Many of you are studying for the CHT exam or have already put many hours into passing the specialty hand therapy exam. Don't you wonder how this exam came about or even how hand therapy became a subspecialty? Well, today we talk with Wisconsin native Mary Dimick, who previously served as the president of the Hand Therapy Certification Commission, also known as the HTCC. She gives us a background of how HTCC and the practice analysis developed as well as how the CHT exam continues to reflect current hand therapy practices.

Mary Dimick, OTR, CHT graduated in occupational therapy from the University of Wisconsin and has been a Certified Hand Therapist since 1991.  Mary’s passion for hand therapy developed early in her career while treating level-one trauma patients for 20 years at the University of California San Diego.  This experience in the very early days of the hand therapy profession shaped the entirety of Mary’s career.   Mary spent the next 20 years in clinical practice and management positions supporting hand therapy practice.  She also taught seminars and published scientific articles and book chapters on hand therapy. 

Mary served in leadership roles for the American Society of Hand Therapists from 1982-1992.  As chair of the Task Force on Legal Issues, which eventually became the Certification Committee, she helped lead ASHT toward certification.  When Mary left her position on the ASHT board, it was to serve on the board of the newly formed Hand Therapy Certification Commission. 

Mary has been involved with the CHT credential since its inception.  In 1985, she led the ASHT task force that tookthe first step toward establishing the standards of hand therapy practice by conducting an empirical study to delineate the role of a hand therapist.  The results of this study, published as the lead article in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Hand Therapy (10/1987), produced the original Definition and Scope of Practice of the Profession of Hand Therapy (adopted by the ASHT membership in April 1987).  This practice analysis formed the blueprint for the first Hand Therapy Certification Examination (HTCE).  Mary has been involved with each of the 6 practice analyses over the past 40 years and is currently participating in the seventh which will be performed this year (2025).

Mary just completed her term as President of the Hand Therapy Certification Commission.  As a founder of HTCC, she remains on the board and plans to continue to serve the profession she loves.