Occupational Therapy

Hiya,

Is anyone studying Occupational Therapy at LSBU or planning to start in September?
How are you finding it so far?

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

I studied OT there, if you have any specific questions then feel free to ask. I'll try and answer as best as I can :smile:

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Hello,That would be really helpful, thank you!
Did you do a BSc or a postgraduate course? How did you find it?

Due to the virus, I havent been to visit the campus- so I am having to make a decision in the dark!

How did you find the facilities, and level of staff support?

Thanks again, Lucy

Reply 3

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

Hello,That would be really helpful, thank you!
Did you do a BSc or a postgraduate course? How did you find it?

Due to the virus, I havent been to visit the campus- so I am having to make a decision in the dark!

How did you find the facilities, and level of staff support?

Thanks again, Lucy

No worries, I did the BSc. I'm not sure what drew me to lsbu as I hadn't even heard it before until someone mentioned it to me. Compared to other courses, OT is not offered in as many unis. Although the area it is situated in is not the best, I think it was just the atmosphere that caught me on the open day. I assume you'll be at the main campus?

Level of teaching I felt depended on the lecturer as they had their own way and so some were better than others. They were quite good with bringing in guest speakers and things like that which helped with the module and getting different perspectives. The organisation of placement could be a bit disorganised sometimes as it could be a week before you find out where you are going.

In terms of level of support we would often be split into groups and we would stick with that group for the module. So we'd help each other out etc. I guess support is to a certain extent. You can email if you need anything but as I said some lectures are more useful than others.

The course weren't bad, I feel it's hard to compare as it's all I know. It varies from some just reading the PowerPoint to others actually giving out resources and workbooks to learn better. I think it's one of those things where the experience is what you make lol

I feel like I'm waffling, hope there was something used in what I said lol

Do you have any others offers?

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

OP

That's really helpful to know, you aren't waffling!
I know lsbu is not always highly regarded, but it does seem popular for health courses like nursing and OT.
I guess all universities have good lecturers and not so good ones too!

Have you graduated now? It would be great to hear more about your placements- where did you do them? I think I would find it super stressful if I didn't know where I would be going until the last minute 😬

Did the course involve any practical skills, like art or pottery? I know some unis are more science based and others more art based?
I have an interview at Brighton too.

Thanks x

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

That's really helpful to know, you aren't waffling!
I know lsbu is not always highly regarded, but it does seem popular for health courses like nursing and OT.
I guess all universities have good lecturers and not so good ones too!

Have you graduated now? It would be great to hear more about your placements- where did you do them? I think I would find it super stressful if I didn't know where I would be going until the last minute 😬

Did the course involve any practical skills, like art or pottery? I know some unis are more science based and others more art based?
I have an interview at Brighton too.

Thanks x

Yeah I would say it's popular because of the location and opportunities. There are a lot of good hospitals/ specialist ones around. So my placements were varied, I had two mental health ones and one physical. So two of mine were on wards and the other one was a clinic.
You have to have a placement with elderly, children, mental and physical. The clinic one was conducting assessments finding out of people had dementia and finding ways to help them cope with their diagnosis. Also included visiting some in their homes for follow ups and writing up notes etc. The other mental health one was a psychiatric ward which I enjoyed the most. This was more activity based. Running groups for the patients, doing assessments, attending mdts and giving your input on how you think a client is doing (you get a caseload) etc. The physical placement on a dialysis ward and that involved making sure the patients were safe to go home. So this could be helping them get used to equipment which will be installed/ used in their home. Such as walking frames, bath boards and doing wheelchair measurement etc. That's a rough summary of the type of things you could be doing depending on the setting. Yeah I can be stressful knowing placement is coming up and you have no idea where you are going. I guess it's because there are so many student not just from are uni going on placement and there are only so many spaces. Either way you'll get your placement in the end.

Haven't graduated yet as I took a year out and will be starting a new uni. Nothing against South Bank lol. Are you doing part time then as I believe Brighton only do part time last time I checked?

We did do some creative stuff like making splints, painting/ drawing and stuff like that for the sensory aspect of it. That side was quite minimal for what I can remember.

Reply 6

LSBU- Admissions

7

Original post

by Anonymous

Hello,That would be really helpful, thank you!
Did you do a BSc or a postgraduate course? How did you find it?

Due to the virus, I havent been to visit the campus- so I am having to make a decision in the dark!

How did you find the facilities, and level of staff support?

Thanks again, Lucy

Hi Lucy! Thanks for the message. It is definitely a difficult time at the moment. We usually offer three campus tours per week.
Due to the virus we are unable to offer campus tours however our next virtual open day is on 20th June 2020. Please see below link to register:
https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/study/study-at-lsbu/open-days
We look forward to seeing you soon!

LSBU Team

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

OP

It sounds as though you have already gained lots of experience. Were the placements based in London hospitals, or spread over the South East?
I have applied for the part time course at Brighton too, as it is quite local to me. The only drawback is its really hard to find out much information as its quite a small cohort of students. Which university will you be starting at in September?
Im really attracted by the practical side of OT, so its a shame that it isnt included more in the course. Perhaps thats an area which I can choose to move towards when I graduate. Are you hoping to work in MH?

Thanks again. x

Reply 8

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

It sounds as though you have already gained lots of experience. Were the placements based in London hospitals, or spread over the South East?
I have applied for the part time course at Brighton too, as it is quite local to me. The only drawback is its really hard to find out much information as its quite a small cohort of students. Which university will you be starting at in September?
Im really attracted by the practical side of OT, so its a shame that it isnt included more in the course. Perhaps thats an area which I can choose to move towards when I graduate. Are you hoping to work in MH?

