Connecting with OT students around the globe

Rebekka

Hello,
My name is Rebekka and I'm a social pedagogue and first year OT student from Austria and I'm looking forward to connect with other OT students, to share different approaches and experiences.

EliseFaith

Hi Rebecca! My name is Elise and I am from the U.S. in the state of Tennessee. I also love sharing experiences and worldviews with people from other nations and backgrounds, thank you for starting this chain!

Lisa

Hi Elise!

Nice to share experience! I'd be interested what the Focus on your studies in Tennessee is like?For how long have you been studying ot? I am a first year Student from Vienna also love to connect with people all over the World to learn more about OT in different countries or other cultures in General🙂

EliseFaith

I am in my very first semester of my Occupational Therapy Masters Degree program (I started about 3 months ago) so I am fairly new! The school aims to give us a very well-rounded / broad education so that when we graduate we can practice anywhere! That being said, we do seem to have a lot of Pediatric curriculum in the next few semesters, and I personally am interested in Pediatric practice or mental health practice.
I am so glad you also like to hear from people all over the world! What are your interests in Occupational Therapy and how long have you been studying?
Also, I was thinking about creating an international WhatsApp Community for OT students across the globe, is that something you would be interested in joining?

Rebekka

Hi Elise,
Thanks for your reply! We ( Lisa and I are at the same university) started in September and are aiming for our OT bachelor degree - so also very new 🙂
For the first semester the focus is mainly on gaining basic knowledge like learning about occupations, models and the history of OT, conversation skills and self reflection and anatomy. During the following semesters we will learn more about all the different fields (neurology, orthopedics, geriatrics, pediatrics...), what I can tell from looking at our curriculum it seems also very broad but we can specialise in one of the higher semesters.
Since I mostly worked in the geriatric field, that's the sector I would be mostly interested working in at the moment but I'm also open for other fields as well and looking forward to gain different experiences.
Since you mentioned that you are aiming for a master's degree and I'm not overly familiar with the university system in the US, may I ask what you studied beforehand and is there also a bachelor program for OT?
And yes, an international WhatsApp group seems like a good idea to connect, I would be very much interested in that as well.

EliseFaith

Hi Rebekka (and Lisa!)
That sounds like a very good program!
Geriatrics is definitely a field that always needs more OT's!
In the U.S. we are required to get at least a Masters degree to become licensed. So before that I had to get a bachelors as well, and mine was in Exercise Science with a concentration in OT. There is no bachelor-only program to become an OT, though there are shorter programs to become a certified OT assistant / COTA.
Are the programs in Austria all bachelors programs?

Rebekka

EliseFaith
Hi, thanks for your reply! It's really interesting how different these things work. In Austria, after receiving your bachelor degree and register yourself, you're basically all set for working as an OT. There are a few master programs at 3 or 4 Unis in Austria but it's still developing and it's not required if you wanna officially work as an OT it's more about specializing.
And yes, the geriatric sector is indeed in need of more therapist at all kinds and nurses (at least over here, but I assume it's a similar situation around the globe).

Charly-RoseSmith

Hello, I'm a third-year OT student from London looking for international placement opportunities from June to August 2024. I have to source a placement myself, and I was hoping someone may know a thing or two about how to look into this! Best Wishes, Charly

EliseFaith

Wow I didn't know that, that is really good to know!
Yes, I think geriatrics is definitely necessary almost everywhere I think.