Occupational therapy vs speech therapy dilemma

Occupational therapy was my first choice for uni but I didn’t get in and ended up getting my second choice which is speech and language therapy. I’m in my third week of the course and so far it seems ok but I’m wondering if it’s worth it to reapply next year for occupational therapy or stick with speech and language therapy.

Hi how’s it going? I’m trying to decide between the two courses?

Occupational therapy was my first choice for uni but I didn’t get in and ended up getting my second choice which is speech and language therapy. I’m in my third week of the course and so far it seems ok but I’m wondering if it’s worth it to reapply next year for occupational therapy or stick with speech and language therapy.

Id reapply next year if occupational therapy is what you want to do because if you study SLT you won’t be passionate about it, the work load is intense & you won’t be motivated

Yeah it was my biggest regret, I’m currently in 2nd year and I’m no longer have a passion for it.Hoping to do OT for my masters or to apply next year but I’m scared to apply as I will be applying as a mature student.

Yeah it was my biggest regret, I’m currently in 2nd year and I’m no longer have a passion for it.Hoping to do OT for my masters or to apply next year but I’m scared to apply as I will be applying as a mature student.

I do still want to pursue OT but I’m in second year of SLT finishing and not sure whether to stick it out.The workload is very intense and you have to complete a lot of placement objectives however I wish to do the OT course straight after or to leave now and apply for OT. I have relevant experience in both areas but I’m unsure what to do right now as I am not currently enjoying SLT but I’m already half way through.I just feel ashamed as I know many people are struggling to get onto a SLT course and I feel like I should be grateful to having a place knowing other people situation but I genuinely do love OT and have a big passion for it.i have spoken to many OTs and clinical OTs and have discussed this matter several times but I’m just consufused whether to leave or to stick it out.
Thank you for your response, I hope it goes well for you this year and the following years during your academic course

Hey, from a neutral perspective, id finish your last year of SLT and then do the masters in OT so you have both and not wasted years. Can i ask, when you say the workload for SLT is heavy, do you mean the academic work. Im tying to decide betweent he two, SLT seemed more family friendly in the sense that the placements arent as long. Can i ask what length of day you work? Is it 9-5 or lates/ evenings. I have interviews for mental health nursing, but my son has objected strongly to the placement days as the are 12 hour shifts plus travel, so i wouldn't see him three days a week. Do you know what placement hours are like for OT, as it fits better with what i wanted to do, i just hve to put the kids first.

Hey, from a neutral perspective, id finish your last year of SLT and then do the masters in OT so you have both and not wasted years. Can i ask, when you say the workload for SLT is heavy, do you mean the academic work. Im tying to decide betweent he two, SLT seemed more family friendly in the sense that the placements arent as long. Can i ask what length of day you work? Is it 9-5 or lates/ evenings. I have interviews for mental health nursing, but my son has objected strongly to the placement days as the are 12 hour shifts plus travel, so i wouldn't see him three days a week. Do you know what placement hours are like for OT, as it fits better with what i wanted to do, i just hve to put the kids first.

Hi,
Thank you for your comment,
The SLT workload is quite intense for 2nd year and 3rd Year but it is doable.There is a lot of focus on phonetics and speech sounds due to clinical work around children’s speech sound which I had struggled at university however the other modules are very interesting I.e cranial nerves, stroke, adults with learning disabilities and so on.I have shadowed both OT and SLT’s within my experience and both have typical work hours of 9-5 and if you are working in schools, it is typically 8:30-4:30. With my slt course, we do uni and placement hours together where we do two days of uni and two days of placement in 2nd year for 12 weeks and 3rd year, it would be 3 days of placement and 1 day of uni for 15 weeks.I know with some OT course, they can have the same structure but some university have a block placement of everyday for a few weeks and then a block of university but this is just dependant on the university.My sister is a MHN and she had done a few long shifts of 3 days and was very exhausted however when she went into community, her days are 9-5 but this was 1 year post newly qualified.Within my slt course, we have many students who have families and there is a lot of support for mums with children.Most placements I have been to are very understanding of children and families so they are able to adjust to your needs as they also want to see you succeed whilst on placement.

Thank you for your reply, this is reassuring. I think i may aim for OT, although i may have to wait for next year now as my ucas application was all geared to nursing.

Hi,
Thank you for your comment,
The SLT workload is quite intense for 2nd year and 3rd Year but it is doable.There is a lot of focus on phonetics and speech sounds due to clinical work around children’s speech sound which I had struggled at university however the other modules are very interesting I.e cranial nerves, stroke, adults with learning disabilities and so on.I have shadowed both OT and SLT’s within my experience and both have typical work hours of 9-5 and if you are working in schools, it is typically 8:30-4:30. With my slt course, we do uni and placement hours together where we do two days of uni and two days of placement in 2nd year for 12 weeks and 3rd year, it would be 3 days of placement and 1 day of uni for 15 weeks.I know with some OT course, they can have the same structure but some university have a block placement of everyday for a few weeks and then a block of university but this is just dependant on the university.My sister is a MHN and she had done a few long shifts of 3 days and was very exhausted however when she went into community, her days are 9-5 but this was 1 year post newly qualified.Within my slt course, we have many students who have families and there is a lot of support for mums with children.Most placements I have been to are very understanding of children and families so they are able to adjust to your needs as they also want to see you succeed whilst on placement.