iv started a blog too
http://otstudentlife.blogspot.com/
if ur interested! hope ur placement is going well!!

So you’re thinking of doing OT, that’s cool. Is it an undergraduate or a postgrad course you are looking at doing? They seem to be quite different, the postgrad is much more intensive since they are normally condensing all the information you would cover in a 3 or 4 year undergrad course, into two very full years.

Re advice, its definitely worth doing some research, both into what OT is and what the different university’s are like. OT’s going through a bit of a shift in focus at the moment and as a result a lot people have very different ideas about what it is and what it should be. OT used to be very driven by a medical model and in some specialities it looked almost the same as physiotherapy, however it a lot of recent OT thought focus’ on the importance of occupation as a medium to bring well being and health. I know a lot of the people on my course were a little bit surprised that OT turned out to be something that they never really considered it was.

So its worth doing some google-ing to find out if its what you think it is. Although different university’s have different thoughts on what it is and how it should be taught, so its worth having a little chat with people who go to that university or have been on that course. I found it really helpful to go and shadow an OT for a day and see what they really get up to, and its worth covering a number of bases, as OT’s work in hospitals, within mental health settings, and in community and social work settings. Some OT’s also work in schools or with charities. Each area is very different, and the OT does very different things within each setting.

Also, you might want to check how the course is taught, I know that my course which is the post grad at QMUC is very self directed. Topics are normally introduced through a lecture or talk by a practitioner, but a lot of the time we are involved in group work or self learning. That suits my learning style to a tea, but I know some people on my course would like much more contact time with lecturers and expect to be taught answers, principles and facts about OT rather than having to hit the books to work it out themselves. If you expect your course fees to be spent on teaching time you are going to be upset, if you want to learn really useful skills like leadership, delegation, teamwork, leading meetings, presentation skills, and where to find reliable information and how to apply it to OT then it is the type of course for you.

The general ethos of my course is that OT’s are continually learning throughout their professional career, they need to speak in interdisciplinary team meetings, lead or contribute to their own staff teams and justify their clinical decisions using the best evidence and research, the QMUC course gives you the skills to do this. It does not teach you everything you will need to know as an OT.

Anyway, I’m talking to much is there anything you would like to know, that I might be able to answer?

Rachel

Any words of advice?

Glad to hear you did so well in your assessment from last term ‘cos I know you were worried about it. Well done you!!