NP vs. OT

[Heidi.]

I am in my first year of college. I am currently taking pre- recs for nursing but I've been doing research on OT as well. I'm indecisive right now between NP and OT. What should I do?

[Saysfaa]

Shadow each in several settings (for a minimum of 10 hours in each setting). Regularily volunteer where you can see each at work. Network/interview/seek out people who work in or with each or know people who do. Read the descriptions of jobs postings (check hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, other large health care employers as well as internet job sites. Join Linkedin.

Read through the archives of the nurses and specialty sections of allnurses looking for clues about what issues tend to come up for nurses (taking them with a grain of salt because people tend to write more when they are bothered by something than when everything is going smoothly). Read through the archives of message boards for OTs (there are some out there - nothing like allnurses but will give you something).

Read through the industry magazines for each (there are several for both professions)... you should be able to find them through your school library. Check out the websites of schools - everything about the programs including course descriptions and student handbooks and don't limit yourself to schools you might want to attend.

None of these are perfect sources but are useful anyway.

[Stephalump]

Well really your choice should be between RN and OT since you'll have to go to school to become an RN. If you don't get into grad school or life gets in the way, you'll be an RN. To get experience you'll have to be an RN. So if being an RN sounds terrible, I'd reconsider the NP route.

If being an RN sounds doable then I really think shadowing is the way to go. The day of a nurse and the day of an OT are totally different.

[Heidi.]

My advisor said that the science classes for OT and NP are different. How are the grad school different from each other?

[Stephalump]

There aren't any science prereqs for the grad programs, usually. Your science prereqs would be whatever the RN program requires. Usually anatomy and physiology and microbiology and chemistry. No clue about OT programs. Your best bet would be to ask tr schools you'd want to apply to because they all vary.

[Heidi.]

My advisor told me that the sciences classes for ot and np (rn) are different. So that's why she told me to pick what i want to do by next semester.

[Saysfaa]

Um... grad school for OT has OT classes and grad school for nursing has nursing classes.

Perhaps your advisor meant the science classes for OT and for NP are different at your school. They are the same (almost) at my school. That is why I recommend checking out the websites of schools.

[Heidi.]

yeah she probably meant for my school. I'm doing 2 years at a community college and transfer into a university after, I don't know where though.

[Heidi.]

are you in Florida?

[Saysfaa]

A community college won't have an OT program - a minimum of a master's is needed to practice. It might have an OTA program - you will probably want to clarify which your advisor is talking about before you get much further because to potentially save yourself several terms of school due to required classes having prereqs that have prereqs. You can maximize your chances of taking the classes you will need later by looking up the programs at several of the universities you might go to later.