Is this a good idea for Physical Therapy?

[TXsweethrt]

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Hi I am new to this forum but anyways, I am a senior in high school and am thinking that Physical Therapy is what I'm interested in as a career. I know that the actual PT school is after receiving a bachelors so I've been weighing my options for my four year degree.

What I'm interested in doing is (and tell me your honest opinions on this) majoring in nursing and knocking out my pre-reqs during my nursing path. My thinking for this is, considering how competitive being accepted into a PT school is, if I come out with a nursing degree, I know that I will always have a pretty successful career until I do happen to get accepted into PT.

I've heard horror stories of students who have majored in fields like kineisiology or biology (w/o a teaching certificate) and haven't been accepted into PT school yet and are having a VERY difficult time finding a job.

So is majoring in nursing then carrying that over to physical therapy a reasonable option? Or is there some other major that would be better suited and provide a reliable job source?

Thanks 🙂

 

[c5212]

Hi I am new to this forum but anyways, I am a senior in high school and am thinking that Physical Therapy is what I'm interested in as a career. I know that the actual PT school is after receiving a bachelors so I've been weighing my options for my four year degree.

What I'm interested in doing is (and tell me your honest opinions on this) majoring in nursing and knocking out my pre-reqs during my nursing path. My thinking for this is, considering how competitive being accepted into a PT school is, if I come out with a nursing degree, I know that I will always have a pretty successful career until I do happen to get accepted into PT.

I've heard horror stories of students who have majored in fields like kineisiology or biology (w/o a teaching certificate) and haven't been accepted into PT school yet and are having a VERY difficult time finding a job.

So is majoring in nursing then carrying that over to physical therapy a reasonable option? Or is there some other major that would be better suited and provide a reliable job source?

Thanks 🙂

🙂Welcome to SDN🙂
Your plan of majoring in nursing undergrad would most definitely provide a solid back-up just in case you weren't accepted into PT school. But make sure that you would be majoring in nursing because you want to and would enjoy a career in nursing... not just to have a solid plan B. And from what I have seen and heard, you are correct on your observation about ug majors in bio and kineisology (can be very risky unless you are pursuing a career in teaching or pursuing grad school).

I personally plan on majoring in something along the lines of economics/business/finance in college because I was practically raised in an office (father was ceo of an electrical contracting co.) and love the business world. So a business degree, in my mind, is MY solid back-up plan for the remote possibility that I don't make it into medical school. If you want to consider a business degree, keep in mind that how reliable a business major is, is based largely on what undergrad business school you attended. Attending the University of South Car. (ranked 95th, 2008 ranking) and receiving a bachelors in business is very different that receiving a bachelors in business from the Wharton School of Business (ranked 1st, 2008 ranking).Take a look here: http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/undergrad_bschool/

My point: major in what you enjoy most and will do best in, and if you apply yourself 100% and excel, there shouldn't be any problem entering in to a career.

 

[schrizto]

Don't many schools have BS/DPT programs? I know people who have gotten into Quinniapac and Northeastern's programs... didn't sound like it was too difficult.

 

[URHere]

Some schools have undergraduate majors in Exercise Science that include a good deal of Physical Therapy training. I know several people (including a number of my classmates) who have landed part-time physical therapy jobs with that degree alone.

It may be a good back-up for you - even if you do not get into PT school, you could still find a PT job.

 

[sgtbrushes]

I'll agree with the others. Choose a backup degree that is what you want to do if it takes awhile to get into PT school. It doesn't have to be medically-related. My wife is in nursing school, and nursing is definitely a career where you will be miserable if it's something you don't want to do.

 

[TXsweethrt]

Thank you everybody.

I think I'd enjoy nursing (I say that now, we'll see once I actually get started) just because I am so interested in health and helping people. Plus there are so many different fields of nursing to go into, as of now I'm kind of liking Critical Care or ICU nurse, but we'll see. The only thing I am worried about is
1) not covering all the necessary pre-reqs for PT and
2) I'm going to get burnt out by going from the stress & competition of nursing school right into the stress & competition of PT school. But so far its not worrying me enough to sway my mind.

