Becoming an occupational therapist is a great career choice for anyone interested in a profession in the rapidly growing rehabilitation sector of the medical industry.
There are many professional and personal rewards to working in this type of setting, helping people firsthand in making their lives easier to manage.
Education usually consists of up to seven years of general and technical training, so a considerable time commitment is required.
Although there are no actual schools online, it is usually possible to take general courses online, so this can help some people achieve these goals.
Regardless of how they do it however, most graduates of occupational therapy programs entering the workforce find themselves enjoying their jobs immensely.
Getting an Education in Occupational Therapy In order to become a licensed therapist, students have a moderate learning career ahead of them, one lasting about seven years.
They must first graduate a general undergraduate Bachelor's degree program, and then move on to complete up to three years in a dedicated, accredited occupational therapy technical program.
These specialty programs include numerous periods of clinical experience that take place at various occupational therapy facilities in order to provide the best on-the-job training for students.
Information On Schools Online With distance learning and online education as popular as it is today, the question often comes up about whether or not it is degree in occupational therapy online or not.
Unfortunately, because of the very hands-on nature of the training involved, there are no accredited schools online; students therefore need to prepare to be able to take their postgraduate education on campus and on location in order to fulfill their educational requirements.
What is many times possible however, is taking some of the necessary general education classes online.
Since most Bachelor's programs are not technical in nature, and involve core classes such as English, math, science, social science, psychology and other traditional style classroom classes, it is sometimes possible for students to take these online.
In this manner, students to at least get their undergraduate degree in a more flexible way that may permit them to still work, or simply do their class work on their own schedule.
For those interested taking prerequisite and general courses online in preparation to apply to an occupational therapy school, it is recommended to inquire themselves first to ensure this type of undergraduate learning is acceptable.
This is also a good way to ensure that students take the right undergraduate classes, which will help them out once they do get to attend occupational therapy school.
Accreditation and Education Attending ccredited program is essential.
Those who finish schooling in a non-accredited program will be ineligible to sit for certification and licensing examinations, and to gain employment.
With this in mind, it is important to understand that these organizations do not recognize any occupational therapy schools online because of the necessity for students to gain their education in live settings, and actually in classrooms, labs and observation experiences with qualified instructors and working professionals.
So, while the online opportunities can be limited, there is good reason for this.
Transitional Programs The one instance where distance learning is accepted, and accreditation has been granted to schools online is for those offering transitional or bridge programs for occupational therapy assistants to become licensed occupational therapists.
In these cases, since OTAs have already earned an Associate's degree and are already working in their profession, they are able to work toward their Bachelor's degree and complete additional technical course work online in an accelerated program.
In this manner, you can usually continue working while also advancing their qualifications so they can eventually earn their degree as an occupational therapist.
Regardless of which way an OT decides to earn their degree - the straightforward way, or through a bridge program after first earning an Associate's degree and working as an OTA - the time commitment is about the same.
Not just that, but either route involves technical training that cannot be taken online.
The one benefit to transitional occupational therapy schools online is that as a whole, more of the total schooling can be done in that format.
Either way, students should prepare for taking their technical phase of their main degree offline, from an accredited institution, in order to get.