Career in physical therapy vs. nursing..

Nurses General Nursing

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Thoughts, experiences, advice, anything?

PT's in my homecare agency make $50.00 a visit...usually lasts 30-45 min. They all love the home care arena. Worked with some fantastic folks who've made great difference in patients lives. Profession I've encouraged many to persue...shortage in all areas of country too due to limited schools.

would you say PTs make more than nurses? as new grads and with experience?

does anyone know this?

In general, PTs earn than nurses, as well they should. They are (at minimum) master's prepared and are moving toward doctoral degrees as entry-to-practice. More education = more $$. This is how most of the world outside of nursing works.

you're right, that's certainly how it should be. thanks!

yea i was thinking the same thing.. m kinda in a career dead-end.. i was thinking whats better?

a PT in the gym sports setting or a Nurse in a hospital...

of-course they have their own pros/cons on the situation... i just dont know where i want to go... maybe someone can help me out on that...

Can anyone reccommend a major for prospective PT students to get their bachelor's in? I've been considering a Bachelor's in Exercise and Health Science.

Can anyone reccommend a major for prospective PT students to get their bachelor's in? I've been considering a Bachelor's in Exercise and Health Science.

Perhaps kinesiology?

Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.

My sister is a PT.

She also, has a degree in Psychology, is a Pilates instructor and is a Certified Personal Trainer.

She gets amazing pay and wonderful benefits. She has great hours, no OT, no weekends. She gets all of her breaks w/o begging and gets them at the appropriate times. No eating as she works, no begging to use the bathroom. Her environment is clean and neat. She never, ever has to play maid/waitress and she usually doesn't have to deal with any family members.

She doesn't find it monotonous at all (but that isn't to say that other PTs might).

She sees people of all ages. She does office PT as well as pool therapy. She also sees private-pay patients in their homes and she gets anywhere from $100-$200 an hour.

I am so proud of her!! She's finishing her Doctorate in June.

I've thought about doing PT, but I've spent so much time as a PT patient that I don't think I would enjoy it because I would always think of the torture I endured. (Yes, I do mean torture, PT as a patient is awful even though I absolutely love my therapist and the PTA who works with her).

I'll be starting school for nursing in the fall.

BUT, I will say, PT doesn't seem boring at all! You get all different types of people ranging from little kids to senior citizens, all with different problems, different abilities and such. And at least where I've gone, the monotonous exercises are done by the patients and facilitated by the PTs and PTAs who just watch and correct while often doing something else like working with another patient.

My sister is a PT.

She also, has a degree in Psychology, is a Pilates instructor and is a Certified Personal Trainer.

She gets amazing pay and wonderful benefits. She has great hours, no OT, no weekends. She gets all of her breaks w/o begging and gets them at the appropriate times. No eating as she works, no begging to use the bathroom. Her environment is clean and neat. She never, ever has to play maid/waitress and she usually doesn't have to deal with any family members.

She doesn't find it monotonous at all (but that isn't to say that other PTs might).

She sees people of all ages. She does office PT as well as pool therapy. She also sees private-pay patients in their homes and she gets anywhere from $100-$200 an hour.

I am so proud of her!! She's finishing her Doctorate in June.

Sounds like she has a good job.

Questions

a) Does she bill at that rate or is that all hers?

b) Any slow down in clients due to the economy? I ask because I know that people who need pt and have had to give it up because they lost their insurance or were bumped to a different provider who won't pay for it.

Specializes in lots of specialties.

A nurses job can get monotonous as well, so lets not get it twisted. I love being a nurse and you can very likely do both. I plan to. I have my RN and will be going back to to get my AS in PT( ie PTA) then going on for my BS. You can work in various areas and specialties as well.I know PT's that do hospice( yes hospice), hospitals, homecare, MRDD centers. You are not limited to one area.If it is is your dream to so dont count yourself out. If money is the issue. My dad always told me " if you want to know or have a good idea about a career you want, then yes do your research ...but look at the news paper and see which jobs continue to have a need. You will notice that healthcare is one of the largest. Now look at the specialties,,(RN, PTA,PT, Cota, OT,ST,dental assistant, cna, STna) you get the point.The board may be a bit biases but we are not all biased. I hope you follow your heart and so your research. You know most places will let you job shadow with folks so maybe try that

I was currently in PT school but decided to withdrew do to attending a very unprofessional program with very poor and negative faculty. I have currently applied to an aBSN program and hope to get accepted for May 2011. I also applied to PT programs that are very professional with great faculty but I am hesitant of going back to PT school after having a negative experience from my last program. I feel jaded. If I get accepted to nursing school I will most definitely pick that over going back to PT school because I want to be more involved with the medical treatment of the patient ( ie medications and real care inside and out). I just wanted to let you all know that aBSN and PT programs are both incredibly difficult to get into. I'm looking forward to hearing back from the school I applied to and am looking forward to a rewarding career as a nurse and then hopefully an NP or Nurse Anesthetist. Any one else go form therapy to nursing?

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