Observation Hours

[RachL168]

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How did everyone get their observation hours? Did you cold call places and if yes...what did you say?? I am excited to get started but not sure how to approach this. Thanks!

 

[c2902]

I called the rehab departments of the hospitals in the area - I live in a large metro area, so the name of the person who coordinates the observation/volunteer experiences was actually listed in most cases, just check their website. I just called them, and in some cases left an email too, and continued to follow up until I got a hold of someone. They get a lot of requests for career observation hours, so don't be surprised if you have to be a little persistent - and be all right with taking as many hours as they are able to give. I ended up going to a couple of different places in order to get all of my hours, since most places could only give me two full days' worth, or 10 hours, etc. However, in the long run, it's better if you spread out your experiences, so you can see different stuff.

I also happen to know an OT, whose kids I used to babysit, who works in a private pediatrics clinic, so I did a bunch of my hours with her, and then the rest through the hospital system in my area.

 

[BHSUStudent]

I call hospitals, nursing facilities, clinics, etc.
I will first ask for an OT. Once the OT gets on the phone, I will introduce myself, briefly state my interest in OT, and that I am looking for job shadowing/volunteering/observation opportunities.

 

[mlc54]

How did everyone get their observation hours? Did you cold call places and if yes...what did you say?? I am excited to get started but not sure how to approach this. Thanks!

I called a school as well as local hospitals and rehab centers. I explained that I was trying to get into a master's level OT program and that I needed observation hours. Depending on the location, I gave them an estimate as to the number of hours I was looking for in that specific location and the date I needed the hours done by (if my personal deadline was getting close).

Most people seemed more than willing to help since it is academically-related. However, don't get discouraged if people won't let you observe. I ran into that problem a few times. Some places simply don't allow students to observe and for others the OT's schedules were too busy to fit me in. Just be persistent and accept whatever hours they're willing to let you observe (even if it's only for 1 day/significantly less than the number of hours you wanted for the 1 location). When I finally got to my observation sites, many of the OTs were able to suggest people/places I could get in touch with to do some observation hours.

 

[SnakePlissken]

My first observation was in a sub-acute nursing facility. I was doing a wellness internship and decided to check out the therapy department. The internship director introduced me to the PT, and there were also OT's and SP's there so I observed for about 40 hours. This last week I also called a local school system's OT who works in the special education department, who said to fill out a volunteer field experience form (30 hours or less) and then bring it to her for signing. I would then start observing in August when school starts. Aside from those, private clinics have been more than welcoming of me coming in to observe. One was pediatric and the other just general rehab.

The biggest problem i've had is hospitals. With there large corporate structures it seems the only way to get in to observe is to volunteer, and it can take several months just to go through that process so I don't see the value in observing there right now since OTCAS just opened. It's rather unfortunate too because most OT'S work in hospitals, and i'd like to see how they operate in that area.

 

[BHSUStudent]

Oh and another thing, don't get discouraged whenever you find it hard to get a hold of an OT. A lot of them (especially at hospitals) get high caseloads, and calling someone who needs observations hours will be one of the last things on their priority list. You just have to keep calling them, and let people such as the receptionist know that it's somewhat urgent.

Personally, I've had the easiest time volunteering for a small, private clinic, which I now work for as an OT Aide. The hospitals were difficult to get into because everyone was very busy (I waited 1 month for a call back one time). The SNF was fairly easy.