materials. With a foundation in functional medicine, our graduates use the patient-centered approach to the clinical management of complex or chronic disorders through the interconnection of physiological factors that impact disease. The online master’s in nutrition and functional medicine prepares graduates, whether they are from the United States or earning their degree from a different country, to provide effective, patient-centered management strategies by which to address the myriad of clinical disorders commonly manifest in the current healthcare system population.

This online degree requires coursework that combines traditional nutrition science courses with coursework based on the clinical application of functional medicine. Students taking part in our U.S.-based online nutrition degree will experience these four learning outcomes:

  1. Integrate whole food nutrition with strategies for health promotion and disease prevention.
  2. Apple the functional medicine model to the therapeutic needs a patient or client could present.
  3. Apply appropriate interventions to address physiological imbalances and illness states.
  4. Appraise research evidence to answer clinically relevant questions.

Doctor of Clinical Nutrition Degree

Our doctorate degree in nutrition is fully online, making it accessible for working adults and international students to earn their highest level degree in clinical nutrition. UWS’s Doctor of Clinical Nutrition program prepares graduates to address the multifaceted health needs of patients through expanded assessment and therapeutic strategies using advanced clinical nutrition and functional medicine. Through clinical learning activities, students learn to address challenging patient cases effectively through nutrition-focused care. Our online, internationally available nutrition doctoral program teaches therapeutic strategies grounded in evidence-based practice models for students to apply the best available research to patient care.

The learning outcomes of our U.S.-based online Doctor of Clinical Nutrition program are for students to:

  1. Apply appropriate patient/client evaluation methods to determine nutritional needs and clinical status.
  2. Create nutrition-focused care plans incorporating scientific evidence and sound clinical judgment to promote therapeutic goals and wellness.
  3. Apply functional medicine tools and strategies that enable a whole-person patient/client care approach.
  4. Model ethical methods of practice that accord with applicable principles of jurisprudence.
  5. Employ a collaborative approach to clinical nutrition care.
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Benefits of Taking International Nutrition Courses Online

International students may prefer earning their degree online and from the United States for several reasons. The U.S. is a global leader in improving nutrition to save lives through leadership, partnerships, and the sharing and application of evidence-based knowledge in nutrition. The U.S. Department of Agriculture continually updates its knowledge on how nutrition can improve health, alleviate pregnancy symptoms, reduce pregnancy risks and complications (including infertility), promote a positive body image, and guide healthier grocery shopping to assist in a healthier diet. As a result, the United States remains a leader in providing new resources, advancing legislation, and driving trends and research in this field. UWS uses tools and resources developed by the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), which is a leading voice of transformative patient care, focusing on the whole person for personalized health care. As a world leader in setting global standards, along with UWS’s use of IFM to shape the curriculum, our nutrition program offers a level of prestige. It is often regarded as having a higher education standard than programs in other countries.

Our nutrition and functional medicine program is institutionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. This means it meets or exceeds the criteria for evaluating institutional quality through a peer review process, providing reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.

International students looking to earn their degree from the U.S. can do so while staying at home. They do not have to uproot their life or leave their family or current job to earn a graduate degree or professional certificate. By choosing to earn a nutrition degree online from UWS, students can cut costs by not having to pay for transportation on campus or to get to campus, pay for a meal plan, nor do they have to worry about buying additional clothing, furniture, or home goods for campus living.

International students may stay home while earning their degree in the U.S. because the University of Western States offers a flexible nutrition program. This allows students to listen to lectures, complete assignments, and communicate with peers asynchronously. However, students will have consistent due dates for when projects, assignments, and tests are due, and this will be communicated efficiently by the professor in advance, allowing students to prepare. This gives students ample time to navigate their work or family life while earning their online degree, even in a different country or time zone.

FAQs about UWS’ Nutrition Program

Yes, all of our nutrition graduate degrees and the certificate program are fully online. The weekly modular schedule allows international students to participate at the times most convenient for them and their time zone.

No, the online nutrition master’s, doctoral degree, and graduate certificate programs do not require any in-person or on-campus lectures, labs, or clinical experience. International students can earn their degree from anywhere in the world. 

