observation hours

In PTCAS and to get admitted I understand we need a certain type of shadowing hours. I honestly feel so dumb even asking this but I am genuinely lost. Do the hours classify on a case by case basis? Or by a physical therapist’s office? If it is by a specific physical therapist office how would...

If you've been in the Pre-PT game long enough you know that getting a variety of observation hours in a number of settings makes your application look good. What I've found many Pre-PT's don't know however, is what exactly a different setting means & what to do with this information. According...

How is everyone getting their hours during covid?! I know some schools are being "lenient", but I only have ten signed hours and I don't think that will cut it. I switched to PT right before covid hit but I want to apply this summer. I have more hours from 2017 but I do not have them signed...

Has anyone experienced a clinic that has OT's work closely with prosthetics in the STL area? I would love to observe some hours in one, but am struggling to find a place! I'm not sure if this is even a thing, but if it is I am very interested! Thanks in advance!

Hello, everyone I am excited to be posting here for the first time. I've been looking over the forum for some time and wanted to share my stats. I'm applying for masters programs In OT for the upcoming year (2019). I wanted to know if I could get some feedback as to my chances of getting in and...

I do not have documentation for every site/all of my observation hours that I have done and recorded in OTCAS. Will schools make me verify the hours or have written proof of hours if I am considered or accepted? Just curious so I can properly prepare myself!

Hi guys, I'm working on my PTCAS application right now and I'm not entirely sure how I should categorize my observation hours. I have a total of 38 hours in a rehabilitation facility that can be categorized as a skilled nursing facility and sub-acute rehabilitation, but if I enter 38 hours for...

What is a good number to have for observation hours? I should be in the 200 range in 2-3 settings by the time I apply, is this good?

Hey everyone! How far in advance should I set up observation opportunities with PT clinics? I don't want to reach out and set something up too early and have the clinic forget that I'll be there to observe or, alternatively, wait too long and not be able to find any places that have the space...

Help!! So I am shadowing a physical therapist for the first time tomorrow and the PT wants to verify my hours by paper. How should I go about this? I found two webpages on PTCAS about the matter, one page said to print out the "PTCAS observation hours verification form (PDF)" which i found and I...

Hey guys! I was accepted this cycle to Duke (eeeek!), and I have created an instagram page and a blog to help out pre-pt students, and document my journey through PT school (and life of course)! I recently started a PTCAS application series on the blog, and so far I have posted about getting...

I am currently a pre pt student in the suburbs of chicago and was wondering if anyone had advice on who to reach out to for observation hours? I am having trouble with the major ones like ATI and Athletico. Any advice would help such as a good strategy for contacting people.

Hey guys! I am trying to be proactive in case I don't get accepted into an MOT program this round! I think my observation hours might be lacking. I have about 100 between two different OT outpatient rehab clinics and only about 10 hrs in pediatrics, with more planned. I am a nursing assistant...

Hi everyone! I have a kind of different question that I don't think has been talked about much (if at all) on these forums. I'm currently in my second year of undergrad and have gotten almost 50 hours of volunteering/observation hours at an ortho clinic. I've made some real good connections with...

Hey there! I'm planning on applying to OT schools soon, but I'm concerned about my application. Here is what I have so far as far as stats; B.A. in Psychology GPA: 3.5 Pre-Req GPA: 3.7 GRE: 167 Verbal, 162 Quantitative, 4.5 Analytical Observation Hours: 33 - 20 Pediatrics, 13 Adults with...

So I'm in the middle of trying to add my hospital volunteering hours to the PTCAS observation hours page but I only have a signed copy from my volunteer coordinator and not a physical therapist. My volunteer coordinator was in charge of my hours and since there were so many therapists I did not...

Hi guys, So I am currently in the midst of applying to DPT schools and is looking to diversify my pt hour experience. I currently have about 100 hrs total (60 hrs outpatient; 40 hours inpatient). I currently still am searching out more places to observe and something that I read from PTCAS...

So far I have 23 hours and I have some hours coming up from about three different places. I will probably end up with somewhere between 80-100 hours. I called OTCAS and they said I can put hours in progress but won't be able to update that they are complete after I submit my apps. They said to...

Hey Guys, I'm an athletic trainer planning to apply to schools this fall. I'll most likely have a weak GPA (3.4 overall/3.2 pre-req) once I finish my summer classes. I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago and got a 157 VR, 149 QR and 4.0 Analytic. I worked in a couple of PT clinics for a little...

Hi everyone, I am having trouble submitting my observation hours and reference requests to the same physical therapist. I first put in a request to have her verify my observation hours but then when I went to submit a request for her to write me a letter of recommendation it wouldn't let me...

I am trying to apply to the NAU PT program. Bio Major at ASU My GPA is 4.0 GRE 161 V and 163 Q and 3.5 AW Observation hours for NAU are not required but highly recommended. Because I have spent a lot of time on my coursework and studying for the GRE so far, I don't have any observation hours...

Hello all. i have only done 1 observation and it was for an assignment in class that only required one hour. It was so awkward though, i felt like i was intruding or would be in the way if i asked questions or followed them around so i was...a corner observer :sorry: i need to do observations...

I was wondering about people who have multiple observation hours how they record them. Are we supposed to get each individual hour signed off or could we just write 40 hours and have the OT sign off on it? If i do over hundreds of hours i was wondering if I need each hour signed off...

Hello everyone! So I recently graduated from college in May thinking I was going to become an SLP but I have since changed my mind and decided to pursue OT. So far I'm finding the process to be so much more frustrating for OT than for SLP and I'm not even applying until next year. With SLP...

Under the OTCAS documents, it lists a place after the personal statement where you can put your observation hours (I'm guessing the paper they sometimes give you), however, not all of my places gave me the list and some I can't find. Is it a huge deal if I don't upload them? I marked that...

Hi everyone, I am going into my senior year in undergrad and currently trying to complete PTCAS. However I have a question about observation hours. I completed 120 hours in an outpatient PT setting last summer. I have been so busy since then that I haven't been able to get another experience...

I'm 26 and applying to PT school for early admission. I think I have a strong application other than observation hours. I've always done steady volunteering, but up until I realized observation hours specific to PT were a requirement I had volunteer in more of a sports setting. I currently only...

Hey! I'm currently in the process of applying to a lot of schools: Baylor, Miami (my undergrad), Duke, Belmont, USF, UCF, UF. I took my GRE today and wasn't pleased with my scores. I got a 159V and 155Q. I know I could have done a lot better on the quantitative portion I just got really nervous...