Coursework & Fieldwork OT school attire

[RedHeadOT]

What do most occupational therapy students wear to class? Do students dress the same for school volunteer opportunities and fieldwork experiences?

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[Kidamnesiac]

It's definitely in the student's best interest to dress your best. Mainly business casual. I just think of it like a two year interview. We all had to have psychology to make it to this level, so we should understand that, whether it's fair or not, perception is crucial in judgement.

 

[Sunny324]

From what I have seen, it varies depending on the school and department culture. Some OT schools have dress codes requiring professional attire when attending class, others are fine with casual clothing. Call or e-mail a professor to get the details for each individual school.

There will probably always be the expectation that you dress nicely when giving a presentation, listening to a guest speaker, going to fieldwork, or in any way representing the program outside of class.

 

[OTPanda]

Haha, most of my class wears yoga pants...A LOT. Don't get me wrong, we dress professionally when we see clients or go out into the community but day to day, we're just trying to get by and our professors are totally ok with that!

 

[c2902]

It depends - for class, we're expected to look presentable, but occasionally people wear sweatshirts or yoga pants, and no one says anything. I'm only in my first year, so I can't comment on fieldwork attire, but most schools have specific dress codes for that, unless the site tells you otherwise.

 

[OTDgirl]

At my school we need to wear program scrubs or professional wear to class. They aren't too strict about it because sometimes people slack off (especially on exam days) but as a whole we do follow it.

 

[gialuan]

In my program, we wore whatever we wanted to class. But for classes held at outside of school, we all dressed presentably. For fieldwork, that depends on the site. I was lucky that I got to wear scrubs for both my level IIs.

 

[rcludo]

I think it's a totally fair question. Look at the variety of answers. Some schools require business casual all the time, some are fine with jeans. Especially for people coming straight from undergrad, this might be the first time they need to buy a significant amount of business attire clothing, so it's good to know in advance. There is nothing wrong with wanting to find out others' opinions and knowledge about this. If you don't like the thread, ignore it.

 

[RedHeadOT]

Osu789, there is no need to be rude. If you don't need this information, you can skip this and go to another post.

 

[Eeny]

Someone wants to know what to wear to class because they want to appear professional if need be, and that is somehow "girl chat"? Get a grip. You have said in other threads that you are not too thrilled going into an occupation filled with women, and if you have such negative views about how you perceive females to "chat" then I wouldn't expect many of your classmates to like you. There's no need to be bringing your misogynistic viewpoints into this profession. Perhaps you would get along better with some burly construction worker men? Surely there will be no "girl chat" there. Or, stay in this profession, suck it up, and be glad you're a man because you'll be making more than your equally qualified female colleagues anyways.

 

[brbrown2]

OSU789 seems to have something negative to say in nearly every thread he posts in. If you can't handle these threads and the anxious people in them, or the questions people ask than how do you suppose you'd handle the diversity of your clientele one day? You will be helping so many different people with many different personalities. Are you going to make them feel bad about the questions they ask or god forbid, call them names like "spazzy" when they are anxious about something? Are you going to go about insulting people when you think they are asking a dumb question? Why do you bother posting back to people's threads if you have only negative things to say?

 

[RedHeadOT]

Yes, I would expect this question to be asked in other professions such as law, business and medicine. In fact, here are some links to threads where soon-to-be law students, med students, and MBA students asked similar questions:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=203552
http://gmatclub.com/forum/what-to-wear-at-the-information-session-69638.html
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-to-dress-in-medical-school.938898/
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=151115
http://www.styleforum.net/t/102415/what-to-wear-for-mba-interview
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/what-did-you-wear-to-your-medical-school-interview.74538/
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=108728
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/what-to-wear-to-second-look-at-medical-schools.894043/
(In case you were wondering, some men seriously participated in some of these discussions.)

Also, if you google, "what to wear to law school" or "what to wear to medical school" you will see there are many articles on this topic.
I would be interested in hearing your point of view about how the statistics on pay are misleading, however, I think that would be better suited for another post.

