Other OT-Related Information Path after graduation?

[aeju46]

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Hey everyone! Currently, I am a senior who will graduate in December with my BS in Sociology. I used to be a nursing major, then I realized it wasn't for me. I still love helping people and want my career to revolve around that and to be in the healthcare field, so I found Occupational therapy! I wish I knew about OT before coming to college. I'm just confused on what path to take after graduating this December - should I go through an OTA program before I apply to OT school? I won't start applying to OT programs until July 2018 depending on if decide to stick with an OTA program. Also, do you know any OT's who got their master's in public health? As an OT would it be necessary to have a master's in public health?

 

[hopefullonghorn]

Hi! We've all been in your shoes and had to figure out where to start! If you will be graduating with a bachelor's, you can apply right away to an OT program. There is no need to go through an OTA program first, unless you want to for some reason. And you definitely do not need your masters in public health. All you need to apply to OT school is a bachelor's degree, the required pre-requisites for each school, and observation hours. The amount of observation hours you need will vary by school, and some schools may not require any at all. But a safe rule of thumb is "the more the merrier." If you graduate in December, you can start applying this summer/fall to start in the fall of 2018. There are some programs that offer spring start dates, which would allow you to start in January. The applications for those are probably either open now or about to open. If you are ready to start applying to OT school, you'll have to start researching programs and their requirements. You still have time to get observation hours before the next application period. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[elischeesecake]

Hey everyone! Currently, I am a senior who will graduate in December with my BS in Sociology. I used to be a nursing major, then I realized it wasn't for me. I still love helping people and want my career to revolve around that and to be in the healthcare field, so I found Occupational therapy! I wish I knew about OT before coming to college. I'm just confused on what path to take after graduating this December - should I go through an OTA program before I apply to OT school? I won't start applying to OT programs until July 2018 depending on if decide to stick with an OTA program. Also, do you know any OT's who got their master's in public health? As an OT would it be necessary to have a master's in public health?

Washington University in St. Louis has a combined OT/MPH program-- if you want to see what coursework might look like for that and get some other info, I bet their website would be helpful! Not that you have to apply there, but it just may give you a good idea of what benefits that may offer you. I say: research, research, research! AOTA has a great listing of all the OT programs in the country- start looking at schools and reading about their programs and admissions process. The more you learn, the more apparent the right path for you will be!

 

[purplegold86]

I majored in Special Education and after my first year of teaching, I realized it was not for me and was interested in OT (so I was kind of in the same place as you). You have time to apply to OT programs in the Fall 2018. I would suggest to check to see if you have all of the prereqs needed for OT (most schools have the same general pre-reqs but some have more). I would also suggest to find as many volunteer hours as you possibly can. Try to get in at least two sites this summer.