Hand and upper extremity occupational therapy fellowship program
Minneapolis VA Health Care System offers a full-time, 52-week, hand therapy fellowship of didactic and clinical education. This fellowship has been designed to prepare occupational therapists with treatment skills and clinical reasoning to advance their clinical practice. The curriculum is designed with recent advances in medical clinical education, reflecting a biopsychosocial rehabilitation perspective. The Hand and Upper Extremity Occupational Therapy Fellowship program is approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association Fellowship Program through 2034.
Fellowship core elements
Our OT hand and upper extremity fellowship has has been fully accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Fellowship core elements include:
- Advanced, evidence-based occupational therapy practice across the continuum of care including diverse clinical diagnoses and presentations
- Mentorship from a team of clinical specialists across the spectrum of occupational therapy services
- Experience and growth in areas of leadership, ethics and service
- Scholarly activity addressing outcomes identified through needs assessment, logic modelling, and current evidence
- Serving as a subject matter expert while participating in lab instruction of OTD students with our academic partner
- Interdisciplinary and inter-professional practice and education alongside OT, physical therapy, and other surgical-orthopedic, and physical medicine and rehabilitation disciplines
Fellowship overview
This fellowship has been designed with curriculum consistent with standards set forth by the Hand Therapy Certification Commission, the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Society of Hand Therapists.
Our facility is located in an urban area but also serves many rural Veterans; this experience provides clinical exposure to diverse populations and treatment strategies including the use of traditional video telehealth and other virtual care delivery models unique to the VA.
Our occupational therapy (OT) fellowship program is intended to develop specialty trained occupational therapists who will:
- Promote the optimum health and occupational function of their clients using their clinical reasoning ability, clinical skills, evidence-based practice and highest ethical/professional standards
- Advocate for and advance the integral role of occupational therapy and rehabilitation in the management and prevention of impairments
- Possess systems skills, such as outcome measurement, quality improvement, project management, leadership, professional communication and documentation skills
- Contribute to advancements in the field of occupational hand therapy through scholarly activity
Program benefits
- Stipend and health insurance, not to exceed 1 year in duration
- Accrued sick and annual leave
- Paid federal holidays
- Continuing education opportunities via assigned curriculum and potential conference attendance
Details
- One-year commitment: August to August
- Hand therapy clinical experiences in an outpatient occupational therapy setting
- 1-to-1 mentored service in service delivery, caseload management and professional development
- Teaching experiences with students, fellow/residents, staff and practicing occupational therapists and medical residents
Application
To apply for the hand and upper extremity occupational therapy fellowship program you must meet the following criteria:
- U.S. Citizen
- Graduate of an ACOTE accredited occupational therapy program
- Passed the NBCOT Board examination prior to the first day of the program. Anticipated exam dates or scheduled exam date for new graduates
- State occupational therapy licensure, from any state in the U.S.
- Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to their clinical skills
- Evidence of hand therapy interest and pursuit of additional training/experiences in this area
- Not be on probation or under a learning contract at their current facility or program
Application process
To submit this application, email Laurie.Humiston@va.gov the following documents by April 15, 2026.
Application deadline: April 15, 2026
Dates to remember
- Start date for submission of applications: First Monday in February
- Application deadline: April 15, 2026
- Interview days: mid May
- Notification date: June 1, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: June 10, 2026
- Fellowship start date: August 10, 2026
- Fellowship end date: August 9, 2027
Application review process
The Fellowship Admissions Committee carefully review each application. Applicants are evaluated by the committee based on these criteria:
- Academic education and degrees obtained
- Clinical, education, and/or mentoring experience
- Memberships/awards/achievements
- Responses to application questions
- Letters of reference
Please note applications reviews are holistic and consider all factors listed above and communicated to the committee through the application process.
Interview process
Applicants will be chosen to participate in the interview process with members of the Fellowship Admissions Committee. Interview criteria used in assessing the applicant during the interview include the following:
- Applicant’s Interview performance
- Communication/leadership skills
- Ability to clearly verbalize their goals and objectives
- Reasons for applying to the fellowship
Following the interview process, members of the Fellowship Admission Committee rank their choices; and an offer for appointment to the fellowship will be made.