DUBOIS, Pa. (EYT) — Amy Fatula, assistant teaching professor and academic fieldwork coordinator for the occupational therapy assistant program at Penn State DuBois, was recently awarded the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA) Award of Recognition.

(Pictured above: LuAnn Delbrugge with Amy Fatula with her OTA Award of Recognition at the 2022 POTA conference.)

The award was presented at the POTA annual conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Fatula was nominated by fellow faculty member LuAnn Delbrugge, who said, “to summarize all of Amy’s contributions to the practice of OT in Pennsylvania in a short narrative is challenging because I believe she is well known and her commitment to promoting OT in Pennsylvania is obvious. In the past nine years, Amy has presented short courses or poster sessions at four POTA conferences, presented an OTA-focused session at POTA, and twice was a panelist at a POTA conference institute.”

Fatula has spent numerous years volunteering in different positions for POTA. Currently, she is on the executive board and served as POTA’s district IV executive officer from 2019 to 2021.

“Amy’s influence and recognition go beyond the practice of OT in Pennsylvania,” Delbrugge said. “She is an exemplary instructor who seeks out new and innovative methods to instruct her students. She stays current in all areas of instruction through professional development and collaboration.”

In addition, Fatula is active on the national level, holding membership in the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), as well as serving in multiple roles on academic leadership councils, fieldwork committees, and review panels at national conferences.

Fatula expressed her gratitude for every clinical experience, professional relationship, and academic opportunity that she has had for shaping her into the professional that she is today.

“I am a proud occupational therapy assistant and educator of future assistants. I know the value we bring to the occupational therapy process,” said Fatula. “I never want to hear someone say, ‘I am just an OTA.’”

Credit: Penn State