Occupational therapy vs nursing

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone,

Okey i am going to post this here because i figured i could get more responses from you guys. one of my friends is being convinced to change from getting into nursing to pursuing OT instead. she figures she will still be working with patients albeit at a different level. a school in our area is expanding their OT program and are currently recruiting for fall 09. it is going to be a 28 month stint-6 months of which are field experience- she is comparing the hours-8 to 5 versus the differing nursing schedules.

So what do you guys think. Do OTs make more than nurses as she is being told? is the program more difficult-she was told her pre-nursing classes will transfer in and she will graduate with an MS specializing in OT. Any input will be appreciated.:typing

The ONLY ONLY ONLY reason that I did not go into Occupational/Physical Therapy was due to the fact that, with nursing, I can have a career in 2 years (with an Associates) and continue working towards my Masters...etc.

With PT/OT the minimum requirement seems to be a Masters. I have heard, however, that PTA/OTA (assistants) can make $25/hr average and they only need an Associates degree as well.

I have also heard that PTA/OTA cannot transition right into a Bachelors program. I have heard this several times, and I'm not sure if it is true or if I am misunderstanding the person. All I know is, I need to work while I finish my graduate degree.

I would really love to get into OT/PT.

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There are programs for COTA's to go onto a bachelors and then masters but they are far and few between. In my area a COTA would go onto to finish a bachelors in whatever discipline they want and then apply for a OT program, while an ADN nurse can go on to a BSN program more smoothly, if that makes sense.

I weighed the benefits of it all, and COTA full-time job openings aren't as frequent as nurses, and less so now with hiring freezes. And the downside to working a M-F 9-5 job that it isn't as flexible for family and school as a nursing schedule can be. I am going to be the main breadwinner eventually, so I have to keep in mind what's best for my family as much as what is best for me. Besides, it's nice to think when I am older and my kids are grown I can transition to OT if I want. :)

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There are programs for COTA's to go onto a bachelors and then masters but they are far and few between. In my area a COTA would go onto to finish a bachelors in whatever discipline they want and then apply for a OT program, while an ADN nurse can go on to a BSN program more smoothly, if that makes sense.

I weighed the benefits of it all, and COTA full-time job openings aren't as frequent as nurses, and less so now with hiring freezes. And the downside to working a M-F 9-5 job that it isn't as flexible for family and school as a nursing schedule can be. I am going to be the main breadwinner eventually, so I have to keep in mind what's best for my family as much as what is best for me. Besides, it's nice to think when I am older and my kids are grown I can transition to OT if I want. :)

Yes, this is also true. I am thinking in terms of family as well. While I know my spouse would work, once we have children, I like the fact that I can take odd shifts and still practically have all week long with them (ie. 12 hour weekend shifts ,etc.) I wouldn't completely have to stop working and would still get best of both worlds...sort of like being a stay-at-home-mom..except I work a few shifts when my guy is off.

How can you transition from BSN to OT or PT? That sounds interesting...an option I might be interested in. However, I feel if I make it to BSN..I would probably just go for my Masters @ that point. Who knows? :):nurse:

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OT and PT programs require a bachelors with certain pre-requisites met, there isn't a set bachelor curriculum you have to follow to go on to it, a BSN should adequate enough to apply to a master OT program.

This is OSU's OT program, all their requirements to me could be easily done in an ADN program. https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/occupationaltherapypublic/documents/MOT_Cap_Sheet_GREY_SHEET.pdf

My thought process on this is that if I get burned out with nursing at the bedside but still want to directly help people, this would be a great option with lower stress and high satisfaction. And nothing would stop me from working part time as a nurse either, to keep my skills and knowledge up. I've talked to my son's OT at length and she couldn't recommend the career more. Unfortunately, like you I need to work and be in a career ASAP, otherwise if I was younger and richer I would go straight to OT. :lol2:

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This is an interesting thread.

I am a pre-nursing student, and I was originally torn between nursing and Occupational Therapy Assisting. I decided to go for nursing and eventually my BSN, because if OT still is something I want to do I can go on to a masters in OT, but if nursing was something I wanted to instead it would be harder to go back and start over.

