General Admissions & OTCAS Letters of Recommendation from OTs

[am.otstudent]

Hi all,

I'm getting my ducks in a row to apply to schools this summer/fall, and I'm at a loss with how to approach my current volunteer hours situation. I went through the whole onboarding process for observing in my current setting (PT/OT pediatric outpatient clinic, 1x per week) and was dismayed my first day when the volunteer coordinator for the clinic told me that a) she would never work at this location the same day I volunteered and that b) volunteers may never, ever ask a therapist for a letter of recommendation!

This was a shock because the hospital's overall policy was one may not ask for a rec before the 50 hour mark, and a 6 month commitment is required (which I have made). Therapists "may offer" volunteers a letter, but again, it has to be completely unprompted. This is frustrating because I'm not even "assigned" to a therapist on an ongoing basis, which makes me worry I may not establish the kind of relationship with anyone that I would require for such an offer, and students in the clinic naturally get priority over volunteers.

I guess I have a couple questions:

a) is this normal?
b) where did you do your volunteering/observation hours, and what was the setup like - did you shadow one OT on an ongoing basis? When did you ask for a letter? About how many hours would you observe out of the total hours spent volunteering? My ratio is abysmal - like 1 hr observation for every 4+ hours spent volunteering.
c) anyone know of other places in Chicago I can get a foot in the door (preferably not peds)?

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[TNick92]

I think I know of the place you are talking about ( I live in Chicago also). I would say try nursing homes that offer rehab services. I spoke with the rehab coordinator at one and during my first day, I told her about the hour requirement. I was welcome to come back anytime! Also, hospitals would be a good place to look as well. Good luck!

 

[Bokonomy]

I shadowed an OT through my work (group home) and a school OT and didn't have those issues, bit there aren't any OT schools in my area.

 

[am.otstudent]

I shadowed an OT through my work (group home) and a school OT and didn't have those issues, bit there aren't any OT schools in my area.

Yeah, I'm wondering if Chicago is just hard for finding observation sites, since we have so many OT schools in the area and probably a lot of students in fieldwork or looking to shadow.

 

[am.otstudent]

I think I know of the place you are talking about ( I live in Chicago also). I would say try nursing homes that offer rehab services. I spoke with the rehab coordinator at one and during my first day, I told her about the hour requirement. I was welcome to come back anytime! Also, hospitals would be a good place to look as well. Good luck!

At least I know what questions to ask now! I took it for granted that sinking my own time and money (health screenings, parking) into volunteering would allow me to shadow more and at least *ask* for a rec.

 

[Bokonomy]

At least I know what questions to ask now! I took it for granted that sinking my own time and money (health screenings, parking) into volunteering would allow me to shadow more and at least *ask* for a rec.

Sorry to hear that. :/ They should have been more up front about it.

 

[proapplicant]

the part about the rec letter is strange since they know that's a huge part of volunteering... unless they're in denial. maybe you can ask without asking. esp if there's one closer to your age. I kinda got one that way- was talking about someone else writing it and she offered to write one too.

I did hrs in a hospital too and didn't shadow a specific OT. I stood in the gym and whoever needed help would call me over (PTs for the most part). Otherwise, I was "observing."

When it comes to forming a connection, I'm the one who really had to make the effort. I had to break the ice with "hello" and "how are you" then it grew from there. One of them actually told me she was very shy and only started talking to me because I talked to her. Anyway, point being I think you can form a connection but it takes work (not the OT related kind). I was there 2 days vs. your 1.

 

[MusicalOT14]

I am sorry that you have had to go through this but I give your props for starting early! I would look into some other places. There are hospitals, outpatient, home health, schools and free standing places that all offer OT services. When I was looking for places to shadow I literally googled OT places and then called around. I was very upfront and told them the minimum number of hours I had to have and that I would need a letter of recommendation at the end. If they were willing to do that great, if they weren't I moved on to the next. Ultimately you need to do whats best for you and will give you the best chance at getting into OT school. I am currently creating a blog with advice on the application process. It is fairly new but you can check it out here: https://rn2ot.wordpress.com/ . If you have questions don't hesitate to ask. I wish you all the best in this process! Hang in there!!