Other OT-Related Information Going back to School, Health care: Nursing or occupational therapy

[historymajor88]

I'm a 26 year old male and working at a hospital in a non-medical role. I graduated 4 years ago with a BA in history. Never got a job in my field so I just took any job I could get. I gained exp and applied for my current job and have been working here a little over a year. The hospital has an educational assistance program which I plan to use.

I narrowed it down to two options 1) nursing 2) occupational therapy.

For nursing, I found an accelerated BSN that allow me to complete the degree within a year. However, I would need a year to complete the prereqs and a CNA certification.

For occupational therapy, it'll take me a year for perquisites and 2 years for a master's degree.

What would you do?

My dad who is a physician didn't recommend OT because he thinks they are beholden to doctors for referrals, therefore limited. He thinks being a nurse is a good option because I could go on to be a nurse practitioner and have prescribing powers. Do you agree?

Thanks in advance for any consul. I apologize if there are typographical errors, as I am typing this on my smart phone.

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[Kidamnesiac]

As the son of a nurse, I will definitely say that nurses are beholden to doctors. OT's usually carry more respect in a hospital setting in my experience. Your work schedule is MUCH less stressful as an OT, and you have the potential to make the same amount of money. I think it depends on what you want really...do you want to practice more directly in medicine, or do you want to practice therapy?

 

[dobber]

Nursing! No doubt. Don't get me wrong, OT is the bomb diggity, but you can get your BSN, and make the same salary as an OT would with a masters - trust me, my mom is an RN with like 3 years of experience and makes about 80k. Yeah, the hours are hectic, and the job is stressful, but with nursing you'll make more and you have so many more opportunities for advancement (Nurse Anesthesist (makes about $120k), Nurse Practitioner (makes $90 to $100k), Psych Nurse ($80 to $85k)).

Also, they are both super competitive to get into, but Nursing is *easier* (not easier in that regard, I mean statistically speaking) because there are more nursing schools than OT schools. I am Mr. OT and I love the field, but in the end of the day, for a career changer, nursing makes way too much sense.

 

[dobber]

And I don't think neither OTs nor Nurses are beholden to doctors - without EITHER of them, doctors would be screwed. Imagine a doctor running like a nurse, taking care of a whole wing, then waking up at the crack of dawn to do the therapy OTs do with their patients?

 

[historymajor88]

Nursing! No doubt. Don't get me wrong, OT is the bomb diggity, but you can get your BSN, and make the same salary as an OT would with a masters - trust me, my mom is an RN with like 3 years of experience and makes about 80k. Yeah, the hours are hectic, and the job is stressful, but with nursing you'll make more and you have so many more opportunities for advancement (Nurse Anesthesist (makes about $120k), Nurse Practitioner (makes $90 to $100k), Psych Nurse ($80 to $85k)).

Also, they are both super competitive to get into, but Nursing is *easier* (not easier in that regard, I mean statistically speaking) because there are more nursing schools than OT schools. I am Mr. OT and I love the field, but in the end of the day, for a career changer, nursing makes way too much sense.

In my situation, OT school would be a bit easier. There are less prerequisite classes. I have a BA in History and only took 2 biology electives that were needed to receive the bachelor of of Arts.

The BSN prereqs are

PREREQUISITE COURSES

TITLE/NUMBER

English Composition

Assumed complete by virtue of first Bachelor' degree

Must be completed at a U.S. college/university

Advanced Composition

(waived if TEAS V English and Language

Usage score is greater than 75%)

Upper level English Composition

Growth, Development, and Health across the Lifespan [must cover entire lifespan]

Nursing 200 or Psychology 391 or Educational Foundations 377

Science (General Biology)

Biology 105 or 230

Science (Human Anatomy)

Biology 211

Science (Physiology)

Biology 212 or 319

Science (Microbiology)

Biology 233 or 309

Science (Chemistry I)

Chemistry 101 or 105

Science (Biochemistry or Chemistry II )

Chemistry 102or 106

Intro or General Psychology

Psychology 101 or 104

General Education from first degree

Considered on individual basis (6 credits)



the OT prereqs are:

1. Human Anatomy (3-4 cr)*
2. Human Physiology (3-4 cr)*
3. Human Development (3 cr)
4. Introduction to Psychology (3cr)
5. Statistics (3cr)
6. One of the following natural science courses:
   i. Physics**
   ii. Biology**
   iii. Chemistry**
   iv. Psychology**

Two other OT schools in the area have even less prereqs but are private schools that are more expensive.

I would ideally go to a public school to keep costs down. The accelerated BSN program is also a public school and only program of its type in my state. The theory classes are completed online and the clinicals are overseen by a local nurse preceptor. The program would be done in 12-months.

Either way, it will take me minimum of a year to complete the prereqs for either program. The OT program is two years vs one year for the BSN.

