trainee
Good evening all,
My name is Daniel and I am a year one occupational therapy student in the United Kingdom. We have been tasked by one of our module tutors to link with an international student and discuss the program we are studying, the country in which we reside, similarities and differences in our programs and our backgrounds as to how we came to studying. I would like to know if anyone would be kind enough to respond. I'll put my details here to hopefully start the ball rolling:
Country - United Kingdom (England)
My program at present - Divided into six modules in year one, the first four of which are mind and body (Physiology), occupation and wellbeing, academic and professional development and describing occupation.
Background - I have worked for the last five years as a support worker (Carer) and it is due to having seen OT's and their work as a result of this that I decided to apply for and now to study occupational therapy.
Hopefully someone may be able to identify some similarities / differences in our programs and will be kind enough to post a response. Many thanks for taking the time to read this,
Daniel.
Meg
Hi, Daniel,
It’s been a while since I came onto the WFOT forum, so I was pretty surprised to see some threads on linking with a student internationally. I’ll reply to yours since you posted earlier than the others.
It’s nice to meet you. My name is Meg, and I just recently graduated from my OT program in the United States (New York). I’m not sure what modules are in the way you described them. Are they topics in one class?
My school’s program is a combined BS/MS program. I transferred in to the graduate part and studied 3 years before graduating. In the first year, we studied anatomy and physiology, occupations, history of OT, culture and its impact on occupation, and professional development. It’s similar to your classes now. In the second year, we learned extensively about diagnoses and impact on function, interventions, theories, and statistics. We also started going on fieldwork level 1s for 1-2 days of the week. In the third year, we had 1 semester of classes, and then we went out for our fieldwork level 2s. That was full-time.
My relative is an OT, so I learned about OT from him since I was young. I didn’t really decide on becoming an OT until I went to college and had an internship at a subacute rehab facility. I also became a part-time Therapy aide at that facility for 1 year. The people I met there and the work they did inspired me and solidified my decision into going OT. So here I am! Haha.
Hope that helps. If you need more info, feel free to ask any questions!
trainee
Dear Meg,
I very much appreciate your reply. I've got my head buried in anatomical stuff for that module currently but on Wednesday when I get five minutes (And before the relevant lecture on Thursday) I'll have a really good look at all of the detail you have provided. If I have any further questions I'll pester you 😃 Thank you again for your reply, it is very kind of you.
Daniel.
Meg
Hello!
Sorry for the late reply. Sure, let me know if you have any questions. And take your time because I know how stressful studying for anatomy and the sciences can be. Haha.
