[mihira]

hi everyone,
are any of you studying for or have any of you completed a degree in osteopathy, or at least are very familiar with someone who has? the amount of study is allegedly legendary. even the interviewer warned me about it, and said that most people don't even find the time to hold down a part-time job. that intimidates me because i was never fantastic at school, and having to memorise large quantities of information and regurgitate it causes a fair amount of stress to me. having some pedantic, anal supervisor watching my every move in a clinic would also cause me, possibly, unacceptable levels of frustration and stress. also, i will need to work part-time, even if it's 15 hours a week, to make it financially viable.

i am a mature student, have a degree in social sciences, and the requisite a-level sciences. i have to decide very shortly about whether to pursue a degree in osteopathy at the ESO in kent.

so how crazy intense is osteopathy studies? what is osteopathic school culture like? how strict or open is the clinic environment in general? do clinic supervisors want to see you follow every protocol, and demonstrate impeccable decorum and skills in front of the patient?

i'd genuinely appreciate any thoughts, advice, or experiences that any of you care to share.

mihira

[Ironmike]

I'm a mature student and have just completed my degree in physio. I have a good friend who is an osteo, and he was by no means a superstar student. He got a 2:2 for his first degree, and certainly wasn't studying every god given hour through his course. I think that sometimes people can say things to make something sound prestigious. It's a bit like some of our medical colleagues who will tell you that med school is the hardest thing you can ever do and that you'd be a fool to attempt it without straight A*'s at A levels. Without wishing to open a can of worms, there are plenty of not so gifted students who have gone through med school, physio, osteo etc and have done just fine. I think all healthcare courses are damn hard work, but don't let someone tell you you can't do it and the workload is legendary etc.

For myself, I had a part time job all through the 3 years of my physio degree. I worked about 20 hours a week ontop of doing 5 week clinical placements, essays, exams etc. I went to some pretty dark places doing 16-18 hour days frequently, but I got a 1st at the end of it all. Again, without wishing to open a can of worms, but physio is a very tough degree in terms of workload. 9-5 monday to friday where I was with a large volume of extra study. I did it, and I'm sure many others have. Where there is a will there is a way.

As for the clinical supervision, well speaking with my physio hat on, yes it can be very annoying. You have to bite your tongue a lot and accept that you are there to learn. This can mean learning practical stuff, or it can mean learning to get along with someone who you just don't get along with for the purposes of your marks. I fell out twice with educators, one time very badly to the point that we had to have a meeting with his senior which made the remaining two weeks very interesting indeed. Generally it was all ok though, and as long as you show willing, nobody is going to jump down your throat if you mess up or don't do things exactly right.

In short, if you want to pursue an osteo qualification, then go for it. You will find time to work around it I'm sure, it just means you will have no life. If you are willing to make that sacrifice then go for it. Don't listen to people going on about how hard a course is. Thousands have done it before you and thousands will do it after you.