First of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Whether you are just starting OT school or are near the end, you made it this far and that deserves to be celebrated!
**Please note: “OT school” is referring to schooling/programs to become an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant.**
To help you through this process, I’ve collaborated with a few students and professionals to share their wisdom.
Our writing team includes:
- Alexis Joelle, a seasoned OT with over 7 years of practice and OT mentor experience.
- Morgan Kurtz, a new graduate OT in pediatrics and alumni of a MOT program.
- Johan Gutierrez, a current MOT student.
- Me (Taelor), a final-year OTD student.
Together, we make a well-rounded team with a variety of experiences. (Please see lengthened guest bios at the end of the post for more details/contact information)
Before we share these tips, we want to emphasize that this journey will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life! During this time, you will face many ups and downs, but it’s worth it in the end if you love occupational therapy as much as we do. This process is about multidimensional growth with an end goal of becoming a competent and compassionate entry-level OT professional.
We hope, with the help of these strategies, that you make the most out of this experience and feel prepared for the professional world ahead.
10 Tips For Navigating (and Thriving) Through OT School
1. Get Organized
To get us started, let’s talk about a key foundation for success in OT school. Organization! If you somehow got through your previous schooling without having an organization system, now is the time to start! In OT school, you’ll be managing multiple classes, assignments, readings prior to class, group work meetings, and more. Since this is a large (and important) topic, we’ve broken it up into three categories: organizational systems, environments, and additional strategies.
Organizational Systems
One way that’s very popular to stay organized is using a good ol’ paper planner! Monthly/weekly planners allow for an overview of important dates on the monthly pages as well as space for detailed information and to-do lists on the weekly pages.
As a personal recommendation, my absolute favorite planner is the Erin Condren Life Planner. It not only helps me with OT school, but my whole life! It lets me customize everything from the design aesthetic to the weekly layout (it even has hourly options). I’m a very visual person, so when my organizational supplies are appealing and suit my needs, I am more productive and feel happier!
~ Taelor
Another option if monthly/weekly planners aren’t your style are monthly planners. They are much thinner, but still give you portability and tangibility. They also provide an overview to keep important dates in one place.
Don’t want to take a planner with you to class every day? There are a couple options!
Technology is a great way to stay organized! An electronic calendar (e.g. Google Calendar, Outlook) with events and reminders can be helpful for managing meetings and other events. Another option is the “Stickies” application, which is essentially a virtual sticky note widget that can permanently stay on your desktop. Other notes applications have to be opened to access the information, such as the basic notes application on a smartphone. Both options allow you to keep track of important information electronically.
Some people choose to use more advanced note-taking applications. Notability is an application that supports PowerPoint or PDF uploads and allows users to type on those documents or write on them (tablet with a stylus). It’s basically all of the perks of hand-writing your notes, but in a virtual context. As an added feature, the notes can be downloaded as a separate file or kept on the application to be accessed whenever for continuous editing.
While technology has many benefits, some people prefer to have something physical and don’t want to carry a planner. If that’s you, you can use a large desk calendar for your home. If you choose this option, make sure you have a set system to add important information to the at-home system. Why? Due dates or topics covered can change at any point and sometimes important information is shared briefly at the end of class or through an email you read away from your desk. You’ll want to make sure you don’t lose that important information.
If nothing else, have a running to-do list (whether it’s electronic or on paper) to help manage your priorities and future tasks.
Environments
While an efficient organizational system is vital to success in OT school, so is maintaining organized environments. These include your physical workspace as well as your virtual space. Your workspace should be clutter free and set up with everything needed for a school in a designated area that is easy to find. Organizing your virtual space will look different for every person based on their preferences and technology. This may mean using folders on your desktop for each class, downloading stuff from online classes to the same place each time, or getting rid of unnecessary files on your computer/iPad as needed. Your electronics where you keep school content should be organized in a way that makes sense to you.
