Becoming a member of British Association of Occupational Therapist (BAOT) for students may seem like ANOTHER expense that you can not begin to even think about. Especially if you have made the transition to living in halls where your loan doesn't cover a fraction of your rent and you are living off Sainsbury's basic noodles, then the money for a membership when you are unsure of the benefits may make the £7.29 per month not seem worth it...
HOWEVER, we are both students who are members of BAOT and so the following blog will highlight the benefits we have found specifically for students! Just as a little disclaimer we are not on commission from COT and are purely writing this because we honestly think that becoming a member is worthwhile and more students should know!
ASSISTANCE- First thing is first, being a BAOT member gives you HELP.. when its the dreaded assignments are approaching it is common that lecturers and tutors want to promote 'autonomous learning' and not 'spoon feeding' you answers, coming straight from sixth-form/college this was hard, is it another style of learning entirely! However the BAOT monthly journals contain information that is directly relevant to the current modules. It also gives you access to an infinite number of journals and new research that will look great on your reference list and contain up to date research for top marks! The BAOT archives contain research articles about anything you could ever need that is OT related, and at the end of the day, if you aren't a member, you can't access them! There is also tonnes of professional resources available to BAOT members which benefit us as students. For example, after you have logged into COT you can access CPD tools, materials about specific practice areas to support us on placement and a complete list of hOT topics to make our dissertation topic stimulating! Quoting your membership number also gives you money off OT events and OT publications, which means you can still afford those new trainers you've been dreaming about!
NETWORKING -Being a member of BAOT has opened up so many opportunities for me to meet other OT's, whether its attending the COT annual conference or other educational events. Being a member automatically makes you a member to your local group as well as the regional group and also gives you the opportunity to become a member of specialist sections. Another way which might be a bit more familiar to us is networking through the COT/BAOT twitter page, which posts regular updates about the OT world! Networking is a great way to find out about new evidence based practice or to discover new fields of OT or simply, as students, to find comfort in someone who has made it through dissertation and graduated!
CPD/CV OPPORTUNITY-The dreaded CPD folder that no doubt sits underneath your desk gathering dust until you need to show tutors or you're looking to apply for a job. It's so important to fill this CPD with credible content. Being a member of your governing body will only benefit your CPD and should be looked favorably on by a potential employer. Being a BAOT member as a student shows your future employers that you are committed to your profession, before you have even graduated with the degree and accessed employment! Each student needs to make sure that their CV and CPD folder will make them stand out from the crowd of applications, you need to show that you are special, and having a membership to the BAOT could give you that edge! Explaining why you are a member of the BAOT will show that you have a passion for OT, the drive to be a successful evidence based OT that will be an asset to any work place. As well as listing that you are a member, you could even contribute to the monthly published magazine by BAOT/COT OT news by writing for the magazine.
OT NEWS!- OK this may sound pretty geeky, but I actually look forward to receiving my monthly dose of 'OT news' through the letter box! It makes me feel special, and part of the ever growing community of OT's! The OT news magazine is delivered right to your door if you are a member, meaning you do not even have to start up your laptop to keep up to date with the OT world! OT news contains everything you need to know about the world of occupational therapy, which people who are not a member do not have the luxury of! It contains really interesting articles about OT practice, tips for celebrating OT week, as well as information on a multitude of national training courses which will support your degree. For example in this months (July) issue of the OT news the back three pages are packed with different opportunities for training, which are all at a discounted price for members.
JOBS -The COT website, journal and OT news inform it's readers of available OT jobs, which will be pretty handy when the university safety net is whipped away from us. Need I say more?
Overall being a student member of the BAOT can benefit you in so many ways, and actually helps you to save money! If you are passionate about OT, being a BAOT member will only make you more passionate and help you to translate that message to your future employers. If you don't become a member for the access to thousands research articles, the chance to network with other OT's or your monthly fix of OT news, do it for the opportunity to be part of a 30,000 member group of passionate OT's who celebrate the wonderful profession!
Love,
Kelly&Lucy
HOWEVER, we are both students who are members of BAOT and so the following blog will highlight the benefits we have found specifically for students! Just as a little disclaimer we are not on commission from COT and are purely writing this because we honestly think that becoming a member is worthwhile and more students should know!
ASSISTANCE- First thing is first, being a BAOT member gives you HELP.. when its the dreaded assignments are approaching it is common that lecturers and tutors want to promote 'autonomous learning' and not 'spoon feeding' you answers, coming straight from sixth-form/college this was hard, is it another style of learning entirely! However the BAOT monthly journals contain information that is directly relevant to the current modules. It also gives you access to an infinite number of journals and new research that will look great on your reference list and contain up to date research for top marks! The BAOT archives contain research articles about anything you could ever need that is OT related, and at the end of the day, if you aren't a member, you can't access them! There is also tonnes of professional resources available to BAOT members which benefit us as students. For example, after you have logged into COT you can access CPD tools, materials about specific practice areas to support us on placement and a complete list of hOT topics to make our dissertation topic stimulating! Quoting your membership number also gives you money off OT events and OT publications, which means you can still afford those new trainers you've been dreaming about!
NETWORKING -Being a member of BAOT has opened up so many opportunities for me to meet other OT's, whether its attending the COT annual conference or other educational events. Being a member automatically makes you a member to your local group as well as the regional group and also gives you the opportunity to become a member of specialist sections. Another way which might be a bit more familiar to us is networking through the COT/BAOT twitter page, which posts regular updates about the OT world! Networking is a great way to find out about new evidence based practice or to discover new fields of OT or simply, as students, to find comfort in someone who has made it through dissertation and graduated!
CPD/CV OPPORTUNITY-The dreaded CPD folder that no doubt sits underneath your desk gathering dust until you need to show tutors or you're looking to apply for a job. It's so important to fill this CPD with credible content. Being a member of your governing body will only benefit your CPD and should be looked favorably on by a potential employer. Being a BAOT member as a student shows your future employers that you are committed to your profession, before you have even graduated with the degree and accessed employment! Each student needs to make sure that their CV and CPD folder will make them stand out from the crowd of applications, you need to show that you are special, and having a membership to the BAOT could give you that edge! Explaining why you are a member of the BAOT will show that you have a passion for OT, the drive to be a successful evidence based OT that will be an asset to any work place. As well as listing that you are a member, you could even contribute to the monthly published magazine by BAOT/COT OT news by writing for the magazine.
OT NEWS!- OK this may sound pretty geeky, but I actually look forward to receiving my monthly dose of 'OT news' through the letter box! It makes me feel special, and part of the ever growing community of OT's! The OT news magazine is delivered right to your door if you are a member, meaning you do not even have to start up your laptop to keep up to date with the OT world! OT news contains everything you need to know about the world of occupational therapy, which people who are not a member do not have the luxury of! It contains really interesting articles about OT practice, tips for celebrating OT week, as well as information on a multitude of national training courses which will support your degree. For example in this months (July) issue of the OT news the back three pages are packed with different opportunities for training, which are all at a discounted price for members.
JOBS -The COT website, journal and OT news inform it's readers of available OT jobs, which will be pretty handy when the university safety net is whipped away from us. Need I say more?
Overall being a student member of the BAOT can benefit you in so many ways, and actually helps you to save money! If you are passionate about OT, being a BAOT member will only make you more passionate and help you to translate that message to your future employers. If you don't become a member for the access to thousands research articles, the chance to network with other OT's or your monthly fix of OT news, do it for the opportunity to be part of a 30,000 member group of passionate OT's who celebrate the wonderful profession!
Love,
Kelly&Lucy