OTPT2019 Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 Hi all, I'm a current first-year student in Mac's OT program willing to answer any questions you may have pertaining to our program! I understand the position you're all in right now and I'm sure the additional support would be helpful to some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTstudentRP Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 Hi there, I have applied to a few OT programs for the beginning September 2018, and am conflicted between Mac OT and U of T OT. Would you be able to comment on any differences you feel between both programs, or any advantages you see in the Mac OT program from your experience? Also, from my understanding, OT placements at McMaster have a large "catchment". Would you be able to comment on your experience with your placements? Were you satisfied with the placement opportunities, despite the locations being out of the city? And my last question, is if you might be able to comment on your experience with the problem-based learning approach? As well, as a student, do you feel that there are opportunities to connect with upper-years and clinicians as mentors. Thanks! RP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 5/30/2018 at 10:24 AM, OTstudentRP said: Hi there, I have applied to a few OT programs for the beginning September 2018, and am conflicted between Mac OT and U of T OT. Would you be able to comment on any differences you feel between both programs, or any advantages you see in the Mac OT program from your experience? Also, from my understanding, OT placements at McMaster have a large "catchment". Would you be able to comment on your experience with your placements? Were you satisfied with the placement opportunities, despite the locations being out of the city? And my last question, is if you might be able to comment on your experience with the problem-based learning approach? As well, as a student, do you feel that there are opportunities to connect with upper-years and clinicians as mentors. Thanks! RP Hi there! Sorry for not replying earlier. I didn't receive a notification for this. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of the U of T program so I cannot comment on the differences. Mac was my top choice applying for OT school so I didn't look into U of Ts program. The self-directed approach at Mac is very rewarding. The program helps guide you through this process through year-one and teaches you strategies to be very self-directed in year-two. Our class is very close-knit and supportive which makes the experience so much more enjoyable. We do a lot of class activities outside of school which is helpful for relieving the stress and mingling. The profs are great as well. As for the catchment area, I completed my first placement up North through the Northern School of Medicine by choice. And for my second placement, I was placed in Hamilton. During second placement, your choices are ranked and everyone got one of their top 10 choices (all my choices were in Hamilton). I only know of one situation where a student was placed somewhere they weren't expecting but made the best of it, and it turned out to be a great experience. Placement opportunities were vast! Because we do have such a large catchment there are so many different placement opportunities which also gives you a great perspective of what its like to work outside the Hamilton area and helps you develop the skills to find unfamiliar resources/funding opportunities/services. I know some of my classmates who do not have a car and the school has been accommodating so far. Problem-based learning is working well for me. I enjoy working in small groups of 6 and working through OT scenarios using a team approach. Sometimes it's tough depending on your group as it would be working with any group, but you learn to work through it and develop strategies to get through which I found was essential on placement working in a team capacity with other professionals (during rounds, working with PT/OTA/PTA/SLP, etc.). We are paired up with a year 2 buddy to help guide us through the program. In our professional reasoning and skills class, clinicians from the community come in to teach us and they're also our tutors for our problem-based tutorial groups so there are countless opportunities for networking. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTstudentRP Posted June 5, 2018 Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 Thanks so much for all the information! It was very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacOT2020 Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 Hi! I've accepted my Mac OT offer, and am quite excited to be starting there in September! Starting to plan ahead, I've been wondering what the day-to-day looks like in the various terms. I chatted with a lady in the OT department there a bit about it, she let me know the official term schedules won't be released until later July. Wondering if you could share what the week schedules looked like for you? The lady I spoke with said the first term is fairly class time heavy - four days a week of 9-5 with one day off - but the time in class eases off by the second term. Knowing this too, I'm wondering if it's pretty important to be living in Hamilton all the terms, or if some students commute from TO, or even further away? Thanks for any