Ruth A. Robinson-Distinguished Service Career

Ruth Alice Robinson's service to the occupational therapy profession is marked by five noteworthy events. She was president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) when the motion was adopted that created the certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) practitioners and membership category. Her administrative, organizational, and documentation skills contributed to the reclassification of occupational therapy in the United States Civil Service code from subprofessional to professional. She started the occupational therapy educational program in the Army during the Korean War and was the first occupational therapist to be promoted to chief of the Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC). Finally, she was the first person to be promoted to the permanent rank of colonel in the AMSC (Editorial, 1962).