Occupational Therapy Degree

[bruffin]

DD 17 wants to be an occupational therapist. She has volunteered with SN playgroup since she was 12, done some paid respite care and also helped at SN swim club. She will also have a week at a SLD school in the next few weeks so hopefully has enough experience.

So far looked at Oxford Brookes and will got to Liverpool and UEA in the next few weeks. What other unis are worth looking at/applying to?

I know this subject requires an interview and a medical. When do they do the medical. Do they only do the medical once they make an offer, or if she firms or insures etc

University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol also offer Occupational Therapy as a BSc.

Derby offer OT degrees. It's DS2's insurance choice for adult nursing this Seltember, and tbh I wish it was his first choice. It's a lovely university with a really friendly feel. When we went for the post offer day, before he decided it would be his second choice, the tutors were so lovely, the ones who interviewed him remembered his name.

I was recently in one of the hopsitals that Derby use for placements for student nurses, OTs and physios and they all spoke really highly of it.

DS1 has just sent all his forms etc back to UEA (where he's going hopefully) They haven't asked to see him for a medical yet.

UEA has a lovely feel to it too. I wish DS2 was going elsewhere because a few of his friends are going there and I'm concerned that he's going to be fed up that they'll have a lot more free time than him.

Just to add, her experience is good but I would suggest she tries to arrange shadowing some OTs at a local hospital in a few different departments where OTs work - it would be better if she had a wider 'range' of experiences besides SN. Competition to get onto OT degrees is really fierce, and being able to say she has seen other areas where OT can help will be beneficial.

thank you will have a look

Sorry missed the other posts. My dsis works at UEA and niece went there and was very happy there.
Dd is looking out for work shadowing of an OT. Oxford Brookes said that to make sure her PS reflected what she had learned through her volunteering and how it would adapt to occupational therapy if she doesnt get work shadowing.

I trained at Liverpool but a long time ago.

Where I work now we take students on placement from the Liverpool, York, Salford and Wrexham OT schools. Most hospitals have a co-ordinator who will arrange work shadowing placements for prospective medical, nursing and PAM students. I would get her to ring up your local hosp and find out who to contact. If she can't get into an OT dept, then experience in physio, speech therapy, wards or social work departments is also valuable.

Does your DD have particular worries about the medical?

No particular worries
just wondering if she would have to have one for each application, or if they waited.

I'm in the Midlands and trained at Coventry and have students from there. Course seems good. I had a post-grad student from Sheffield Hallam recently too. My colleagues have also had students from Northampton and Derby.

ds's friend is doing it at Brookes, she was put off Liverpool after the open day. I think Salford may have been her insurance. She couldn't find 5 she liked so only put 3 on the ucas form.

Southampton do OT.

There are lots of universities which deliver OT, it's worth her thinking about what's important to her in terms of geography, where she might want to do placements and also what sort of course she wants to do. Placements can involve travel or staying away through the week.

Sheffield Hallam is a good course with lots of focus on real experience and being ready for the future. I've been told that Sheffield has the highest percentage of students choosing to stay in the town post grad of anywhere else in the UK, so a) they must like it and b) it means that there is quite a 'young' 'studenty' vibe so some areas of the town.

Advice for recruitment would be definitely shadow or speak to as many OTs as possible - it's such a broad professional that the role varies hugely - practice articulating what OT is and why she wants to do it. In the group activity (most interviews will have them) consider what other people are doing as well as you, if you see someone not joining in, include them by asking questions etc