Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Occupational Therapy

Q&A: Doctoral Experience Component with Assistant Teaching Professor Brynn Speroni, OTD25

Assistant Teaching Professor Brynn Speroni describes how the Doctoral Experience Component (DEC) deepens the OTD experience through research, leadership, and programmatic innovation.
Brynn Speroni

  1. What is a Doctoral Experience Component (DEC)?

    The Doctoral Experience Component (DEC) provides OTD students with in-depth exposure to a specific area of occupational therapy practice. While this can include advanced clinical skills, the projects are most often centered on areas like research, program development, advocacy, or leadership. The goal is to move beyond the traditional client-therapist role, giving students deeper expertise in an area outside the clinical realm.

    A DEC project is composed of two distinct parts: a project component and an experience component. The project component takes place during the OTD students' second year. Working in collaboration with a faculty mentor, students spend this time planning their project — conducting comprehensive literature reviews, identifying service gaps, and securing necessary Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals. The experience component follows during the third and final year of the program wherein students spend 14 weeks at a placement site carrying out the project they designed.

    Students have a wide array of options to choose from. I maintain a binder of approximately forty pre-selected projects, and I work closely to match each student to an opportunity based on their specific interest areas. I'm proud that this year, a very high percentage of our students received their first or second choice DEC project.

  2. Examples of DEC Projects

    The variety of DEC projects is vast. Last year, for instance, a student worked with me and a few other faculty mentors at a residential recovery services program focused on women with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. This student became an integral part of a research study, conducting data gathering, giving assessments, running therapy groups, and analyzing the findings to determine the true impact of OT in that setting.

    Another student at the same placement site addressed a gap in services identified by the organization: folks were struggling to manage their medications. This student developed an evidence-based group protocol and ran the intervention to assess whether it improved participants’ ability to manage their prescriptions. Whether they are implementing process improvements or conducting research, students even have the option —with faculty approval— to design their own DEC project and explore a unique emerging area of occupational therapy. We may hypothesize that OT is effective in a particular setting, but we need data to demonstrate its value, and the DEC is a great opportunity to gather that evidence.

    Ultimately, the DEC is an amazing opportunity for both students and faculty at Tufts to publish our research, present at conferences, and continue to support the growing body of evidence that underpins the efficacy of OT as a whole. It is also one of the last steps of the curriculum, marking students' transition from learners to our peers and colleagues. It’s exciting to see how the student-driven nature of DEC projects fosters true innovation and leadership skills.

  3. The Role of the DEC Coordinator

    My primary responsibility as the DEC coordinator is ensuring our program remains in compliance with all competencies, objectives, and standards set by our accrediting body, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE). Beyond the essential legal paperwork, I recruit occupational therapists from within and outside Tufts to serve as project mentors, and then I handle the student-to-opportunity matching process. It is rewarding work, and I am very proud of the catalogue of opportunities available to our students.

    This is my first year leading the DEC process, having taken over this responsibility from Mary Barnes, who was the former DEC coordinator and worked in our department for over 30 years. Mary put immense effort into developing our DEC program, single-handedly creating the curriculum and establishing so many essential relationships with local organizations. I am constantly grateful to her efforts, and it has been wonderful having her remain a resource for me during this transition.

    In addition to my coordination duties, I continue to teach courses in clinical reasoning, occupational adaptations for the adult, and health conditions. My passion for teaching allows me to build strong relationships with students and learn their strengths, passion areas, and growth opportunities. This initial foundation helps me immensely when it comes time to match them to the best possible DEC experience.