GMercyU’s Occupational Therapy Program Blends Innovation, Global Service, and Workforce Readiness

Image via Gwynedd Mercy University.

GMercyU’s Occupational Therapy program offers hands-on learning, service, and a fast track to one of healthcare’s fastest-growing careers.

The Occupational Therapy (OT) program at Gwynedd Mercy University, much like the other programs in its College of Nursing and Health Professions, is entering a transformative era — one defined by state-of-the-art facilities, global learning experiences, and a streamlined pathway from undergraduate study to a graduate degree in occupational therapy.

Central to this evolution is GMercyU’s new Frances M. Maguire ’55 Healthcare Innovation Center (HIC), where the OT program will soon have a modern home designed to mirror the settings where students will one day work. Outfitted with simulation labs, collaborative spaces, and rehabilitation technology, the HIC will open in the fall of 2025 and represents a major leap forward for immersive, hands-on learning.

“This new space gives our students an opportunity to train in an environment that feels real,” said Dr. Thomas Mernar, the founding Program Director of Occupational Therapy at GMercyU. “It supports both the technical and human sides of occupational therapy — how we interact with clients, assess needs, and adapt our approaches in real time.”

The innovation at GMercyU extends far beyond its physical infrastructure.

The university is one of just 14 institutions in the U.S. that offers a minor or major in Occupational Science. (Occupational Science is the study of human occupation, or the everyday activities that people do to bring meaning and purpose to life.) Furthermore, GMercyU offers a 3+2 Fast-Track Dual Degree that allows students to earn a Bachelor of Health Science in Occupational Science and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) in just five years. This accelerated curricular structure offers students both academic and financial advantages, shaving a full year off the traditional timeline for entering the field.

“Our Occupational Science students take three years of general education and Occupational Science coursework,” said Mernar. “Their fourth year or senior year includes all OT courses — essentially, they’re starting their graduate education a year early. They graduate with two degrees in five years, which is a tremendous value.”

According to Mernar, the Occupational Science curriculum is intentionally designed to prepare students for the rigor and complexity of graduate-level OT thinking and training.

“A strong majority of our Occupational Science students say they feel more prepared for OT school, having completed courses studying occupation in their own lives and the lives of others,” he said. “They’re learning terminology, ideas, and core concepts that resonate with occupational therapy. That gives them a real head start, and we see them excel because of it.”

GMercyU’s OT program is also distinguished by its emphasis on mission-driven, real-world experiences — most notably, a growing medical mission trip to Kenya. Now in its consecutive year, the trip sends OT students and OT faculty to underserved communities where developmental, hearing, and vision screenings were virtually nonexistent until recently.

“Before last year, children in these communities weren’t being screened for vision impairments, hearing impairments, or developmental delays,” said Mernar. “Our students helped change that. Alongside our faculty and in partnership with local organizations, they trained staff in orphanages and wellness centers to identify and understand a range of disabilities.”

The results have been profound.

Since the program’s first visit, 96 percent of children at partner sites have now been screened, and more than half have been identified with developmental delays or challenges that had gone undetected.

“It’s exciting,” Mernar said. “Our students return transformed. They not only apply what they’ve learned; they grow as clinicians and people. Two students from last year’s trip are about to complete their final fieldwork and already want to go back.”

Mernar sees experiences like this as uniquely aligned with the university’s mission.

“These are the kinds of service-learning opportunities that make our program different,” he said. “They reflect the Mercy tradition we’re rooted in. A lot of OT programs don’t offer these kinds of meaningful add-ons.”

Closer to home, GMercyU continues to expand its network of clinical partnerships. The university maintains more than 200 fieldwork affiliations that include hospitals and rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, schools and pediatric clinics, home health settings, mental health facilities, and outpatient centers.

“We’re not located in the center of Philadelphia, where OT programs compete heavily for placements in that region,” Mernar said. “We have a wide reach outside of Philadelphia. And our academic fieldwork coordinator does an amazing job getting to know students’ interests and placing them in environments where they’ll thrive.”

GMercyU also has educational partnerships with West Chester, Neumann, and Immaculata universities to recruit students into its OT program and increase awareness to the profession.

The timing is ideal.

Occupational therapy is among the fastest-growing healthcare careers in the U.S., with projected growth of more than 10 percent in the next decade.

“OT is ranked among the top five healthcare jobs in terms of satisfaction and career potential,” said Mernar. “And it’s expanding into areas like community settings, telehealth, and assistive technology that didn’t exist a decade ago. It’s an exciting time to enter the field.”

Learn more about how Gwynedd Mercy University has been a leader and innovator in healthcare education for more than 60 years.