considering both med school and OT?

[healthyhappy]

OT seems like such a great field and I'm starting to wonder if an OT masters is a better choice than medical school. Anyone else that's been torn between these two fields?

I'm started my prereqs this summer and am really enjoying them so far. The fact that I still have 2 years of courses ahead of me buys me some time to think about this... but I'm curious about other people's experiences.

I want to start shadowing in OT to learn more, but do you think that will appear strange to medical schools (if I do end up applying in two or three years)? I'm a non-traditional student, so I have to make the right choice the first time around! I'm already 26 and probably will be starting a program around age 30.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

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[Tepi]

Actually, Im torn between these two fields, and I am/will be applying this semester to the '09 programs. So I completely understand your predicament. Its a good thing you found out about OT long before I did, so time is on your side.

Absolutely shadow an OT and a physician (MD or DO of your choice), also explore the different departments in a hospital if you can. I've been in the ER and Radiology, which are two very different departments in medicine.

~ Note, I am in the process of setting up shadowing an OT, and have not yet done so. Below is my opinion based on what I have read and researched online and have made assumptions about. So it could very well change. ~

One of the things I like about OT over Medicine is that it is generally a bit more ... relaxed? Is that the word Im looking for? Its not as intense (I assume), certainly not as long, and has a different type of responsibility attached to it than a physician.

What I like about Medicine over OT is that you are responsible for a more overall picture of the patient's health. (Im strongly strongly leaning towards Pediatrics in either field, and in medicine I would want a more primary care role). There would be more variety in the everyday work, as a PCP I would see anything from well-baby check-ups to more severe or chronic conditions. It would certainly keep me from getting bored.

So thats the gist of it on my end. Both look fun. Becoming a physician might rock, or completely drain me as a person. Becoming an OT might rock, or might be boring.

A lot will depend on my shadowing experience. My advice to you is this: Draw up a list of pros and cons for both. Each time you think of something over the weeks/months/years, then I would add to it. My list for why I wanted to become a physician helped me write my personal statement. I plan to do the same for the OT application.

It will all work out eventually. Just go after your passion, because if you are doing what you love then it isn't work (kinda). Worse comes to worse, and you change careers. People apply to medical school and (probably) OT school older than you. So thats my 2 cents!

 

[bigdan]

I did both. Just (today!) filled out my applications for residency in anesthesiology; I'm now finishing my last year in medical school but worked for 7 years as an OTR. First and foremost, I'm thrilled to see you both considering both professions. I suppose I could go on and on about both fields, but if you had specific questions maybe that'd be easier and more efficient for me.

And Happy - you'd be surprised about the ages of folks entering both medical school and OT school. One of my great friends in OT school started in college the year her YOUNGEST son started at the same college - she was mid 40s. And I have a friend here in med school that began at 42. PLEASE do not let age be a factor for you at all in your decision.

Let me know if I can answer any questions. And good luck to both of you!

Best,

dc

 

[Crichton]

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[caduceus27]

hello everyone
I agree with all the posts but I have one more comment to add. If one if spit between both decisions between OT and MD/DO. Its wise to consider the future of both fields.

If we look at Medicine we can see that the future of medicine in terms of primary and emergency care is not in favor of doctors. we can see this when we walk in into any emergency room and see the who is running the show in the ER. mostly we see PAs and nurses seeing patients while doctors just sit around and supervise. It may seem relaxing from the physician perspective however it was not like this 10 years ago. Hospitals like to hire PAs since they are cheaper and work more hours.

Conversly if we look at OT we see an increasing demand for OT they may not make as much as PAs or Physians in the beginning. but look at any OT magazine that has a classified section for OT jobs. The pages are filled with job offerings and very tempting sign on bonuses. In almost all branches of OT. If we go and visit the rehab departments in hospitals there very little OTs and they are seeing 2-5 patients at a time because there is just not enough OTs out there. with an OT degree you can open your own practice an d in the long run you will make as much as MDs and PAs if not more.

So if was asked to foresee the future for both professions I would lean more towards OT. and in terms of medicine I would say if your looking at primary and emergency care, rethink your options. look at more specialized field like cardiology or orthopedics or anesthesiology. from the looks of things it seems like doctors will be dominating these fields.

I could be wrong though but from my perpective and my experience in Both OT and medicine thats what I see.

 

[cdcd67]

hello everyone
I agree with all the posts but I have one more comment to add. If one if spit between both decisions between OT and MD/DO. Its wise to consider the future of both fields.

If we look at Medicine we can see that the future of medicine in terms of primary and emergency care is not in favor of doctors. we can see this when we walk in into any emergency room and see the who is running the show in the ER. mostly we see PAs and nurses seeing patients while doctors just sit around and supervise. It may seem relaxing from the physician perspective however it was not like this 10 years ago. Hospitals like to hire PAs since they are cheaper and work more hours.

