Bos turns her vision diagnosis into OTD experience

It was a little more than two years ago that Allison Bos realized she was having some vision problems.

She was in a lab at the time, doing some work for her Occupational Therapy Doctorate, a degree she’ll receive this weekend. Bos is a member of the first class of the new OTD program that will graduate from the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions in May.

“We were doing vision assessments, when I noticed that there was something off about my vision,” she said. “We were talking about what would a patient see – wavy lines, curved lines – and I was seeing those things out of my right eye. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s going on?’”

Bos was diagnosed with a condition in her right eye that is similar to the macular degeneration seen in the aging population or sometimes newborns.

“It’s very uncommon for an individual my age to have an impairment like that,” the Columbus, Nebraska, native said.

From that point on, Bos began learning more about low vision, and occupational therapy’s role in working with people with visual impairment. She eventually created, as a capstone project, a free, publicly available informational book on the topic, including 10 chapters of content, 28 embedded interactive learning objects, links to reputable online resources and an additional list of resources to learn more.

“I wanted to create a manual that is comprehensive, interactive and allows OT students and OT practitioners to engage with the content, to be more comfortable and confident in providing services or at least knowing how to screen the aging population for these impairments.”

Bos was already interested in working with aging populations – or possibly children – when she arrived at UNMC in 2021 as part of the first cohort of OTD students.

“A year or so before I applied to OT school, my grandma had a stroke. She was at Madonna in Lincoln, and during the time, I was working full-time with a job that was very flexible with my hours. So I spent a lot of time with her at Madonna.

“I got to experience OT firsthand through my grandma’s care. That creativity, that real-life, holistic approach to rehab is what drew me to OT and led me down the path to this program.”

Although her condition informed her capstone project, Bos said it didn’t affect her career direction, although she still is torn over the population she hopes to serve. During her program, she has worked with patients with cancer, youth with developmental disabilities and other patient populations. As she considers job offers, she said, “I’m still torn between pediatrics and geriatrics. And I wouldn’t say that my condition has really shifted the route in which I want to go, because I feel like I’m still dipping my toes in possibilities.”

Stacy Smallfield, DrOT, associate program director for occupational therapy and doctoral capstone coordinator, said Bos’ capstone project in many ways illustrates the mission of the OTD program.

“She saw that her ‘occupations,’ her daily tasks, were affected by her vision, and she went in-depth on this project so she could share how other people with vision loss can continue their regular occupations.

“We’ve seen the transformation that she’s experienced, personally and professionally, and the growth that she’s gone through during school and managing vision loss on top of that. Her capstone is a perfect example of sharing knowledge with other people. She’s a great example of the kind of graduate that we imagined for this program.”

For Dr. Smallfield and the OTD program, which now has close to 90 students, as well as the rest of the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, Bos and her classmates’ success is a matter for pride. Dr. Smallfield was emotional when discussion the upcoming graduation.

“It’s going to be a really great day,” she said. “Our program director, Nancy Krusen, PhD, submitted the first document to begin the accreditation for our program five years ago. It’s almost three years ago to the week that we received approval from our national accrediting body to admit students. And to be here three years later is a great achievement – certainly for the students, but a milestone for all the program faculty, as well.

“We focus on three things in our program. The first is occupation for health, which means that we value ‘occupation,’ or doing meaningful activity to stay healthy. The second is our students’ personal and professional development. The third is translational science. We emphasize to our students the importance of sharing the knowledge that they’ve gained and will continue to gain with the people who need that knowledge.”

“I am so impressed with Alli’s fortitude in the face of adversity,” said Kyle Meyer, PhD, dean of the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions. “She not only addressed her situation with courage but used her experience to benefit others. Service to others is the very essence of rehabilitation. I could not be prouder of our inaugural class of OTD graduates. Clearly, they’ve learned the knowledge and skills to be great OTs, but I am even more proud they’ve embraced the values of UNMC and will continue to promote them throughout their careers.” 

Bos said she takes pride in being one of the program’s first graduates.

“We pushed this program to be where it’s at today,” she said. “It is really exciting, and I am beyond grateful to say that I am the inaugural class of the OTD program – and to promote the OTD program going forward.”