Volunteer Hours - help!

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Hello!

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what to do. I have achieved 50 hours of volunteer at a horse therapy clinic (20 hrs with an actual OT) working with pediatrics and older adults, and have now recently gotten a job as a Rehab Tech working in a very unique building that has therapists who treat subacute, bariatrics, and is partly a skilled nursing facility. Because I am full time I can no longer find time during the week to go observe or volunteer with OT's in other practice settings and most places are not open on the weekend. Do you think I have enough to be competitive when I apply to schools? I'm worried that I don't have enough hours, but with my new job i'm exposed to alot of different types of patients...I guess another worry is that I am helping so many different therapist (OT, PT, and SLP) that I don't really get enough time with any one OT to feel comfortable enough to ask for a recommendation. This application process is so stressful and I really want to start getting my stuff sent out, any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[kp24]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what to do. I have achieved 50 hours of volunteer at a horse therapy clinic (20 hrs with an actual OT) working with pediatrics and older adults, and have now recently gotten a job as a Rehab Tech working in a very unique building that has therapists who treat subacute, bariatrics, and is partly a skilled nursing facility. Because I am full time I can no longer find time during the week to go observe or volunteer with OT's in other practice settings and most places are not open on the weekend. Do you think I have enough to be competitive when I apply to schools? I'm worried that I don't have enough hours, but with my new job i'm exposed to alot of different types of patients...I guess another worry is that I am helping so many different therapist (OT, PT, and SLP) that I don't really get enough time with any one OT to feel comfortable enough to ask for a recommendation. This application process is so stressful and I really want to start getting my stuff sent out, any advice would be appreciated!!

Hi,

What schools are you looking at? Volunteer hours and how they need to be documented vary from school to school. Some schools like Dominician University look for "health services" hours so you can have anyone verify that you have been working there for a set amount of hours. Other schools want you to work directly under an OT while schools like USC dont require any hours. I would suggest maybe talking to one of the OTs that you feel most comfortable with, letting them know your interested in the field, and asking if they can possibly mentor you for the the next couple of weeks. I was actually in the same position as you when I volunteered at a hospital--I was working with so many therapists that I wasn't comfortable with just any one of them to ask for a recommendation. However, as soon as I realized it, I started to find opportunities to work with the therapists that I felt more comfortable with and got to know them by asking questions and showing them I was interested in the field. Working where you work will def. look good on your application, so don't worry too much! Lots of schools will take a look at your application if you have at least half of the hours done.

 

[veggieswirl]

Talk to the schools you plan on applying to and tell them your situation. You'd be surprised at how many schools would accept somebody with three years experience with work as a CNA and no LOR from an OT, but an LOR from the director of nursing instead.Talk to the schools you plan on applying to. One school told me my 400 volunteer hours at the VA would meet their OT volunteer requirement even though I didn't work directly with an OT and didn't have an LOR from an OT. Their website explicitly states that you need experience with an OT and an LOR from an OT. When I thanked them for being lenient and understanding, they told me they weren't being lenient at all, after all I had 400+ hours in a hospital, as a volunteer, so it showed drive and altruism. Talk to the schools and see if you could use an LOR from your supervisor instead, and you could have your supervisor verify that you have worked under the same roof as various types of therapists. The verification may be enough.

 

[Shelby029]

You need to check out the minimum observation hours at each place cause all the schools I've looked at had a requirement a person had to meet before applying!