Conversly if we look at OT we see an increasing demand for OT they may not make as much as PAs or Physians in the beginning. but look at any OT magazine that has a classified section for OT jobs. The pages are filled with job offerings and very tempting sign on bonuses. In almost all branches of OT. If we go and visit the rehab departments in hospitals there very little OTs and they are seeing 2-5 patients at a time because there is just not enough OTs out there. with an OT degree you can open your own practice an d in the long run you will make as much as MDs and PAs if not more.

So if was asked to foresee the future for both professions I would lean more towards OT. and in terms of medicine I would say if your looking at primary and emergency care, rethink your options. look at more specialized field like cardiology or orthopedics or anesthesiology. from the looks of things it seems like doctors will be dominating these fields.

I could be wrong though but from my perpective and my experience in Both OT and medicine thats what I see.

Some of the reasons you mention are why I am reconsidering medicine because I always wanted to be a pediatrician......or any kind of primary care doctor, but I dunno know anymore.....

 

[caduceus27]

Some of the reasons you mention are why I am reconsidering medicine because I always wanted to be a pediatrician......or any kind of primary care doctor, but I dunno know anymore.....

hi
I not saying that being a primary care physician is not good. if thats what you enjoy and find pleasure in by all means go after what you always wanted to be. who knows may be you can be an exceptional pediatric physician because you enjoy it. i was just trying to give another point of view to the medicine OT dilemma from my experience in observing both fields. I always like to say that you have to have a real passion for either profession to pursue them and be an effective therapist or physican. At the end of the day its whatever makes you happy. good luck

 

[cdcd67]

helllo...it wasnt due to your post alone that I was reconsidering...it was after some careful thought and reasearch that I have been doing for the past couple of weeks

 

[bigdan]

Hi guys. I'm sorry to have taken so long to reply, and I apologize to those folks that had PMed me about this issue.

As some background, I'm Daniel. I just turned 31 last week, and I'm in my last year of medical school, and actively applying for residency in anesthesiology right now. I still hold my NYS license as an occupational therapist.

I graduated college with a BS in OT, and began to work in an outpt rehab facility, doing mainly neurorehab and then rehab administration...my career as a practicing OT lasted 7 yrs. They were EXTREMELY rewarding - for those of you that have just entered practice, and those of you in school now - you'll get to a point where you see a person walk (or wheel) into your practice unable to dress/feed/bathe etc, and you will be able to say (to some of them) "You are going to be able to do this task in 3 months". People go from dependent to independent in front of your eyes, literally. I did a bunch of work with motor re-education, so I spent a lot of my time focusing on getting return of UE function...that is VERY hard to do, in my experience, after a stroke, but I even saw some almost miraculous cases there too. You, as an OT, are the major reason that a lot of that good stuff is happening.

That said...I found that for me, personally, I was simply more drawn to other aspects of healthcare, and in specific, to physiology and pharmacology. I did not feel that I could get a good clinical "fix" of those aspects of healthcare science in the field of OT. Additionally, it seemed that many of my more senior co-workers - many of whom were phenomenal clinicians - were able to be great without having to ever read an article or attend a conference. Surely, they would have gained something from additional training, but they didn't need it to do their jobs well, IN MY OPINION. I realize that a bunch of folks might have other thoughts, and that's fine. This was my subjective evaluation. I wanted more intellectual demand in my life, with a focus on real-time healthcare interventions. I did not find that I could do so within OT. So I left for medical school.

Medical school has been, for me, the absolute right decision. Just a wonderful choice for me. Even when the going was tough - and at times, it was tough - I was (overall) very much glad to have made the choice to leave OT and embark on something new. Now, as I am almost done with medical school and have a pretty well defined career focus, I am happy as a clam. I'm pleased with were I think life is taking me, and if you haven't had that feeling, it is a nice one to have. I am gonna work my butt off. And I am looking forward to it!

There is no wrong way. Just pick the way that suits you. Realize that as an OT, no one has a clue what you do. When I told a physician (who was a patient of mine at the time) that I was applying for medical school, she said "Wow - that's such a long path - you're going to have to get a bachelor's degree before you go to med school, you know". But you get great patient interaction, and you REALLY get to help people. Decent (but not good) pay for 40 hrs a week of work, and pretty good job security with great projection for future job need.

Anyways, good luck to all.

dc

 

[superCOTA]

If you have the steam for medicine .. you must go for it. Now.
You will still be helping people but honestly you will have a much bigger impact on them. And much less to put up with. We make a nice salary, but if you think you would like medicine, you have the possibility for serious, real, life-changing money.
Working less hours, with much more possibility.
Good Luck

 

[sarahg]

So thats the gist of it on my end. Both look fun. Becoming a physician might rock, or completely drain me as a person. Becoming an OT might rock, or might be boring.