Additional Strategies
There are a few additional strategies that you may find helpful. Alexis suggests use of a timer to keep your time organized. Specifically, she recommends a focus keeper application for managing multiple tasks. A focus keeper is customizable to set a bracket of time to do your work, then pings when it’s time for a built-in break. This helps you to stay focused on one task at a time, stretch, take a water or coffee break to reset in between and helps you to finish something before a deadline. Whether you need assist in helping you concentrate or you’re trying to budget your time with many assignments to finish, completing assignments in sections can be as simple as the next ping… and may often be the most effective!
Johan and Taelor use color coding for additional organization. Johan uses the same color per class and matches the colors of her notebook, folder, and Google Calendar events. Taelor creates to-do lists with different colors per class and extracurricular activities, and color codes her notes for definitions, key concepts, and areas she needs to revisit for further understanding. Color coding is a great strategy for people who are visual learners.
2. Be Present
OT school is a transitional period in life and often a lot is happening during that time. It would be naïve to to think that deadlines and exams are all students have to think about and manage. As an OT student, you’re not just an academic machine, though sometimes it may feel like it. You’re a person, and you have personal relationships to balance, daily routines, and other priorities that have nothing to do with school. School demands alone can be a lot to think about, then add everything else you have to manage… Yikes!
With that much going on in your brain, it can be easy to get lost in thought and potentially feel overwhelmed. If you notice yourself feeling this way, try different strategies to help you refocus.
Alexis suggests square breathing. To do this, imagine or visualize creating a square with your breath cycle. Inhale for the first line, pause for the next, exhale with the third line, and pause for the fourth. Repeat as needed. This is a great strategy for a time-out that can help you to reset and regroup. It allows you to be realigned with your body when it feels like to-do lists and demands are piling up.
Taelor suggests a few minutes of meditation each night before bed in order to sleep well. She uses a guided meditation application on her phone to bring awareness to her emotions and refocus her thoughts.
While these strategies may be helpful to some, everyone is different. You can always use strategies that have worked for you in the past. If you are feeling frequently overwhelmed and everything you’ve tried isn’t enough, reach out to your professors and/or counselors at your school for assistance. It may also be helpful to talk to friends or family members who know you best that could help you through a stressful period.
In the end, OT school goes by quickly! While it is important to learn and pass classes, don’t let future events and a running to-do list keep you from fully engaging in the now. That doesn’t just mean paying attention in class and managing anxiety about the future, but also spending time with loved ones and enjoying yourself. Time is a virtue that cannot be given back once it is gone.
3. Know Your Learning Style
Learning style is a term most are vaguely familiar with, but may not always understand the true importance of. Everyone is different and has unique preferences from favorite foods to preferred sensory input. Your learning style is a direct reflection of your mind’s preferences and reveals what you best respond to when digesting new content.
There are four main types of learning styles:
- visual (seeing)
- aural (listening)
- linguistic (through words – read/write)
- kinesthetic (physical/movement)
While some people strongly favor one over the others, other people have multiple dominant styles.
Do you know your preferred learning style(s)? If not, an easy way to determine that is the VARK Inventory. There are various learning style quizzes, but Morgan recommends this specifically because it is quick and provides a lot of valuable information. Additionally, once you are finished with the questionnaire, it allows you to click on the different styles and view strategies that may work best for your preferred style(s). It’s a questionnaire and resource all in one!
Why is this important to know? In OT school, you are constantly learning new information. In addition to rote memorization, you’ll have to understand concepts and be tested on procedures through practical exams as well as written. It is very important to know yourself and understand the best strategies to learn various kinds of content. Also, not only will you have short-term exams, but a majority of content will be on boards exams after graduation. Knowing your learning style can positively impact your study routine and help important information stick for longer periods of time.
4. Change Up Your Study Routine
Like noted above, your learning style can directly affect your study routine and guide the strategies to employ when learning new information. While it’s important to recognize your style, there is a time and a place different methods of studying. For instance, for strict memorization, such as in anatomy class, it may be more useful to create study guides or use flashcards. However, for conceptual reasoning or procedural tasks later on in your curriculum, it may be helpful to talk through a process, use trial and error, or draw concept maps.
