Judy Hamby

With more than 33 years of experience, Judy Hamby has worked with adults across the continuum of care, dedicating nearly 23 years to full-time service in acute care. She is a recognized expert in the field, having authored multiple chapters in the Occupational Therapy in Acute Care textbook (editions 1–3), covering topics such as discharge planning, the nervous system, cognitive impairment and altered mental status, low vision, bariatrics, novice OT, and dizziness.

Judy has been a trailblazer in education, teaching continuing education courses for 12 years focused on the neurological patient. She earned her bachelor’s in OT from the Medical College of Georgia in 1990, a master’s in health sciences from the University of Florida in 2006, and a doctorate in occupational therapy in 2021 from Thomas Jefferson University. Her doctoral thesis, published in the Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy in 2022, explored the feasibility of incorporating functional cognition performance-based assessments in the acute care setting.

Judy has been a board-certified member of AOTA since 1998 and has contributed significantly to the field, serving as an item writer for the AOTA BCPR exam. Recently, she was honored with the prestigious AOTA Award for Excellence in the Advancement of OT for Advancement in Acute Care Practice, an accolade received at the national conference in March 2024. Currently, Judy eagerly awaits the release of three continuing education (CE) courses with AOTA, integral components of the new AOTA Professional Certificate in Acute Care.