 

[mgeagle]

Yes, I would expect this question to be asked in other professions such as law, business and medicine. In fact, here are some links to threads where soon-to-be law students, med students, and MBA students asked similar questions:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=203552
http://gmatclub.com/forum/what-to-wear-at-the-information-session-69638.html
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-to-dress-in-medical-school.938898/
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=151115
http://www.styleforum.net/t/102415/what-to-wear-for-mba-interview
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/what-did-you-wear-to-your-medical-school-interview.74538/
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=108728
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/what-to-wear-to-second-look-at-medical-schools.894043/
(In case you were wondering, some men seriously participated in some of these discussions.)

Also, if you google, "what to wear to law school" or "what to wear to medical school" you will see there are many articles on this topic.
I would be interested in hearing your point of view about how the statistics on pay are misleading, however, I think that would be better suited for another post.

OSU789 you just got SERVED with evidence by RedHeadOT and she deserves a medal for that, and by the way I have met both males and females either in grad school or trying to get in about appropriate attire and several told me they had to ask around to be sure. Also in some situations it is not just a matter of asking about the major components of attire but also the minor points as well such as certain colors that are deemed more professional, what hand you should wear your watch on, what kind of tie brings a more professional look, what type of jewelry brings a more professional look and what to stay away from. May sound silly to you but employers for these high level professions want to know you can pay attention to the details and understand that in the professional world there is proper etiquette depending on where you are at; which is all the people on these threads want to know.

 

[Eeny]

I'm extremely well aware that the reason for the discrepancy is that men are more often chosen for management positions. No one claimed that women and men in the same position are somehow taking home different paychecks, but the fact is the two candidates up for a promotion are of opposite genders, the man is much more likely to get the promotion. Yes, people still claim that this is because of women having children, which is a pathetic excuse for sexism in the workplace.

And not everyone who is applying to occupational therapy school is familiar with professional academic settings. Some applicants are very young, and maybe some do not have any family members who have gone to graduate school and do not know who to ask besides the people on this forum. And why do you have a problem with people being anxious and wanting to make sure they make a good impression? It's no skin off your back.

 

[mgeagle]

I'm extremely well aware that the reason for the discrepancy is that men are more often chosen for management positions. No one claimed that women and men in the same position are somehow taking home different paychecks, but the fact is the two candidates up for a promotion are of opposite genders, the man is much more likely to get the promotion. Yes, people still claim that this is because of women having children, which is a pathetic excuse for sexism in the workplace.

And not everyone who is applying to occupational therapy school is familiar with professional academic settings. Some applicants are very young, and maybe some do not have any family members who have gone to graduate school and do not know who to ask besides the people on this forum. And why do you have a problem with people being anxious and wanting to make sure they make a good impression? It's no skin off your back.

OSU789, you are being very judgmental and have no earthly idea of how people come to graduate school from varying environments and situations that may not foster the same kind of "common sense" that you claim all these grad students should have. Suppose someone from another country that is not accustomed to seeing a western style of professional attire on a regular basis apply to grad school and get in (and believe me it happens cause there are an abundance of foreigners in US grad schools) then they may want to find out what attire is acceptable for a culture that is NEW to them. You can argue they should know all you want but it will NEVER hold validity unless you have been apart of the environment that has raised them. We Americans tend to believe that our style of doing things is universal when in reality it is not and we (myself included cause I am bad about this) need to take the time to see where someone else is coming from and try to help them adjust as oppose to criticizing them for being ignorant of how certain things are done.

 

[PaulS156]

I don't normally like to chime in on arguments over the internet, but well said for the last posts mgeagle and Eeny posted.

osu789, here's the first think you said: "I really hate to be salty. I am just confused as to why anyone would post a thread asking "what to wear to class". Are you a teenager? You will find out if you need scrubs on certain days and if you aren't wearing them you may need to wear business casual/jeans on other days. Can you imagine someone going to law school asking "what do I wear to class?" Let's not lower the curve."