Because you will be studying a lot throughout school, you may need variety to keep you engaged. If you require a quiet environment and frequently study in your room, for example, try going to school the school library or moving to the kitchen table. Finding an environment that is similar yet still different may help keep you at your best. If you are someone who enjoys a nice atmosphere and background noise while studying, try multiple options like a park, home balcony, or a coffee shop.
In addition to different physical locations, it may be helpful to incorporate different methods or modes. We encourage you to incorporate group and independent work at different stages of learning. Find someone in your class to study with who has a similar learning style or likes to study in a similar environment. Independent work is important, but that extra accountability piece along with a different point of view can help when learning. Also, if you’re worn out with a certain mode of learning, switch it up. For example, if you are typically independently flipping through flash cards, your partner can read them to you and vice versa. Looking through flash cards yourself can be a visual or linguistic strategy, but going through them with a partner can incorporate aural strategies while they read them for you and gives you a chance to explain your reasoning as well. Small changes can be a big difference when it comes to learning.
When you feel you’ve mastered the material, try explaining it simply to someone who doesn’t know what you mean such as a roommate or family member. If you can help them understand, that means you are prepared. You can also tutor a classmate as a way to solidify the information in your brain.
In the end, everyone is different and has their own styles. Just remember that if you’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck, changing something in your routine may bring fresh perspective and may spark a breakthrough.
5. Start Early
There is hardly anything worse in school than feeling like you are down to the wire or don’t have enough time to finish something. While this can’t always be avoided, if you are proactive, this feeling can be decreased significantly.
Though you’ve probably heard this before, we’re going to reiterate this again… do not procrastinate. In OT school especially, there will be many assignments and some that require extensive thought and even group planning. If you consistently wait until the last minute, you are likely not going to be at your best. A simple way to avoid this and be the best you can be is to plan ahead.
Taelor suggests backtracking your to-do list and giving yourself personal deadlines earlier than the class deadline.
I was sadly a bit of a procrastinator my first couple of semesters and noticed feeling regularly overwhelmed. In my second semester, I started and finished early on almost everything, which helped me feel more at peace and even allowed for me to ask clarifying questions before turning something in.
Johan recommends breaking up big tasks or assignments into smaller and more manageable portions.
If you have to study for a quiz for one class and read chapters for another class, you can break that up into studying for the quiz one day and reading the next. If you start early, you have room to do this. This makes your demands feel less overwhelming.
6. Prioritize Self-Care and Find Balance
While a majority of what we’ve talked about so far has to do with academics and logistics when managing schoolwork, we’re going to switch gears about something that is equally as important. We’re talking about you and your health and well-being.
You may have heard the term “self-care” before, but what is it? It’s anything you need it to be that allows you to be at your best, replenish yourself, fill your cup, and relax. Johan shares that one form of self-care for her means engaging in her favorite activities. She also practices meditation before bed and uses aromatherapy strategies to relax and refocus. Morgan used a jar to fill with positive thoughts whenever she or her friends were feeling down. They also read another positive thought they left for themselves during hard times to help them through.
Some common self-care strategies you may have heard include engaging in various hobbies, taking care of your body by exercising and eating healthy, relaxing through mindfulness or a calming bath, and even sleeping in!
Alexis takes the typical self-care strategies a step further and says that a portion of self-care has to do with giving yourself grace and having compassion for yourself. This will be one of the hardest parts of your time as a student… and later as a clinician? Why? At some point, you will pulled in different directions and your attention will be focused a lot on other things besides yourself. If you can build the skill of practicing self-care and self-compassion now, it will help you in the long run when you absolutely cannot be everything to everyone. This type of care and compassion can only happen when you respect your mental and social well-being (sometimes it will be more important than your physical well-being).
