occupational therapy

[nappyaddict]

has any done or is doing a degree in this?

did think of doing it for a long time but after some work experience realised it was too similar to care work for me...where are you thinking of taking the degree?

in cardiff. i would ideally want to work with children at the end of it but obviously i know when doing work experience you have to do it in all areas.

I wanted to do social work, then when I wasn't getting any interviews I saw a flier for working in the nhs and ot was mentioned. I thought I really fancy that. Went out with 4 different ot's in different settings and loved it. All the ot's I observed seemed to love their job, had great enthusiasm for it, particularily for the field of ot they had decided to work in. They all said the degree was hard work, but then I think most degree's that consist of placements as well, are going to be exceptionally hard work.
One ot said she didn't always get the summer holidays that all the other uni students got as some of her placements were while the uni holidays were on.
I would definately have pursued it further but I got onto the social work degree and I would have only got into a foundation year degree for ot so decided to stick with the social work.
Personally, I think ot is a great choice and particularily doing ot in a special needs school would be a great job.

thats interesting cos i am trying to decide between social work and ot.

Nappyaddict, I know I am being nosey but let us know what you decide.

I think if money and time didn't come into it then I would have definately picked ot over social work.

Good luck with your decision.

my ex did it a while back,he got a job as an ot assistant and then was able to train in service ,working 3 days a week and uni 2 days.was hard but at least work paid his tuition ,books and travel and we got wftc.It was made harder as I became pregnant with 4th child in his first year and was crippled with arthritis after the birth.Also in the last year at new year my brother was killed in a road accident and we had to take on my nephew who was about to sit his a levels,he was at school 150 miles away and I had to pick him up every weekend and return him.Amazingly he got a first (got a medical pass on one exam which was on the morning after he'd spent all night at hospital as nephew made a suicide atempt).It is a 3 year course 4 years part time.

I'm a paediatric OT and love it!
Go for it!! It's a very rewarding job for me. I work in the Community, both Mainstream and Special Schools. CAT me if you have any questions I'd be happy to chat to you about it.

can you email me? tobys_mummy at btinternet dot com

My mum's an OT and loves it. she works in a special school with children who have severe disbilities. She's got the best sensory room ever! Loads of fibre optic stuff and soft play and strange putty and gets to invent bizarre, fun games to encourage the kids. I think she loves it, but then she doesn't need to work so I guess she must

bump

Nappyaddict, I'm just coming to the end of my 1st year studying OT & about to go on my first placement, which I'm really excited about. It's hard work (though I'm sure all students say that) & expensive (lots of books to buy) but definitely worth it.

The course covers a range of topics (anatomy & physiology, psychology & sociology as well as OT stuff) so anything you can learn beforehand will come in useful. And we've had to do lots of presentations.

I've got 2 young children (4 & 1 yr old) so it's been tough fitting in studying & spending time with them. If I'd known how much time I'd need I might have waited a year or 2 before I started.

Try & spend time with OTs in hospitals/social services, ... & have a look at some University prospectuses. That should give you a good idea if it's the right thing for you. Good luck whatever you decide!

i'd be grateful if you could email me

have you done any placements yet and if so what has that involved? what sort of people have you worked with?

i understand some aspects covered are children, mental health, elderley, physical disability etc etc.

what sort of things do you learn about for these different groups of people?

will be starting the OT MsC in september in Eastbourne - anyone doing the course there??