Observation Hours

[sb0106]

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Hi! I have some questions about observation hours!

So I contacted a local OT and set up my first observation hours experience. He seems very nice and is willing to let me pick the hours because his team is flexible. However, I do not know how to go about setting the hours. I told him my availability in hopes that he'd set the hours but he said for me to pick the times. So he said to come by on Tuesday of next week and we will set up additional days when we meet.

Since I have never observed before, please tell me the norms. How many hours does one typically observe in one day? And how many days per week? I don't know how long he is willing to have me there in a given day or how long (in days/weeks) he is willing to keep me around.

So how should I set up the times with him? How long did you typically observe an OT?

 

[jewel11786]

Many OT's see the same patient's on similar days. For example, an OT may have patients A,B,C,D on Tuesdays and patient's E,F,G,H on Wednesdays. Or they may see similar patient's 2 or 3 times a week. If you're available, I would ask the OT if you could schedule the hours so you can see a larger variety of patients. Although it is good to see the same patient over a course of several sessions so you can see how they progress, I would ask if you can observe 1 or 2 days a week on the same day so you can see a variety of patients over a course of time. It's hard to get a really good idea of the client's diagnosis and how the OT is treating the client in just one session. Ask the OT about their schedule and how you can get the most out of the observation experience.

 

[RedHeadOT]

You might want to find out if they work with more patients during a certain time of day. For example, the place I volunteered usually tried to see as many of their patients in the morning as possible. The hour they had the highest volume was between 9 AM and 11 AM. Knowing that, I was able to make arrangements to come during that time so I could see a wider range of patients and treatments.

 

[c2902]

The length of time and number of cases I got to observe varied depending on where I was. A couple of the hospitals could only give me a certain number of hours - for example, one could give me two full days, so I was there the whole day for two days, and ended up shadowing multiple OTs. The pediatric OT I shadowed at a private clinic (who happens to be a friend of mine) let me come whenever I could, as much as I wanted, so I saw some of the same kids multiple times, if I came during the same block of time. Personally, I felt like I got a lot out of all of the different types of experiences I had. If you ask the right questions, you can get enough information to understand what's going on, and all of the OTs I shadowed with were happy to give me the run-down on each case.

 

[BHSUStudent]

It depends on the work the OT does, and the type of environment. Just set up a tentative date with tentative hours and adjust them as needed. If he said come by next Tuesday, then he is making a tentative date. So just come by, but ask him what time you should be there. You may be there for several hours, or you may not. Sometimes I had to leave when OTs had light case loads and needed to do paperwork. You can't really make a fixed schedule, you have to be tentative in many cases. Sometimes I only got 1 hour in at a specific site for that corresponding day. Patients cancel, and OTs also get overwhelmed with a high caseload.

 

[RedDevilOT]

I definitely think it depends on the setting. For me, I have done three placements with the following hrs:

- Outpatient Hospital Clinic (Hand therapy/Peds): 3 hrs, every Thursday
- Skilled Nursing Facility: 4 hrs, every Friday
- Inpatient Children's Rehab Hospital: 2 to 4 hrs (depending on # of kids), every Saturday

For me, I liked having a weekly routine for a set number of hours instead of coming and going as I pleased. That I way I knew people would expect me and I knew there would be things for me to do. I say it depends on the setting because I feel I could have stayed longer at the outpatient hospital clinic (they were always busy) but I could have done less at the SNF (it was slow moving and time did not go by fast). You also want to make sure your time there is worth it though...if you do 4 hours a week it really starts to add up fast while doing only 2 hours a week it will take a while to get substantial hours.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[prodigiousflame]

I come and go as I please...and I think the OTs think wth...lol