We know what you’re thinking: How in the world am I going to have time for self-care when I have so many things on my mind and a continuous to-do list? The answer? You make time because it is that important. Self-care is one of the first things to be neglected when we are stressed or busy, but neglecting yourself can make things even worse. Morgan recommends scheduling in self-care into your planner, so you feel obligated to do it. (Remember 15 minutes of self-care can be just as important as meeting an assignment deadline. You can’t pour from an empty cup.)
However you can, squeeze in self-care and strive for balance in your life. It’s key to a happier, healthier, stronger you! It will also directly impact your ability to be a fantastic student! Remember, balance and self-care aren’t only things we preach for clients, they are important for us to practice as students and future clinicians as well.
7. Be a Team Player
OT programs often have smaller class sizes than typical community college or undergraduate settings. Not only that, these people will be your people! You will do nearly everything together for the length of your program. It’s so important to learn how to work with different personalities and be a valued member of a team.
At the beginning of OT school (and again at the first day of OT practice), Alexis suggests taking a personality test: https://www.16personalities.com/ (Don’t worry, it’s free and only takes a few minutes)! It’s important to answer honestly and without judgment. Whether you find out you’re an advocate or an architect, your results will yield a personality type (e.g. ENFJ, ISTP), have a name, identify your strengths and weaknesses, workplace habits, relationship roles, and more!
Why take an assessment:
We are too close to ourselves to know all aspects of our own character. That is why we benefit in stepping back to study how we play with others. In becoming more aware of how you operate as a person, you can express yourself and your personality best to those you will be collaborating with for the next few years.
~ Alexis
Once you know your personality type, you’re off to a strong start with group projects. Collaborative projects are an important part of OT school that help prepare you for working on an interprofessional team after school. You’ve likely all seen the memes about unbalanced workload and may have some unpleasant memories from these experiences in previous classes, but it doesn’t have to be that way!
Working as a group can be a positive experience if you all agree to respect each other’s opinions, communicate your thoughts respectfully, and split up the workload evenly. It’s also important to have flexibility in your schedule. If you have too many outside responsibilities that require you to always leave right after class or not have any free time between classes, it can be difficult to find in-person meeting times. You could be left out or hold the group back. Of course, there are always special circumstances and virtual meetings can be held on occasion, but if it becomes a habit it can be damaging to the group dynamic.
To take that even further, Morgan recommends that you all agree on group rules. Some of these include set meeting times, deadlines for your portion of the work drafts, deadlines for final reviews, and equal contribution and delegation. If you write these down, it makes them more realistic and holds everyone accountable.
These are all skills you’ll need as a practicing clinician, so it’s important to build them now. You can always talk with professors or counselors if you need help navigating group dynamics.
8. Make Connections
Now that we’ve determined the importance of working collaboratively with peers, we can talk a bit about the connections you’ll make with them. Your fellow classmates will be your first network who will know a lot about you, your interests, and may have connections to certain opportunities. Make connections with them early and really support them in their endeavors. Also within your initial network are your faculty members, including OT and interprofessional departments. After the length of the program, the faculty will become your colleagues instead of simply your mentors.
Alexis suggests determining a OT mentor to help carry you through your OT school journey. A strong mentor will challenge you to excel and optimize your experience, growth, and ability to serve your clients as a future clinician.
A mentor may also change overtime as you evolve and grow into your own OT practitioner.
Be selective in who you seek guidance from and invest fully in them. Don’t settle for anything less than great, because you too, will be great!
~Alexis
How have school mentors made a difference?
My mentor helped provide with important connections and opportunities while I was still in school. Her interests aligned with mine and our relationship has been a foundation for my success in OT school. She also pushes me to the best version of myself.
~ Taelor
Aside from networking at your school, there are other ways to make connections. A professional social media account or blog is a great way to make connections and share your ideas as a student. Just make sure you know and abide by the rules of your school, maintain HIPAA (ALWAYS), and put forth a professional image.
The OT online community is very supportive and I’ve found good friends as well as mentors through social media. I’ve also met some interprofessional peers and learned more about their roles as well.