Join Our International Nutrition Graduate Program

Take advantage of our online Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine program and earn your Graduate Certificate in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, or Doctor of Clinical Nutrition from University of Western States. Our graduate degrees are available to international students looking to earn their degree from the United States, with a continually reviewed and updated curriculum with new research and findings. Functional medicine is the foundation of our nutrition programs, leveraging the individuality of each patient so that practitioners can treat the whole person through natural methods, with diet and nutrition at the forefront of their approach.

Improving Patient Care With Likelihood Ratios

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In this comprehensive guide, future health care professionals will discover the pivotal role of likelihood ratios in clinical decision-making. This article delves into the fundamentals of likelihood ratios and their significance in effectively diagnosing and managing patient care. Learn how likelihood ratios in a clinical setting can improve patient outcomes.

At University of Western States, graduates of the Doctor of Chiropractic program undergo rigorous training that encompasses both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Chiropractic science has evolved over more than 100 years, and licensed practitioners incorporate evidence-informed approaches into therapies to help diagnose and treat a patient.

Likelihood ratios are one of the many evidence-informed practices incorporated into the chiropractic medicine curriculum and practicum and UWS to prepare graduates to provide patient care post-licensure.

What are Likelihood Ratios?

Likelihood ratios (LR) express a change in odds in clinical diagnosis and prognosis. They combine the sensitivity and specificity of a given diagnostic test to determine the chances of the patients having an illness, disease, or condition. These predictive values can be used to influence the patient’s treatment and determine the patient’s prognosis with the specific medical condition.

Positive and Negative Likelihood Ratio

The positive likelihood ratio (+LR) indicates the change in odds of having a diagnosis in patients with a positive test result. This change is represented as a ratio, typically greater than one. The negative likelihood ratio (-LR) denotes the change in odds of having a diagnosis in patients with a negative test result. It is typically less than one.

Positive or negative likelihood ratios provide valuable information about the diagnostic accuracy of tests and the ability to alter the odds of having a particular condition based on LR test results. Likelihood ratios can help project the shift in the patient having a specific condition from the initial presumption (pre-test probability) to the likelihood after the interpretation of test results (post-test probability).

How Are Ratios Used in Patient Care?

Likelihood ratios are essential in optimizing patient care through diagnostics, treatment, monitoring, risk eval, and clinical research.

  1. Diagnostic Assessment: Likelihood ratios help interpret test results and gauge the probability of a condition, for better or worse.
  2. Treatment Decision-making: LR assesses the effectiveness of the treatment and guides treatment choices.
  3. Health Monitoring: Ratios track changes in patient health over time, such as blood marker levels before and after treatment.
  4. Risk Evaluation: Likelihood ratios assess the risk of medical events, like cardiovascular disease based on blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
  5. Clinical Research: Ratios like relative risk or odds ratios compare patient groups or interventions in studies and trials.

LR can better inform future medical practitioners throughout patient care, allowing them to use positive or negative ratios to guide their treatment plans.

UWS Doctor of Chiropractic students learn how likelihood ratios can be used to improve patient care through effective clinical decision-making. The odds of the patient having a specific condition can better prepare future chiropractic practitioners on how to diagnose the patient and effectively treat them using the whole-person approach.

What Is the Number Needed to Treat Used for?

The Number Needed to Treat (NNT) is the measurement of the impact of a medication or treatment based on the number of patients needed to be treated to have an impact on one person. NNT is statistical guidance to project the outcome. In other words, if a drug has an NNT of 12, then 12 people need to be treated with the drug to prevent one additional bad outcome.

Using Stats to Improve Patient Care

Likelihood ratios these ratios help project shifts in probability, guiding clinical decision-making. Integrating LR into medical practice can help diagnose patients, treatment plans, monitor and manage care, risk evaluation and clinical research. Use likelihood ratios for a higher standard of patient care and informed medical decision-making.

At University of Western States, the goal of our Doctor of Chiropractic program is to prepare skilled chiropractors to provide evidence-informed, whole person, individualized health care for the betterment of patients and society. Learn more about how you can learn the evidence-based practices, such as likelihood ratios and number needed to treat, into your chiropractic education in preparation for medical practice. Apply today to take that next step.