Educational Pathway
Occupational Therapists are in demand. After completing an A.A.&S, you will continue your pre-occupational therapy study by transferring to a four year school. Pre-occupational therapy candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree. You can declare a major in any subject at the four year school to obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree which will require an additional two years of college. Your chosen major does not determine your success in being accepted to an occupational therapy school.
It is however important you include the pre-requisites required by the schools you are interested in attending in your educational curriculum. Many of these classes are taken during your two years at SWCC. After being accepted to occupational therapy school it will typically take a total of two years to be awarded a Master of Occupational Therapy (M.O.T.) but programs vary in length.
Early in your academic career you will need to research some of the occupational therapy schools you are interested in attending in order to insure you will meet all their criteria for admission. Some basic factors are:
- Good undergraduate grades (overall GPA of 3.0 minimum)
- Test scores (GRE®)
- True interest in profession as demonstrated by shadowing or volunteering in the field; some colleges require documented hours
- Strong reasoning and writing skills (which will be documented on the Graduate Record Examination)
- Strong reference letters from professionals who know your character, as well as, your work ethic
- Learning new skills such as ceramics, metal working, dance, etc
What is the GRE®?
It is Graduate Record Examination. It is a standardized test taken by students who are applying to occupational therapy schools. It will be similar to the ACT® or SAT®. It is a broad assessment of your critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills — all skills developed over the course of many years, which includes your two years at SWCC. https://www.kaptest.com/gre
Important qualities for occupational therapists
Occupational therapists must have excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills. Other important qualities are compassion, patience and flexibility. As in other health-related occupations, empathy, understanding and the desire to help others are good qualities for dealing effectively with patients
Is occupational therapy for you?
The student should shadow occupational therapists and ask questions about the profession. Occupational therapy is a health care profession that focuses on treating injured, ill, or disabled patients. They help patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working. It aims to help people live as independently as possible. Occupational therapists may work in a variety of setting such as orthopedic clinics, hospitals, schools, home health care facility, nursing homes, etc.
Occupational Therapy Schools
There are 157 Occupational Therapy Schools in the United States. You can review them at the following site http://www.aota.org/education-careers/find-school/accreditentrylevel/otmasters.aspx
Jennifer Long, Occupational Therapy School
After receiving her A.A.&S. in Science from SWCC, Ms. Long transferred to Radford University and completed a degree from the Occupational Therapy School,