~ Taelor
Additionally, there are many specialty conferences and some are created with students in mind. Talk to your faculty if there’s a topic you’re interested and ask if they can help you find a conference or attend with you. There are also, national and local occupational therapy conferences that you can attend after you become a member of their organization (We’ll talk about that in detail next!)
9. Stay Involved
One of the first things you should do in OT school is get involved with your state, national, and (potentially) global professional associations. As practitioners, these associations keep us informed of ever evolving changes that impact our practice.
It’s also important to support the organization that supports you and consistently advocates for your profession. If you stay informed early as a student, you’ll be likely to stay involved later.
If you start now, understand where the profession is headed as a whole; you’ll start to gain an understanding of where you want to go in the future with OT.
~ Alexis
How do you fit into that future?
Staying involved gives us a choice: choice to plan and prepare in developing the practice we want (especially if we do not like what we see).
~Alexis
Aside from being involved in professional organizations, there are other ways to stay involved in your community and your school. You can join school clubs, volunteer outside of school to give back to your community. Johan made a promise to herself to volunteer in one to two community service events while in school. Taelor volunteered in a pediatric hospital unit with child life for a few hours weekly to stay motivated in school and be integrated into a population she had interest in. Morgan chose to act as a resource for underclassmen as a way of giving back to her program. The possibilities are endless.
You also have an opportunity to ask your professors what options are available to volunteer your student skill set in other countries. Some programs may be able to get together on a service project or week study volunteering overseas. Providing OT skills to individuals or societies who have no access to an OT (or their meaningful activities for that matter) can be rewarding to both your client(s) and to your learning experience.
As an OT student, you probably enjoy helping people. Any of these options are small opportunities to help others that can be manageable and beneficial while in school.
10. Be Yourself (and Don’t Compare to Others)
Last but not least, be yourself! You were accepted into OT school because of who you are and what you have done. That means they already think you are enough and have a bright future.
With that in mind, you will be around others a lot and taking a majority of your classes together. It can be difficult, but try not to make comparisons. You are unique and everyone has their own strengths and areas for growth! This is especially true with grades. We cannot stress this enough. Do not compare grades. If you must say something, Morgan recommends vague responses without detailed scores such as, “I am pleased with my grade,” or, “I could have done better.” Your grades are your own business and they are protected. OT school can feel like a competitive environment at times. Just remember to stay in your own lane and only focus on your own progress.
As long as you try your best in everything you do, you will be okay. Johan reiterates that future employers won’t be concerned about a specific grade in a class, but your overall growth as a whole and what makes you unique. She recommends that you look at the bigger picture when you receive a grade you weren’t expecting and don’t sweat it. It may also be helpful to employ some self-care ideas listed above or strategies to remain present. Taelor shares that everyone will have ups and downs throughout OT school. Why? We are all unique, learn differently, think differently, have our own experiences to bring to the table, and our own personalities. Everyone experiences hard and easy times in school. It’s part of the process!
Don’t worry, you’ll be great in the end!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you work and go to OT school? If so, what types of jobs do you recommend and how often?
There are always mixed answers to this highly-debated question. Overall, we suggest that you make OT school your top priority whether you choose to work or not. We also understand that it can be unrealistic to tell people not to work (especially if it’s required financially). Most of us did work at some point in our program, but they were different types of jobs. Taelor worked as a nanny with a flexible schedule and completed schoolwork during a toddler’s nap time. Morgan held a work study position as a tutor for a few hours a week and felt this was manageable because her work recognized school as a priority. Johan chose not to work during the semester per say, but sold personal items she didn’t need to provide some cash flow during the semester. She did, however, work in between semesters as a nanny and per diem at her previous job for some income. Alexis started off working two jobs and ended up dropping both by eight months into her program; it was then OT school became her full-time job. She also shared that if she went to school now, maybe she’d look into other flexible options such as a paid blog to help other students along their journeys.
Class schedules in OT school can take up many hours a week and you’ll also want to have space for extracurricular activities, open labs, or group work sessions. So, if you choose to work, make sure you are with a company that respects your role as a student and can be flexible with your schedule.
