Student Perspectives

We asked some of our students to talk about their experiences of studying OT here at YSJ. Take a look…

Francine Glendale

Studying Occupational Therapy part-time is fantastic, as it allows for me to continue working in my practice setting, whilst undertaking my studies. Since starting, I have been able to apply learning from the course to my daily practical role of Occupational Therapy Assistant; the course has helped to increase my confidence and inform my practice as a practitioner.

With the course taking 5 years to complete, the pace at which you are introduced to new modules is slower than would be expected on the full-time course; you often find yourself studying one module at a time, rather than studying several simultaneously, which can be less demanding! This, I believe, has reduced the risk of me becoming overwhelmed and has allowed for me to learn at a relatively relaxed pace.

Placements can be undertaken on a part-time or full-time basis and there has been a level of flexibility as to when the placements are to be carried out; the Placement Team have been extremely accommodating in  sourcing placements that do not impact on working and family commitments/arrangements. The majority of those on the part-time course have come from working within clinical or community settings, therefore as a group we have a wealth of practical experience and knowledge which we can share amongst ourselves. However, more importantly, I have made some wonderful friends, who I see not only as future Occupational Therapy colleagues, but friends for life.

Tessa Dias 

I am a mature student and my career background was in Human Resources.  I decided to have a change in career because I realised that my career interests lay in disability and enablement and that a career as an Occupational Therapist is very diverse and equally rewarding.

I chose to accept my place at York St John University because I was impressed by the facilities, ambiance on campus and the approach on the programme, which seemed to me as an applicant, to be very contemporary and it had a good blend of academic and vocational aspects.  I have not been disappointed!

The teaching styles are varied, lectures are clearly very passionate about their subjects and the practice placements are also varied. For a city campus, this has a ‘community’ feel.  I am having an excellent time here and feel very privileged to be undertaking the degree here.