info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTmac2020 Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 On 5/28/2018 at 8:38 PM, OTPT2019 said: Hi all, I'm a current first-year student in Mac's OT program willing to answer any questions you may have pertaining to our program! I understand the position you're all in right now and I'm sure the additional support would be helpful to some. Thank you for doing this. I am looking forward to being an OT student at Mac in September. Are you able to comment on whether it's better to live near campus or further away? Also, will it be necessary to get a car for placements? Mac doesn't have any anatomy & physiology requirement for admission. How much anatomy & physiology are students expected to know before entering the class? I am moving from another province and it's helpful to know as much information I can get. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oatie2020 Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 On 6/6/2018 at 9:18 AM, OTmac2020 said: Mac doesn't have any anatomy & physiology requirement for admission. How much anatomy & physiology are students expected to know before entering the class? I am entering Mac's OT program this Fall as well and I was wondering this too! My degree coming into this program is not a traditional background, so would it be possible for you to list any resources (like textbooks) that could help me catch up with this material? Thank you so much :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 On 6/6/2018 at 1:10 AM, MacOT2020 said: Hi! I've accepted my Mac OT offer, and am quite excited to be starting there in September! Starting to plan ahead, I've been wondering what the day-to-day looks like in the various terms. I chatted with a lady in the OT department there a bit about it, she let me know the official term schedules won't be released until later July. Wondering if you could share what the week schedules looked like for you? The lady I spoke with said the first term is fairly class time heavy - four days a week of 9-5 with one day off - but the time in class eases off by the second term. Knowing this too, I'm wondering if it's pretty important to be living in Hamilton all the terms, or if some students commute from TO, or even further away? Thanks for any info! Hi there! Welcome to Mac OT! Looking forward to welcoming you to the OT family during O-Week in Sept! We have a lotttt of classmates who commute from TO, Mississauga, Guelph, Kitchener, etc. It hasn't been ideal but they make it work. The class is also very cognizant of our commuter classmates and have offered couches during storms and we accommodate group work accordingly. Make some friends who live in Hamilton just-in-case during the Winter months. The weeks are jam-packed full of classes and activities so be prepared to come to Mac 9-4, 4 days a week like the program told you over the phone. During term one, it was 9-4 every day except Wednesday. However, you don't actually get a lot of Wednesdays off because they schedule things like inter-professional education days and things like that during this time. Also, in term 1 the Wednesday is almost essential for you and your group to complete group work together so it's hardly ever a day-off so to speak. The second term was similar, but with most Wednesdays off. In term 3 which I'm in now, I'm only on campus 3 days a week. But I know in year 2 it gets quite heavy again. While some people do commute, I've heard that it is quite a struggle with the amount of work we have to do. I know a lot of the commuters who are commuted during year 1 are looking for a place for this September. I hope this is helpful for you to make a decision re: commuting. Good luck and see you in Sept! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 On 6/6/2018 at 9:18 AM, OTmac2020 said: Thank you for doing this. I am looking forward to being an OT student at Mac in September. Are you able to comment on whether it's better to live near campus or further away? Also, will it be necessary to get a car for placements? Mac doesn't have any anatomy & physiology requirement for admission. How much anatomy & physiology are students expected to know before entering the class? I am moving from another province and it's helpful to have as much information I can get. Thanks Hey there! Welcome to Mac OT! I am also from another province and know exactly the situation you're in. I moved to an apartment on the Hamilton Mountain last year and it takes me around 50 minutes to get from my house to IAHS (our building) in the morning via car. It's typically a short 15 min drive but traffic in the morning is nuts. It is super inconvenient. I am moving closer to campus in September. Walking distance is absolutely a plus. We also have classmates who commute. If you are considering living away from campus and plan on buying a parking permit, the permit isn't cheap and buy it early!! I have a classmate who commutes and went to buy one the first week of school and they were all sold out, she has to pay $8/day for parking. I got my permit the last week of August and for one year it was $500 ish dollars. I do not have an anatomy and physiology background but I did struggle with A&P during term 1. I studied almost every day for anatomy in terms 1 and 2. They don't expect you to know anything but it's not an entry-level course either because of how fast-paced it is. If you don't have an anatomy