What is one thing you wish you could tell your former self in OT school?
While a lot of the above information is based on what we’ve learned and what we wish could tell our former selves during school, there are a few extra things we’d like to reiterate individually.
Alexis would tell her OT student self to not be afraid to try…. and when it comes to fieldwork: experiment more. There are no wrong answers or failures for trying; only failures of not trying. Also, she would recommend others to not stress about completing fieldwork in specialty areas and, instead, focus on being a holistic and broad entry level practitioner. She learned a lot from both of her specialized settings, but does wish that she had more experience in generalized adult settings in fieldwork. She says you can always go back and specialize later.
Morgan would tell her former self to take a step back and relax. She often got so overwhelmed with school work, projects, and other activities, that self-care would fall to the side. She learned the hard way about the true importance of self care. One tip she wants to reiterate if you struggle to fit in that time would be to actually schedule breaks, exercising, and meals. If it’s scheduled you are more likely to do them and they are basic needs that need met!
Taelor would tell herself to stop procrastinating as soon as OT school started. In her second year, like mentioned above, she changed the way she organized her time and managed deadlines by starting early and it drastically changed her mental state and her performance.
Johan would tell herself to make time for meaningful occupations- whether it is to spend time with loved ones, relax, do nothing, or participate in her favorite occupation(s). In her second trimester, she purposely scheduled a day off in her planner. This would grant her the opportunity to reflect and to take time to prioritize herself. #SelfLove
Summary
That’s it! We hope you’ve learned something new and will try some of our tips. No matter how intimidating it may seem, you wouldn’t be where you are unless someone saw the potential in you to be an incredible clinician. Just remember, nothing worth having comes easy. However, you do have plenty of resources at your disposal and support from classmates and other OTs. If you ever need anything, feel free to reach out to either of us.
Do any of these tips resonate with you? Have you used other strategies? Let us know in the comments!
A special thank you to the guest author team for being so willing to share their knowledge in order to help current and future students through this OT school journey. Please read detailed information about these wonderful ladies below.
Guest Author Bios
Alexis Joelle, MS, OTR/L
Alexis is an occupational therapist who supervises in an acute care setting by day and serves as a consultant and mentor to OT and OTA practitioners by night. With experience serving clients since 2011, in a variety of OT practice settings during her travel therapy assignments and permanent home in the bay area of California, Alexis is dedicated to breaking down barriers to access meaningful day-to-day activity. Alexis is a pioneer in live video podcasting, where she began serving her community and OT practitioners (her “OT tribe”) in 2015. Alexis’s current passion is creating virtual CEU courses for her OT tribe, to help OT practitioners best learn how to break down barriers in their own lives so they can feel confident and fulfilled in establishing meaningful OT practice.
You can check out Alexis on instagram and facebook at 8alexisjoelle or at alexisjoelle.com
Morgan Kurtz, MS, OTR/L
Morgan is a pediatric occupational therapist from Philadelphia, PA who currently works with early intervention, preschool, and school-aged populations through a contracting agency in her area. She graduated from Alvernia University in Reading, PA, after completing the accelerated 5-year master’s program. Throughout her time in school, she was involved in athletics, tutoring, and volunteer work. Additionally, Morgan is passionate about helping future OT professionals in any way she can.
Johan Gutierrez, OT/s
Johan Gutierrez is a current MSOT student at West Coast University in Los Angeles, CA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Fullerton in 2015. Prior to graduate school, she worked at a pediatric sensory-integrated clinic for 3 years. Her expected graduation year is 2020. Throughout her time in grad school, she created her OT Instagram to assist future and current OT students navigate their way through OT school and is involved in her school’s student government. Her favorite occupations include: attending Laker games, spending time with family and friends, long walks at Target, helping others, volunteering, boxing, and eating! Attending OT school is one of her biggest dreams come true! As always, feel free to contact her.
You can follow her Instagram @missjohan.ot or at johandinagutierrez@gmail.com