This is my dilemma precisely.

I'm attracted to OT mainly because of the pediatric practice setting -- I've volunteered in some early intervention groups and it looks like so much fun. Especially the settings that resemble a preschool for autistic or otherwise developmentally disabled children -- I love the early childhood age group, and I'm not sure if I'd feel satisfied with a job that doesn't involve working with young children. However, there are a lot of aspects of OT that don't appeal to me. I have no interest in, say, making psych patients do crafts or nursing home patients bake banana bread. I also worry that it won't be intellectually challenging enough. Even in pediatrics, which would be my goal group, a lot of the tasks are boring to me -- such as handwriting, which bores me to tears. Still, I have a pretty laid-back, type-B personality, and I might be happier with the more relaxed lifestyle of OT. I'm also very attracted to the freedom to change specialties if you want and being able to do contract/travel work so that I can work 8 months of the year and travel during the rest.

With medicine, I'm sure I could find ample intellectual challenge, but I might miss the fun and creativity that is a part of working in OT. I do love biological science and if I were independently wealthy without need for a job, I honestly think I'd like to go through med school just for the knowledge even if I didn't intend to become a doctor. I just want to know as much as I can about how the body works. I'm 22 now, and I think that later in life, I might be more satisfied with the scientific/intellectual challenge and respect that come with medicine than with the fun of OT -- but obviously I can't predict that for sure.

The difference in time and expense is also a huge factor. With OT, I could start school months after I graduate in January '10, be out of grad school with a well-paying job at 26, out of debt by 30. And because the debt is relatively small, I'd be able to go back to school or take a different job later in life if I wanted. With medicine, I'd have to take a postbac year to complete all the requirements, then 4 years of medical school at great expense, then 4+ years of residency -- it'd be 10 years before I'd even be making an actual salary and I'm not sure I want to throw away my 20s like that. I want to travel a lot while I'm young, and I'm not sure if I could do that AND become a doctor. I'd consider med school more strongly if I could complete it internationally, but from what I've read here that's a big mistake unless you can't get accepted anywhere else. Also, if I decided to become an MD I'd have too much debt to switch to something lower paying like OT later on.

I'm sure that this is way more than anyone wanted to read, LOL. I'm just very torn. When I was younger I never really thought about becoming a doctor, though I've always been interested in biology and diseases -- but recently the idea has come into my head, and I don't know if this is just my typical fear of commitment popping up to ruin my plans to pursue OT (which I was almost sure of at one point) or if med school might be the right thing for me.

 

[bigdan]

Hmmm. You've already got a great hand on what you know and like...that's awesome, and a huge advantage.

I'd say do both: OT first, then med school next, but hey, I'm biased What you might consider is PA school that can give you a HUGE quench of that knowledge thirst, and won't take all your time. The PAs I know are stepping into nice jobs that are not overly heavy on the hours, and are paying reasonable coin ($65 - 85, it seems).

Either way, OT is a great field. I just spoke with a friend that I graduated with in '98, and she's doing just 10 hrs/wk, but pulling in $150/hr doing private EI aged kiddos...certainly not normal pay, but the shrewd mind in the right place can really make OT work.

dc

 

[sarahg]

Hmmm. You've already got a great hand on what you know and like...that's awesome, and a huge advantage.

I'd say do both: OT first, then med school next, but hey, I'm biased What you might consider is PA school that can give you a HUGE quench of that knowledge thirst, and won't take all your time. The PAs I know are stepping into nice jobs that are not overly heavy on the hours, and are paying reasonable coin ($65 - 85, it seems).

Either way, OT is a great field. I just spoke with a friend that I graduated with in '98, and she's doing just 10 hrs/wk, but pulling in $150/hr doing private EI aged kiddos...certainly not normal pay, but the shrewd mind in the right place can really make OT work.

dc

It's funny that you posted that because I was going to ask whether you're glad you did OT first or wish you went straight into medicine.

I do think this might be the best route for me. It would give me an opportunity to get some life experience and save some money before I commit to med school, and to know whether that's really what I want to do. I honestly feel really sick of being in school and having no money of my own after being a student since kindergarten with no break, haha. There are also some fields of OT where I might get to use similar science (nutrition and basic preventative medicine) without going to med school, like USC's lifestyle redesign program. I can see definite advantages in exploring the field of health care before starting med school rather than after finishing it. I guess the main drawback to this plan would be the 2.5 years and $$ spent on OT school before going into med school.

 

[carol_J]

Well it was certainly interesting reading these post.