background, it may be helpful to review the muscles of the body, their innervation, and the action of the muscle over the summer for term 1. Term 2 is neuro. These terms are only 8 weeks long and the anatomy is jam-packed so prepare to study. Take care & good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 On 6/7/2018 at 12:12 PM, oatie2020 said: I am entering Mac's OT program this Fall as well and I was wondering this too! My degree coming into this program is not a traditional background, so would it be possible for you to list any resources (like textbooks) that could help me catch up with this material? Thank you so much Hi there! Welcome to Mac OT! We used Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy 7E for term 1 and Quick Reference Neuroscience for Rehabilitation Professionals (3rd ed) for term 2. Highly recommend both if you don't have an anatomy background. They saved my life. Review: muscles, innervation, and action of muscles if you would like to get ahead. It's a lot of info to learn over 8-weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTmac2020 Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 3 hours ago, OTPT2019 said: Welcome to Mac OT! Looking forward to welcoming you to the OT family during O-Week in Sept! Thank you so much for all the information you have provided!! Do you know the date for O-week in September and when OT classes begin? I am moving from another province and it helps to know as much info as I can. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oatie2020 Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 4 hours ago, OTPT2019 said: Hi there! Welcome to Mac OT! We used Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy 7E for term 1 and Quick Reference Neuroscience for Rehabilitation Professionals (3rd ed) for term 2. Highly recommend both if you don't have an anatomy background. They saved my life. Review: muscles, innervation, and action of muscles if you would like to get ahead. It's a lot of info to learn over 8-weeks. Thank you so much, this is really helpful! 1 hour ago, OTmac2020 said: Thank you so much for all the information you have provided!! Do you know the date for O-week in September and when OT classes begin? I am moving from another province and it helps to know as much info as I can. Thanks again. Hi there future classmate In the link here, it says our Orientation week will be from September 4-7. We'll get more information sent out through email in late July! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTmac2020 Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Thank you for recommending the books. Just wondering about required textbooks through the program..are there many textbooks that need to be purchased each term? Do past OT students sell their textbooks? Textbooks can be expensive and it would be great to know if purchasing used books are an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTmac2020 Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 On 5/28/2018 at 8:38 PM, OTPT2019 said: Hi all, I'm a current first-year student in Mac's OT program willing to answer any questions you may have pertaining to our program! I understand the position you're all in right now and I'm sure the additional support would be helpful to some. Do you know if year 1 OT students get a break in December? My family is in a different province and wondering if I'll get a chance see them during Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 On 6/12/2018 at 12:07 PM, OTmac2020 said: Thank you for recommending the books. Just wondering about required textbooks through the program..are there many textbooks that need to be purchased each term? Do past OT students sell their textbooks? Textbooks can be expensive and it would be great to know if purchasing used books are an option. Hey! Sorry for the late reply. The program gives you a list of required textbooks vs. optional textbooks for the program. There are no required textbooks per term. I bought most of the required textbooks because they're super useful and resourceful and they'll be great for my future professional library. However, the majority of my class has only bought 3-4 essential books and use the ones in the library when needed (it isn't often- maybe sometimes for class readings but mostly for PBT). The Health Sciences bookstore sells OT books second-hand. I got my mental health for OT book at the bookstore used for less than $100. Us year 2's will come meet with your class during O-week to recommend which books we think are absolutely necessary vs. optional. Edit: I also ordered a lot of my textbooks used off amazon! There are lots of options, but the majority of the books you will not need to purchase because they're accessible at the library next door. I just like having them as a resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTPT2019 Posted June 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 On 6/17/2018 at 11:54 PM, OTmac2020 said: Do you know if year 1 OT students get a break in December? My family is in a different province and wondering if I'll get a chance see them during Christmas. You'll get a break between the end of your first placement and the beginning of Term 2 classes. I am also from another province and got to spend 2 weeks with my family in Christmas last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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