That is incredibly rude. Who cares if someone asks that question. That is the kind of person that wants to leave a good impression. You don't want your professors thinking you're slobbish by how you dress. I heard a saying once, "It's all in the presentation." How you present yourself, everything you do, is a reflection of you. Would you rather just make assumptions (in this case, with this thread, on what to wear) and risk looking like a joke and not being taken seriously, or ask a simple question, just to make sure. If you don't have anything useful or positive to add, keep it to yourself.

Also, think about how you're responding. What IF the people that are responding to this thread were in your cohort for wherever you go? Think: those COULD be your colleagues one day, with some stroke of luck. Everyone here's working hard to achieve the same goal: get into and succeed in OT school. Please show some respect. Your responses are silly and not that of a professional.

 

[mochim]

I don't like to chime in on arguments either, but OSU789.. It's okay for you to speak your mind but you need to realize where you need to draw the line. If you really are passionate about OT, you need to really learn how to respect others first. This is especially important for someone who wants to provide positive experiences for his/her future patients from various backgrounds and experiences.

 

[alansda]

As an incoming OT student and someone working at a pediatric OT clinic where I'm the only guy, I will have to echo many of the statements made here to be mindful of one's words. Regardless of one's personal opinion about the question (characterized here as juvenile and a topic more oriented for women), it's not becoming of a future professional to act antagonistically, though I realize this is an anonymous internet forum and that can lower inhibitions.

@osu789 we are the minority in the workplace, adapt or die

 

[deleted517237]

As a brOT, I was curious about attire before starting my program, most people were. Luckily, our program is pretty relaxed and we can wear casual clothing to class. For observations or fieldwork, it just depends on the site, but count on initially dressing more professionally. You should definitely ask, though!

Also, osu789, do you even lift, bro?

 

[beestrng]

For guys khakis and polo/button down shirt.

 

[csustudent17]

I'm in my first year in my masters program...its casual everyday for the most part unless you are going to fieldwork or presenting. Some classes even ask that you wear comfy/workout clothes or clothes you wouldn't mind getting messy in. Other than that you see about everything..some people like to wear business casual, most people wear jeans and yoga pants. I think it depends on the program. Most of my classes are minimum 3 hours long and nobody wants to be sitting in class for that long in a pencil skirt and blouse...so definitely a valid question.

 

[CurlyHairedGirl]

I am getting rid of a decent segment of my professional wardrobe now that I'm going back to school. I am assuming (and yes, I know that assume makes an ass out of you and me) that regardless of where I end up working, I will have to be able to move comfortably and run the risk of getting something on my clothes. So only clothes that can be machine washed. Basics can be dressed up with jewelry. And if you don't know where to start with jewelry, a string of (probably fake) pearls is a good way to dress up any outfit. Khaki/tan pants are a good wardrobe basic, and so are black pants. If you want to dress things up, wearing nice looking shoes, not just tennis shoes, will help. Solid colored long sleeve knit tops can be good (and could be easily dressed up)

I will probably be getting rid of most of my silk blouses or tops that require ironing, not that I have a lot.

 

[Emily722]

I think this is a very reasonable question, and i'm glad someone brought it up. Going into a new situation is stressful for most people, and I know for me personally the more I can know to expect and be prepared for the less stressed I feel. And little things like what you are expected to wear counts, especially since I feel a lot of us have never had the need to buy any decent amount of professional clothing and still don't have the money to spend on it if we don't need it.

I haven't started my program yet, but I looked through some paperwork they gave us. For most classes, unless otherwise specified by the instructor, we are expected to dress comfortably and casually but appropriately. And for when we will be in public, presentations ect we have to wear khakis and a polo with the programs logo.

I would also like add that my boyfriend is currently in an MBA program and the first time I hung out with him and some of his class mates (mostly men) there was quite a bit of talk about the dress code. Not in a concerned manner, but curiosity. Mainly because they all felt like they would probably be expected to at least wear business casual but didn't actually want to. In their case they had all accumulated a good amount of professional attire for previous jobs, but preferred not to feel "stuffy and stiff" if not necessary. Turned out to be completely up to them for a large majority of their classes and most people dressed nice but very casual.