BSN program is 44k and the OT program is 39k for public, 45k and 66k for the private schools.

 

[historymajor88]

In my situation, OT school would be a bit easier. There are less prerequisite classes. I have a BA in History and only took 2 biology electives that were needed to receive the bachelor of of Arts.

The BSN prereqs are

PREREQUISITE COURSES

TITLE/NUMBER

English Composition

Assumed complete by virtue of first Bachelor' degree

Must be completed at a U.S. college/university

Advanced Composition

(waived if TEAS V English and Language

Usage score is greater than 75%)

Upper level English Composition

Growth, Development, and Health across the Lifespan [must cover entire lifespan]

Nursing 200 or Psychology 391 or Educational Foundations 377

Science (General Biology)

Biology 105 or 230

Science (Human Anatomy)

Biology 211

Science (Physiology)

Biology 212 or 319

Science (Microbiology)

Biology 233 or 309

Science (Chemistry I)

Chemistry 101 or 105

Science (Biochemistry or Chemistry II )

Chemistry 102or 106

Intro or General Psychology

Psychology 101 or 104

General Education from first degree

Considered on individual basis (6 credits)



the OT prereqs are:

1. Human Anatomy (3-4 cr)*
2. Human Physiology (3-4 cr)*
3. Human Development (3 cr)
4. Introduction to Psychology (3cr)
5. Statistics (3cr)
6. One of the following natural science courses:
   i. Physics**
   ii. Biology**
   iii. Chemistry**
   iv. Psychology**

Two other OT schools in the area have even less prereqs but are private schools that are more expensive.

I would ideally go to a public school to keep costs down. The accelerated BSN program is also a public school and only program of its type in my state. The theory classes are completed online and the clinicals are overseen by a local nurse preceptor. The program would be done in 12-months.

Either way, it will take me minimum of a year to complete the prereqs for either program. The OT program is two years vs one year for the BSN.

BSN program is 44k and the OT program is 39k for public, 45k and 66k for the private schools.

AND wouldn't I need to work as a CNA to be competive for the BSN program? To do that would be a $4 an hour pay decrease for me and with a tight budget already...

I could try to work part time or float as a CNA but from what I've heard, usually they need to start at nursing homes before being allowed to work at hospitals. Although I already work at a hospital so I don't know if I could use that to start here.


Thoughts?

 

[futureOTsj]

Hello! This is a very interesting thread since I too have been back and forth with nursing and OT my whole undergrad career. I will be applying to OT schools in the next few weeks but I can't help but wonder if I were to take an accelerated BSN program. Most accelerated programs in my area are private schools and are about 1 year long. Since I was indecisive of my career choice, I took all pre-reqs for nursing and OT which led to my prolonged graduation date. My mom is an RN who has been in the field for quite some time and brings home about 100k from her full-time position. Including her other job (part-time) makes her total salary about 185k. She never had to get a masters but her job is now offering to pay for her program if she decides to.

I am not my mom. So I can't handle the blood, poop and pee of others. With my personality, OT would best fit me. Although it would be a major pay cut to pursue OT, I can always go back to school if I choose to, to pursue a Master's degree in Nursing. If you think about it, the pre-reqs are somewhat similar to those of an OT degree. In my area, the only major differences were chemistry and microbiology everything else such as english and psychology were all apart of general education stuff.

 

[gialuan]

While the money might be an attractive factor, think about how your lifestyle will be as an OT and as a nurse. I can only speak from an OT's perspective though. But the perks of my job include:

- Set, regular hours: I work a regular, 8-hour day, 5 days/week. I have the option to pick up home care cases after work to make a few extra bucks.
- I get to work with different populations. I can work with adults at my full time job and I can do pediatrics on the side so that I don't get bored.
- Less responsibilities. I don't have 10 patients calling out to me simultaneously for their individual needs. I don't need to know what medication does what or if it'll react with another.
- One-on-one treatment sessions. Some rehab places, however, will have you doing unethical things like treating multiple patient at once. They won't ask you upfront to do it, but you'll learn that that's what you'll have to do. A good rehab facility will only have you do one-on-one sessions.

That's what I can come up with for now. Feel free to shoot me a message if you like.

 

[sb0106]

Interesting... my dad is an RN, he makes very good money, about 200 K. He's been in the field for about 25 years now. That being said, most nurses don't make that much money, you have to be really motivated and work hard. He works A LOT. He also does some of the marketing for the company he works for which brings his salary up. He works from about 7-6 pm, of course his hours vary depending on when he gets done seeing all his patients. He's off on the weekends but he's ALWAYS doing paperwork. Visiting my father's patients and seeing what he does, how much work he does...i have no interest in being a nurse. With my dad being in the health field he's given me a lot of advice on careers. NP is definitely a great job if you go into nursing.

