General Admissions & OTCAS Observation hours..

[futureOTsj]

Hello applicants! I am currently in the process of applying to OT school and I was wondering of those who were accepted how many observation hours you had. I currently work for two pediatric OT's and have been observing on and off for the past year. My hours total to about 1,100 which include direct observation and office work under the OT's which are classified as both paid and unpaid.

Would putting my hours as 1,100 under one setting be too much? I'm trying to find another setting so that way they will see that I can be flexible but, will I be penalize or thought of differently because I have so many hours when minimums are as low as 20?

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[c2902]

I had about 65 hours. Technically, you should only include your "observation" as time spent directly shadowing the OT. Otherwise, that's just volunteering or paid office work, which you can still address in other parts of your application, or in OTCAS. I would also look for observation opportunities at facilities other than peds settings, to show that you have a well-rounded view of what an OT can do. Try to get some hours at a hospital, or a SNF (skilled nursing facility), etc, if you can. Admissions committees would prefer to see diversity, I think, versus 1,000 hours of observation, especially when not all of that was actual observation. When you are doing career observation at a facility, that shouldn't really include a lot of time in the back office doing clerical work (filing, etc) - I actually wasn't ever asked to do anything like that during my experiences.

 

[futureOTsj]

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it within those 1,000+ hours, I probably had direct observation for 300hrs. I am currently looking for another setting. However, a few summers back I volunteered at a SNF and went on vacation and then stopped getting calls from them. Would you recommend going back there and doing more hours or should I completely find another setting.

 

[c2902]

I agree. 1000 hours? Why not 1 million hours? I got in with my 70 hours. I think my volunteer service and variety of shadowing sites (not the number of hours) made me stand out honestly.

Yup. I had my 65 hours spread across four settings - pediatric clinic specializing in SI, level 1 trauma center hospital (saw all sorts of stuff there, from inpatient, to outpatient, to hand therapy, etc), subacute rehab facility, and another hospital (lots of hip replacements and basic evals). But that was it. I also had 250 hours (and counting) of volunteer time and a glowing LOR from a respite center for kids with special needs, so I'm sure that was a nice added boost.

 

[futureOTsj]

Thanks for your suggestions. I agree as well. Currently looking for a SNF to observe at.

 

[sb0106]

I agree. 1000 hours? Why not 1 million hours? I got in with my 70 hours. I think my volunteer service and variety of shadowing sites (not the number of hours) made me stand out honestly.

Where did you get in with 70 hours? I have a lower number of hours and I am worried with all these other applicants who have hundreds

 

[sb0106]

Yup. I had my 65 hours spread across four settings - pediatric clinic specializing in SI, level 1 trauma center hospital (saw all sorts of stuff there, from inpatient, to outpatient, to hand therapy, etc), subacute rehab facility, and another hospital (lots of hip replacements and basic evals). But that was it. I also had 250 hours (and counting) of volunteer time and a glowing LOR from a respite center for kids with special needs, so I'm sure that was a nice added boost.

Where were you accepted?

 

[RedHeadOT]

Where did you get in with 70 hours? I have a lower number of hours and I am worried with all these other applicants who have hundreds

From what I understand, some schools only look to make sure you have completed the minimum number of hours. At those schools, if you have more hours, it does not improve your chances.

 

[sb0106]

From what I understand, some schools only look to make sure you have completed the minimum number of hours. At those schools, if you have more hours, it does not improve your chances.

I would love to know what schools you are talking about! It just worries me because I will have about... 60 hours when I apply in the next couple weeks.

 

[RedHeadOT]

I honestly don't remember specific schools.

 

[hbroth]

TWU only requires 20 hours, if I'm remembering correctly. They specifically stated that they don't look at any hours past that.