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OT as a career


Guest jmh2005

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Guest jmh2005

Hey Tantastic (that's a great name!),

 

I'm starting a new thread, it's better to keep things in order in case there are others who have the same questions.

 

To answer your questions from the previous thread...keeping at it...

 

I did a 4 yr. degree then did OT and a 2nd undergrad degree, at Mac. Now however, it is a Master-level degree and they now interview based strictly on marks (both OT and PT) in your last 2 years (3rd and 4th years). They used to interview 180 per programme, 90 based on marks and 90 based on their autobiographical sketch similar to Meds at Mac, but no longer (which is unfortunate...), 180 of the top grades get interviews.

 

The career is very diverse, you can work in number of areas & work with different populations. From hand therapy to psychiatric rehabiliation, really the options for OTs within health care are pretty broad.

 

In terms of salary, in a hospital, your average OT and PT make between $27.00 and 30.00/hour. Private practice and home care are much higher between $50.00-100.00/hour, but there is a tonne of paper work involved.

 

I highly recommend to anyone thinking about a career in OT or PT, to shadow and interview a few people in the profession...this is the best way to learn about the profession, especially OT, because very little is known in the general public about what OTs have to offer.

 

Hope that helps, sorry it's not a lengthy description, but I have a tonne of work to do, ER isn't new tonight, so I have to take advantage of the time!

 

J

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Guest tantastic

Your the best!!!!:)

 

I really appreciate the help;)

 

Finally, one last question. During the interview is there alot of weird questions (scenarios) do they expect a certain amount of shadowing or training prior to starting school?

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Guest jmh2005

Hey Tantastic,

 

The OT/PT interviews at Mac are very straightforward, there are three 1-on-1 interviews, 20 minutes long, one or two by a faculty and one or two by a community member. They used to have students interview, but that is not allowed since the degree is at the Master's level...the school of grad studies basically trashed that option, for whatever reason.

 

Like I said, very straight foward and very similar to Meds interviews...just think of what they would want to know about you to see if you would be a good candiate...why OT/PT? why do you think you would make a good OT/PT? Your experiences, how would they help you in this programme? What does SDL mean to you? How do you manage your time? conflict, group work, etc... They do not expect you to do anything per se, but you need to make sure you know a lot about the profession, you really want to know what you are getting into...in my opinion, I think you can only know this if you have spent time with those in the profession.

 

I do want to stress however (as I have said in previous posts...) if it is medicine that you really want, go for it 110%. Not that I'm not into back up plans, but just because you may not get in on your first application to medicine, doesn't mean that you aren't cut out to be a doc. You do not have to limit yourself to just going back to school for the sake of it because you didn't get exactly what you wanted the 1st time. There are a tonne of things you could do to improve your application, do volunteer work, research, shadow docs and other professionals...yes, maybe you won't make a lot of money doing some of these things, but you have to realize that it will likely all work out in the end...in my opinion you can never have too much experience, and it can only make you a stronger and more attractive applicant.

 

Remember, I am only one opinion and only you know yourself exactly what will be right for you, best of luck,

 

J

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