I'm so glad to see someone else was thinking the same way as me...! I have no bachelors currently and have been considering nursing or OT a possible career move. Having no post secondary education I thought getting a BsN would be the best option as upon graduation I would be earning around $30/hr here in BC and any other areas I was interested in all required a masters anyways so I could always use my nursing degree for another field if I chose to or if I found that bedside nursing wasn't really all I had thought it would be. Currently I am applying for my last few pre req's then hopefully be in a nursing program fall2011.

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ppl person,

do u know how much does a occupational therapist gets paid?

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I'm looking at the avg. payScale and they don't seem to make MORE than nurses do. In fact, for a Master's degree they should be earning more but it seems like they're earning about the same as nurses. Hmmm... I don't know.

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well as of now you cannot get a bachelors in OT as they have incrased the minimum educational requirement to a masters. From what I can see here in bc (and this is just from hospital position postings which still only say bachelors so I'm assuming if hired with a masters you would be upgraded to the next pay level) the range is ~$30 - $38 per hour. Nursing at the same pay level would be about the same...but remember if the minumum level is a masters for OT I would think you would be upgraded to the next pay scale. Best thing to do is find a copy on line of the allied health professionals agreement for your area.

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IMO, OT has better on the job conditions than nursing. Also, there is more 1:1 patient interaction in OT. Both jobs involve stress, but OT on-the-job stress is significantly less than a nurses... hours are flexible... and to the contrary of what everyone is saying, there are many fields of OT (peds, gero, adolescence, adult, SNF, mental health, burns, ergonomics, etc. etc. etc.) that you can get into. I would pick OT in a heartbeat... many OTs I know love what they do!

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I am in this same boat. I think I would like a job as a cota but worried about opportunity in my area. Have been told there cota's here work for a contract company and have to take serveral part time jobs. Nursing is supposed to be in the top 10 jobs to have for my area. I think also if I went into nursing I could still do cota type work as a rehabilative nurse? Just really want to make the right choice for myself and my family. Want security, stability, and something rewarding. Also don't know if I can handle the kind of hours I hear nurses work and the way they seem to be overworked. But also don't want to put 2 years into the ota program to find out I cannot find steady employment....HELP!

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I debated between the two and decided on occupational therapy. The great thing about OT is all the different populations and environments you can choose to work with: geriatrics, pediatrics, acute care, inpatient rehabiliatation, in schools, private clinics, return-to-work facilities, outpatient clinics, etc. I'm still in school but I’ve been blown away by the variety of paths I can choose to go down as an OT. In school, we do three part-time placements during undergrad where we are actually in the field observing and after grad school, we do two full time, twelve week internships to give us exposure to working environments in which we may be interested. We get to weed out what areas may not be right for us before we graduate. Ultimately, I believe that the skilled intervention services OTs provide to their patients are invaluable in assisting them return to their everyday activities and increase their well being. While both careers are worthy of the highest respect, I look at it this way- while nurses do for the patient an OT teaches them to do for themselves and that isthe difference between one requiring a min. of an associates degree for entry and the other a Master's Degree. I also know that when I looked into nursing, there were seven hundred people applying for very limited available spots in the program and another program had a three year waiting list. I will be graduating with my masters in OT before I would have even been able to get into nursing school.

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Choosing between nursing and occupational therapy as a career requires personal analysis of what you want your daily occupation to look like.

Daily: OT's generally do not work weekends or nights.

According to US News and World Report, Occupational Therapy has been rated in the top 10 for the last several years.

OT's practice in ALL areas of healthcare: acute care, ICU, post acute care such as general medicine and surgery, rehab, out patient, school systems, ECI programs, work hardening programs, physician's offices, home health, skilled nursing and rehab facilities, private practice.... just about any area where nurses practice and then some.

OT salaries range according to area of practice from 35k- 100k/year.

Much longer study program for entry level OT's vs. nursing. All now are master's prepared. Specialization areas of practice are similar to nursing as well: pediatric, geriatric, orthopedic, neuro, community health, administration/management, etc.

There are 13 week travel jobs, full time, part time, PRN, just like nursing.

Visiting the AOTA website , you will find a wealth of information.

Volunteer with your local OT to get the day to day functional view.

I did, and that was 35 years ago! Still an OT, still working, still enjoy what I do.

It was the best decision I ever made.

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