Thanks again. x

I do plan to work in mental health although it is harder to find than physical health. I'll be going to bournemouth. The way they did placement is by using your postcode (up to you whether you put your home or uni one). Apparently the furthest they'd make you travel is an hour and a half if I remember correctly. I remember two of my friends getting a placement in Frimley, they weren't impressed. Travel really eats up your money. Sometimes you might be on placement with someone from your cohort. Some of the popular/ reputable hospitals some people had included Maudsley and Guys and St Thomas. There are others but can't remember at the top of my head. Just note it's not just wards you'll be in, it could be schools, clinics or in the community.

I suppose placement is quite practical so you learn quite a bit there also having two placements in second year. We also did stuff like manual handling e.g. Learning to use hoists and other equipment. On my mental health placement I did stuff like pottery, boating and swimming (not that I went in the water). Either way it was nice doing activities I haven't done before.

I guess it's down to looking at things like the modules, how things are assessed, location etc when it comes to making your choice. Whichever one you feel suits you best :smile:

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post

by Anonymous

I do plan to work in mental health although it is harder to find than physical health. I'll be going to bournemouth. The way they did placement is by using your postcode (up to you whether you put your home or uni one). Apparently the furthest they'd make you travel is an hour and a half if I remember correctly. I remember two of my friends getting a placement in Frimley, they weren't impressed. Travel really eats up your money. Sometimes you might be on placement with someone from your cohort. Some of the popular/ reputable hospitals some people had included Maudsley and Guys and St Thomas. There are others but can't remember at the top of my head. Just note it's not just wards you'll be in, it could be schools, clinics or in the community.

I suppose placement is quite practical so you learn quite a bit there also having two placements in second year. We also did stuff like manual handling e.g. Learning to use hoists and other equipment. On my mental health placement I did stuff like pottery, boating and swimming (not that I went in the water). Either way it was nice doing activities I haven't done before.

I guess it's down to looking at things like the modules, how things are assessed, location etc when it comes to making your choice. Whichever one you feel suits you best :smile:

Thank you.
I have heard really positive things about Bournemouth, so I hope you enjoy it. Did you have any problems with organising the transfer to a new uni?
I have heard that LSBU dont arrange their own placements, they have a company which sorts it all out. But I agree, travelling over an hour is a long way! Do you have any way of selecting your preferences?
The mental health placement sounds really interesting- when you say that work is harder to find in mental health, are there less jobs in that area? I think, for me, that field seems the most attractive!
Hope your looking forward to your new course.

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

Thank you.
I have heard really positive things about Bournemouth, so I hope you enjoy it. Did you have any problems with organising the transfer to a new uni?
I have heard that LSBU dont arrange their own placements, they have a company which sorts it all out. But I agree, travelling over an hour is a long way! Do you have any way of selecting your preferences?
The mental health placement sounds really interesting- when you say that work is harder to find in mental health, are there less jobs in that area? I think, for me, that field seems the most attractive!
Hope your looking forward to your new course.

Thank you and no it's all sorted. For lsbu you just get an email when you've been allocated a placement. There is a placement team from what I remember who sort it out. If you were somewhere far last time they'll try and put you closer and vice versa. Your last placement you can fill out a preference form and try your luck. With placements it's always easier to find physical placements. This is the same with paediatric and mental health jobs, it could be as you said there are just less jobs or because it's popular so it's harder to find vacancies. Who knows.

Yeah it will be interesting to see the differences between the uni and the way they do their things. I guess it will be a bit different anyway with parts of it being online. So we shall see

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post

by Anonymous

Thank you and no it's all sorted. For lsbu you just get an email when you've been allocated a placement. There is a placement team from what I remember who sort it out. If you were somewhere far last time they'll try and put you closer and vice versa. Your last placement you can fill out a preference form and try your luck. With placements it's always easier to find physical placements. This is the same with paediatric and mental health jobs, it could be as you said there are just less jobs or because it's popular so it's harder to find vacancies. Who knows.

Yeah it will be interesting to see the differences between the uni and the way they do their things. I guess it will be a bit different anyway with parts of it being online. So we shall see

Thanks for your help.

Best of luck with the course x

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post

by LSBU- Admissions

Hi Lucy! Thanks for the message. It is definitely a difficult time at the moment. We usually offer three campus tours per week.
Due to the virus we are unable to offer campus tours however our next virtual open day is on 20th June 2020. Please see below link to register:
https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/study/study-at-lsbu/open-days
We look forward to seeing you soon!

LSBU Team

What facilities for occupational therapy does the uni offer? I can see online details for nursing, but no photos or info for ot? Do you have art facilities for example, or daily living suites?
Thanks.

Reply 13

OTanon1

1

HiI’m due to start the PT BSc at LSBU in September. It’s going to be quite weird doing it virtually for the first term.

Reply 14

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post

by OTanon1

HiI’m due to start the PT BSc at LSBU in September. It’s going to be quite weird doing it virtually for the first term.

I can imagine it will be really strange. Have they given you any information about how it's going to be organised? I guess you cant even get your vaccinations either.

Reply 15

OTanon1

1

A mixture of pre-recorded lectures, Zoom meetings etc.

I’m lucky that I’ve already had the immunisations through work.

Reply 16

LSBU- Admissions

7

Original post

by Anonymous

What facilities for occupational therapy does the uni offer? I can see online details for nursing, but no photos or info for ot? Do you have art facilities for example, or daily living suites?
Thanks.

Hi!

Unfortunately, we do not have any photos of these on our website. However, if you attend the virtual open day on 20th June, we will be talking about the course specifics in a bit more details.

Regards,

LSBU

Reply 17