Occupational Therapist

So I'm in occupational therapy school right now. I'm in the doctorate program at KUMC, University of Kansas Medical Center, but I would say the best thing you can do to get started is just to put yourself out in the community with service, and if you can get into a clinical setting with either observing an OT on early, that would be great. When I applied, I didn't have a lot on my application as far as like clinical experience or observation hours went, and so that was kind of stressful, but I would say start with that. Like, get to know OTs in your area so you can have good letters of rec from them if possible. In addition to that, I would also just make sure you're going into it for the right reasons, because it's a large commitment, and so just really think about whether or not you want to do it.

My advice for going into occupational therapy is to shadow an occupational therapist. You can find us in hospital settings, outpatient clinics, the school system, home health. Then look towards if you can get into a job within the medical system, receptionist for a clinic, an aide for a therapy department or a nursing assistant. All of these give you exposures to working with the public, working with patients.