UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

Hi all

This is my first time posting on here so apologies for any mistakes!:D

OK, I am currently studying in the UK to become an Occupational Therapist.

I am British but my wife is American living in the UK and my children have dual passports and our plan is to move to America in the next few years so entry should be easier for me because of this.

From the research I did prior to me studying, It seemed that I would have to get a Masters in order to practice OT in the USA.

But from reading varoius threads on the internet, there seems to be some ambiguity on the subject; in that the British degree may contain elements that will mean I don't actually need a masters in the UK to practice OT in the USA.

I was wondering whether there are any ex-British OT's now working in the USA and whether they needed a Masters??

Any help would be appreciated greatly!

Thanks

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

Have you spoken to a good US university/college to see what they say you need?

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

Have you looked at the requirements in the state you'll want to be living/working in? All have their own requirements.

welcome to BE too! :)

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

Don't know about the actual requirements, but I was having some work done on my knees last year and the boss of the therapy place I went had all his certs on the wall. I was looking at them to try to work out how old he was (looked incredibly young, but had kids the same age as mine and a wife that looked a lot older than mine:D) I remember thinking that the order he got them in was odd (to me, someone who has no idea about OT) - he got his bachelors first, then his OT Board cert then his masters. I never got round to asking him why he went back for his masters after getting licenced, but it would suggest that the Masters is not a requirement for the trade, although it may be a leg up if you are looking at getting a job with someone else, rather than setting up on your own.

And that load of drivel probably earned me the chocolate teapot award for the week...........

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

Hi all, thanks for the replies so far.

Dean, I did speak to one University in NJ and they confirmed that to become an OT in America you need a Masters (it came in about 2-3 years ago).

Bob, I was under the impression that It did not matter what state you practiced, it was countrywide that a Masters was required??

The thing is, all the things I am reading on the internet don't seem to give a definative answer, it's as if it's a grey area, some say as long as there is a research element in the UK degree, no masters is needed???

To be honest, at this time, with me being in my first year, a Masters seems so scary, both financially and academically (just got my first results back, mixed bag).

If I don't have to do a Masters I will run to the top of mount everest and scream with joy!

I would of thought there must be some OT's from the Uk living and working in the USA who belong to this site??

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

It will vary by state and depends on how you present your current qualifications to a board and how they'd be willing to accept them. For example, your A-levels may even count for something.

Here are Mass guidelines:

I am a graduate of an occupational therapy program in another country. What is required for an occupational therapist license in MA?

The MA Board requires approval of educational credentials by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). If educated in a language other than English, you must also provide official documentation of a score of at least 560 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and 4.5 on the Test of Written English (TWE). In addition, you must provide official documentation that you are authorized to practice as an occupational therapist, without restriction, from the legal jurisdiction in which you graduated or in which you are a citizen.

My wife has a Doctorate in Psychology yet would not be allowed to practice in the UK without additional classes. It just depends.

For an immigration forum, OT is a little OT. Probably best to hunt down a more specific forum.

Re: UK OT Student, moving to USA in near future, HELP!
 

A very clever turn of phrases! :)

Ian