Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR) Exam is established and managed under the national certification body for occupa-tional therapy professionals-National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). The OTR Exam is designed based on reg-ular practical analysis on the entry-level front-line occupational therapists in the United States, conducted by the Certification Examination Development Committee (CEDC). The panel will follow four steps, including drafting the exam blueprint, designing the questions, rounds of discussion and validation and finally putting the questions into confidential question bank for random selection by computer during exam. The OTR Exam is featured by its close relevance and update with clinical status of the States, high-standard professional requirement based on broadest public consensus within the profession as well as its evidence-based and scientific procedure throughout the designing process, which may benefit the development and standardization of Occupational Therapy Profession in China.

This study descriptively illustrated the definition of certified hand therapist, eligibility requirement and accreditation system based on the official guidelines from American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), Hand Therapy Certification Commission (HTCC) and Handbook of Certified Hand Therapy Examination. Besides, this exam was compared with National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) and Occupational Therapist Registered Examination (OTR Exam). The testing domains and contents may help the domestic teaching faculty to standardize the course syllabi, promote divided development of physical therapy and occupational therapy in a specialized manner, and ex-erted positive impact for promoting establishment of the hand specialists and accreditation system of China itself.