I might be in a similar situation. However, I've been accepted into PA school and was considering perhaps declining to pursue a career as an OT. Lately, I've just been wavering all my option and can't get rid of that small doubt on the back of my mind.....

I'm thinking of just taking the year off .... decisions, decision!!!

 

[teacher2PT]

I just wanted to say that as a 37 year old who is just now considering OT (or PT) as a career (I've been an elementary/special ed teacher for 14 years), I can honestly say that there is no harm in going into OT first, and possibly going into medicine later. When I was your age I thought I had to have it all figured out, but I have learned that I am constantly evolving in my interests and I always want to learn new things. I have absolutely no regrets that I went into teaching first, even though now I have a good 3 years of school ahead of me to move into a whole new field. I've heard of plenty of people going to med school at 37 or 40. If you are leaning toward OT, you should certainly do plenty of volunteering in a rehab setting and talk to as many OT's as you can, to gain more perspective. Likewise with talking to MD's/DO's. I hear so much about medicine that makes it seem like it's become much more difficult and not as rewarding as it was 10-20 years ago. You might want to see how things progress for physicians before jumping into it. I don't mean to discourage you if medicine is your true passion; I would just say don't feel like you'd be making a mistake going into OT first. It may not seem like it but 10 years from now you might feel like doing something a little different. Just my thoughts, for what it's worth! Good luck!

 

[OTDinAK]

THis thread is intersting to me as I am in OT school now after a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was on track for dental school for a long time, and for odd reasons it never happened. At this point in my academic career, I have come to the unnerving realization that I may be best suited for medicine, specifically orthopaedic surgery, as I have largely been very bored in OT school so far. So where does that leave me? I have other responsibilities in life (two young kids) and am married to an emergency physician who is wanting to work less and be a mom more. This does not bode well for someone looking at another 9-10 years of education (including residency), and it would not be fair to my kids or wife to pursue an education path that would take me away from them so much.

I want to go into hand therapy, and I really hope that this will provide some degree of academic rigor (which I feel is largely missing in OT schoo, at least in my casel) and keep me interested. I may still want to go to med school later in life, but I know I am going to stick this out, get my OTD, and work long enough to sit for the CHT exam. Maybe when I'm 40 I can look at med school again and realize that I like my life the way it is...

 

[babygirl476]

I am in the same boat many of you are in. I recently graduated with a bachelor's in psychology in August. In January I really took a look at what I wanted to do and discovered OT. I completed observations and found that I really enjoyed pediatrics. I thought about being a doctor when I was younger but when I was coming up on senior year of high school realized that I didn't want to suffer through the science classes so tossed the idea. Not sure why but over the past month (after submitting my application for OT school) realized that my passion is to become a doctor specifically a pediatrician. I am torn between both for many of the reasons mentioned above. I have student loans to pay back and going to OT school for two years and coming out I can start making some money to pay those back, but I really want to pursue medical school which will be another 7 years and I won't be able to start until 2012 (start school) because I have to take the pre-reqs (sciences) and according to my advisor get all A's since I finished with a 2.97 GPA. I worked full-time during college and took a full-load of coursework sometimes as many as 6 classes a semester. She told me that would give me an advantage, but in order to be competitive I have to get my gpa up. I'm extremely motivated to do this and plan to go ahead and still complete my interview for OT school. I'm still very torn. How do many of you plan to make your decisions? If I wait for medical school I can work and get rid of bills that I have and be financially prepared for med school, on the other hand if I jump right into OT school in 2010 I'll have to struggle to pay the bills but still be completing school just when I would be starting med school. So hard to decide! For now I guess I'm just going to use my grades as the determinant. If I make all A's in my spring semester courses (Chemistry I, Calculus, A&PII/Lab) then I'll continue pursuing med school, but I don't want to just give up on that, even if I don't make the grade I'll re-take. Can you all tell I'm confused? Oh well sorry for the long posts.

 

[Mmgm]

OT seems like such a great field and I'm starting to wonder if an OT masters is a better choice than medical school. Anyone else that's been torn between these two fields?

I'm started my prereqs this summer and am really enjoying them so far. The fact that I still have 2 years of courses ahead of me buys me some time to think about this... but I'm curious about other people's experiences.

I want to start shadowing in OT to learn more, but do you think that will appear strange to medical schools (if I do end up applying in two or three years)? I'm a non-traditional student, so I have to make the right choice the first time around! I'm already 26 and probably will be starting a program around age 30.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Hi healthyhappy,
Your thought interest me, how was it? Did you get OT 1st then medschool?
Im in a situation like you right now. Im 26 y.o and currently working as a COTA and going to school trying to get my pre requisite for OT program. And I wanted to apply medschool to.