I plan on going to OT school. THe OT I am shadowing right now is awesome. This shadowing experience has taught me that I definitely chose the right field. I suggest shadowing someone in both fields to see what you like better. I can't see myself doing the dirty work nurses do. I've heard many stories that have scared me away from nursing haha! I asked the OT about how much paperwork she gets and she said she does it all at the rehab hospital, she doesn't take it home with her. So she works M-F 8-4 (in general). I like having a set schedule, off on the weekends, it's perfect. It's also very flexible for the OTs and PTs with children. They have very flexible schedules.

My dad urged me to pick PT over OT because he says PT's make more money but that isn't really true. I talked to the OT I am with now and she said there is no longer a difference. Also, if you go into OT and become a hand specialist, there is a lot of money in that.

If you can handle nursing, go for it...but it's not for everyone.

Good luck!

 

[gialuan]

A perk of being an OT over a PT is that OTs have different avenues to choose from when it comes to treatment ideas. For example, we can play board games or card games with patients and say we're working on standing endurance or dynamic balance. We work on cognition. PTs just have walking. Well, not "just" walking, but PTs don't have as much variety with treatment as OTs do.

 

[bunzilla]

I have worked as a CNA for several years and that has only solidified my decision to pursue OT. Nursing and OT are really very different careers and I would definitely suggest shadowing both OTs and RNs in several different settings. NPs too if that is where you may want to end up if you pursue your BSN. Shadowing OTs really helped me determine that this was the career for me (and I have a crazy number of interests...my BS is actually in Microbiology). I have nothing but respect for nurses and I have no problem with the dirty work (I do work as a CNA and have seen poop places you wouldn't believe) but their job is hard!! The great thing about both careers is how broad they are. You can work in so many different areas with both!

 

[matthewandrew]

Nursing, no question about it. If you want a career that allows for limitless growth, nursing is for you.


———————————
UCLA FNP Class of 2016

 

[Otsunshine56]

Nursing, no question about it. If you want a career that allows for limitless growth, nursing is for you.


———————————
UCLA FNP Class of 2016

I would actually say the opposite. Nursing is much harder to "climb the ladder", and with the thousands of nursing schools sending out countless new nurses into the field, those top jobs are going to become scarce. OT really is limitless, not only with the same top positions in management and private practice just like nursing, but also because you can expand and create new areas (which is happening all the time). I'd like to see a nurse create an entirely new field of medicine! OT's can do this in their field!

Don't get me wrong: my mom was a nurse, and I have great respect for them. It is a great field for the time being, but it is filling up quickly. OT is always expanding, and will have plenty of room in the future for new applicants.

 

[matthewandrew]

In your hospital, how many OTs are employed?


———————————
UCLA FNP Class of 2016

 

[COTAstar]

OT is a small field, there are not tons of positions but also not too many OTs, demand is more than supply, and employment opportunities are not worse than they are for the nurses. With thousands of new grad nurses, nursing field becomes over saturated. I was wandering what field to choose myself, because I really like both of them. I decided to go to OT. I love job they do, love the fact they work with one patient at the time, and that their major goal is to give as much independence as it's possible to people with serious disabilities, who otherwise would be dependent on somebody else even for basic daily care. Opportunities in OT are strong, it is growing field, they can open private practice, advance to managerial position, rehab director, become hand therapist( this is where the good money is), work in rare settings ,like hippo-therapy, ergonomics, low vision, consulting in house constructions and many more.They are everywhere where nurses are - geriatrics,pediatrics, outpatient, rehab,hospital, schools etc. I was considering OT or RN school after OTA, now I decided if I don't get in to OT school, I will stay just as a COTA, because it makes me happy to help people live their lives independently. Nursing is really great profession, but I'm just not excited about it as much as of OT. It's more personal preference, the best way to make decision is to listen to your heart.

 

[Otsunshine56]

In your hospital, how many OTs are employed?


———————————
UCLA FNP Class of 2016

Usually you see a handful in a hospital. Some places fewer and some a few more depending on the size. This actually proves my point: pretty much everywhere NEEDS OT's. . There are far fewer applicants than open positions (this is fairly well known).

Of course, nursing also has plenty of openings, but how many of these are mid level (ie not grub work)? This is my point: an entry level opening in OT is already mid level...and there are myriad openings for OT's.

I see 2 problems brewing in nursing:
1) I'm sure nursing is wide open in some areas of the country, but in my state, mid levels are held back by the politics of doctors who don't want to share revenue. It's different indifferent states, I'm sure. Nurses don't have a strong union in my state, so mid level opportunities are fewer here.
2) Nursing in general can be approached from many avenues: community college, 4 year college or university, bs, and then you have masters and other specialties. The more routes, the more entrants. The more entrants, the less demand/negotiability. That, coupled with the many, many new programs opening and releasing even more applicants into the pool means more saturation.

These are obviously not problems now, or everywhere, but I see them turning worse in the future.