But thanks again for yall's comments 😀

 

[MossPoh]

Just be aware that later stages of nursing doesn't allow much free time for other coursework, so knock out stuff early. Either way, I'm not a big fan of the choosing a major in case you fail technique. Choose a major that truly interests you. A large chunk of people end up changing their mind anyway. I was dead set on bioengineering. I was going to do that then go do an md/phd program afterward. That changed real fast once I started with the coursework and was miserable.

 

[fahimaz7]

My wife is in the DPT program at MCG. Most of her classmates are Exercise Science majors, and it seems to be working fine for them. As for nursing, why would you get a nursing degree, if you wanted to be a DPT? Stay on track and work towards your final goal. If it's nursing, then do that....


BTW, most professional schools are very "selective" when they view applicants with a different "professional degree". If you are 40 years old and decide to change, that's one thing... but when you do it straight out of school, it looks really bad. It is incredibly difficult to get into a MD program if you are coming from nursing, pharmacy, or dentistry. The same thing holds true for DPT.

 

[TXsweethrt]

BTW, most professional schools are very "selective" when they view applicants with a different "professional degree". If you are 40 years old and decide to change, that's one thing... but when you do it straight out of school, it looks really bad. It is incredibly difficult to get into a MD program if you are coming from nursing, pharmacy, or dentistry. The same thing holds true for DPT.

Just curious, but why does it look bad?

 

[c5212]

Just curious, but why does it look bad?

I believe it looks kind of awkward - the main purpose of a professional degree is to prepare you for a life-long career, not a job. By the time you apply to prof. school, it is expected that you have already thought through your decision because most likely, the degree you receive will dictate your career field for the rest of your working life. Applying to another professional school after you just completed a professional degree raises a lot of questions, particularly-> why the sudden change in heart in regards to your career field if you haven't even worked in it yet? The goal of a pharmacy school is to train pharmacists, dentistry schools to train dentists, and med schools to train doctors; those schools aren't there to prepare people for the transition in to other professional schools.
Like I said earlier, pick a major that truly interests you, and will allow you to complete all of your pre-req's for PT school because getting in to PT school seems to be your primary goal. 👍

 

[TXsweethrt]

I believe it looks kind of awkward - the main purpose of a professional degree is to prepare you for a life-long career, not a job. By the time you apply to prof. school, it is expected that you have already thought through your decision because most likely, the degree you receive will dictate your career field for the rest of your working life. Applying to another professional school after you just completed a professional degree raises a lot of questions, particularly-> why the sudden change in heart in regards to your career field if you haven't even worked in it yet? The goal of a pharmacy school is to train pharmacists, dentistry schools to train dentists, and med schools to train doctors; those schools aren't there to prepare people for the transition in to other professional schools.
Like I said earlier, pick a major that truly interests you, and will allow you to complete all of your pre-req's for PT school because getting in to PT school seems to be your primary goal. 👍

Okay thank you that makes sense. So then another question, reading the replies to my original post and then reading more information on the internet, I've been rethinking my options of nursing, physical therapy, or something dealing with orthopedics. Which major, between biomedical sciences or allied health at Texas A&M, would I benefit the most out of? Or anothe words, which would give me the best options after school of either
a) getting into PT school b) getting into nursing school c) getting into med school (not likely this road but you never know) and c) being able to get a job after getting my bachelors if by chance I don't immediately get accepted to grad school?

 

[basbana]

If you really like PT stuff, then I would suggest a major in Athletic Training. Some people I know have majored in that with hopes to get into PT school, but even if you can't get in (at all or right away), they still have jobs. AT's can work in many areas from school sports settings to corporations doing things that are similar to PT. I am on a DPT track and majored in Biology and have nothing. I am not really "looking" for a job, but no job that would be available to me right now would be something I would want to do, so if I hadn't gotten into PT school, I would've been stuck, or getting a masters in something else that has nothing to do with my undergrad degree (which was my plan B).

Good luck with your schooling! 🙂

 

[Bacchus]

I would apply to a 0+6 year DPT program instead of 2+4. Its less stressful. Here's a link to my undergrad's DPT program: http://www.usp.edu/academics/collegesDepts/pt/AdmissionOptions