- Education:BA in Psychology and English, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX (2000)
MA in Psychology, The City University of New York-Queens College, Flushing, NY (2004)
MS in Occupational Therapy, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX (2012)
Doctor of Philosophy, Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX (2016)
- Email:mfwatfor@bu.edu
- Phone:617-353-7518
Scholarly, Research, and/or Practice Interests
Monica Watford has a background in neuroscience and health disparities. Her research focuses on acquired and traumatic brain injury outcomes, population health in underserved communities, interventions in cognitive rehabilitation, and health disparities in older minority adults with chronic conditions. Her dissertation focused on trends in caregiver support in older minority adults with Traumatic Brain injury using secondary data from Uniform Data System (UDS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She has been a practicing Occupational Therapist for eleven years in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings working on multitrauma and neuro teams. Dr. Watford has been teaching in entry-level OTD programs for 7 years where she has taught foundational courses in occupational therapy, clinical neuroscience, and has mentored students in their capstone projects.
Courses Taught
SAR OT501: Integrative Seminar II and LIFW
Undergraduate Prerequisites: OT500, OT513, OT520, OT526, OT529, OT589; OTD students only. - This course is the second in a four-seminar sequence designed to develop and enhance professional reasoning processes by integrating knowledge and skills from previous educational and work experiences and from concurrent OT courses with weekly fieldwork experiences. This seminar focuses on reasoning related to theories of learning and behavior change; the assessment, intervention, and documentation process; use of theory and research evidence in practice; therapeutic rapport and communication; and other professional topics and issues as they relate to working with persons and populations of all ages in a variety of OT practice contexts. Self-directed and collaborative learning, class participation, reflective writing for application and analysis of learning, case-based learning, and ongoing development of a professional portfolio are essential aspects of this seminar. (Credits: 2)
SAR OT526: Functional Movement: Analysis and Assessment
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Gross Human Anatomy; OTD students only - Graduate Corequisites: (SARHS581) - This occupational therapy course examines changes in gross and fine movement skills across the life course, and the relation of these changes to occupational performance. In addition, students learn biomechanical, ecological systems, and dynamical systems' principles underlying human movement and their application to functional activities including seating, transfers, and mobility. Principles covered in lecture are applied through practical experiences and discussions during the application sessions. (Credits: 4)
SAR OT564: Skills for Occupation Based Practice 1
Undergraduate Prerequisites: OT501, OT524, OT556, OT562, OT620; MSOT and OTD students only. - This companion course to OT563 Context and OT502 Integrative Seminar III emphasizes the development of assessment and intervention skills for working with individuals living with chronic conditions likely to benefit from compensatory and adaptive strategies. Students have opportunity for hands-on practice in selecting, administering, and interpreting assessments, as well as choosing and implementing occupation-based interventions. Best practice is promoted by requiring students to support their assessment and intervention choices through theoretical and empirical evidence. (Credits: 4)
SAR OT565: Skills for Occupation Based Practice II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: OT502, OT538, OT563, OT564, OT621; MSOT and OTD students only. - This companion course to OT566 Client Factors emphasizes the development of assessment and intervention skills for working with individuals living with conditions likely to benefit from remedial interventions directed toward performance skills and client factors. Students have opportunity for hands-on practice in selecting, administering, and interpreting assessments, as well as choosing and implementing interventions. Best practice is promoted by requiring students to support their assessment and intervention choices through theoretical and empirical evidence. (Credits: 4)
SAR OT568: Occupation-Based Practice for Individuals
This course is designed to provide practice of skills to select and implement specific occupational therapy assessments and interventions. Specifically, this course provides opportunity for hands on practice to choose, administer and interpret assessments along with opportunity to develop collaborative goals, and choose, implement, and re-evaluate interventions. Documenting weekly sessions provide extensive practice of written communication. This course will focus on individuals living in the community with chronic conditions. Implementing client-centered, theory driven, evidence-based, and occupation-based interventions will be emphasized throughout. This class meets 2x/week, once as a large group and once/week for intervention session. Students spend time outside of class time reviewing the evidence, practicing administration of assessments, developing session plans, and preparing for client sessions. (Credits: 4)
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