Master's in Occupational Therapy and then medical school?

[10rin20]

Hello

I am 23 years old and I graduated from college this year with a bachelor's degree in Neurobiology.
I did not think I would be a good candidate for med school since I did not have enough clinical/volunteering experience during my college years. Therefore, I decided to take some time off after college.

Recently, I had a chance to shadow a occupational therapist and found the job very rewarding and exciting. I loved what I saw and I want to learn more about it. I've been doing some research about the field and I'm now considering a master's in Occupational Therapy.

However, becoming a doctor has been my dream since I was a child and I still have a strong desire to become a doctor. I'm not quite sure if I want to be an occupational therapist yet.

Would I be wasting my time and money if I decided to go to grad school for a master's in occupational therapy? Would it be useful if I decide to apply to medical school?

This field is really different from what I've been looking at and I'll have to make a big shift if I decide to pursue a master's. For example, I'll need to take the GRE and not the MCAT, which I was planning to take in April.

Any input will be appreciated!
Thank you in advance!

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[Chip N Sawbones]

Have you tried shadowing any doctors to confirm that medicine is still your dream? In addition to shadowing a general practitioner or two, try shadowing a PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) doctor. That's going to be somewhat similar to occupational therapy, and may be the right career for you if you want to combine medicine and therapy.

Going to grad school will be somewhat helpful in getting into medical school, but it is no substitute for good undergrad level grades and a good MCAT. If you are concerned that you may have problems getting accepted due to a low GPA, you will be better off retaking classes or taking more undergrad science classes. Grades from your masters degree won't count towards your cGPA. I think in the next two or three months you should spend as much time as you need to make a definite decision between medicine and occupational therapy. Shadow and talk with members of both fields, and lurk discussion boards like SDN's attending forums to see what the advantages and disadvantages of each career will be. Once you know enough to decide which career is for you, follow it and don't look back.

 

[10rin20]

Hello Chip N Sawbones,

Thank you for the input!

Maybe I'm wrong but PM&R seems more similar to physical therapy than occupational therapy.
and my understanding is that physical therapy focuses more on alleviating pain from injuries and improving motor skills while occupational therapy helps people with mental or physical conditions so that they can perform daily activities independently.

The occupational therapist I shadowed was mainly working with kids who were born with neurological conditions. I have an interest in neurobiology and it was interesting to work with kids who had diseases I studied during my undergrad years. And what fascinated me most was how much they could improve through rehabilitation without having a surgery. This experience made me want to learn more about rehabilitation and how much people can do without medical intervention.

My undergrad GPA is 3.75.
I don't think it's bad but it's not too strong since I'm considering MD.
I have shadowed a general doctor and I also have some volunteering experience at a hospital.
I have yet to take the MCAT but I feel that my chances of getting into medical school are slim if I apply now. (my extracurricular activities are weak and my GPA is average)

I've been trying to find interesting volunteer programs/opportunities and I came across occupational therapy.

 

[SN12357]

Hello Chip N Sawbones,

Thank you for the input!

Maybe I'm wrong but PM&R seems more similar to physical therapy than occupational therapy.
and my understanding is that physical therapy focuses more on alleviating pain from injuries and improving motor skills while occupational therapy helps people with mental or physical conditions so that they can perform daily activities independently.

The occupational therapist I shadowed was mainly working with kids who were born with neurological conditions. I have an interest in neurobiology and it was interesting to work with kids who had diseases I studied during my undergrad years. And what fascinated me most was how much they could improve through rehabilitation without having a surgery. This experience made me want to learn more about rehabilitation and how much people can do without medical intervention.

My undergrad GPA is 3.75.
I don't think it's bad but it's not too strong since I'm considering MD.
I have shadowed a general doctor and I also have some volunteering experience at a hospital.
I have yet to take the MCAT but I feel that my chances of getting into medical school are slim if I apply now. (my extracurricular activities are weak and my GPA is average)

I've been trying to find interesting volunteer programs/opportunities and I came across occupational therapy.

GPA is totally fine for any school (unless you have bad grades in all your sciences or something like that), and actually above average for applicants, I think. Too lazy right now to look up the exact number.

If you KNOW you want to be a doctor, you shouldn't waste time and money on a master's program, particularly not a professional one when you would be leaving the profession to be a doctor. Better to build up your ECs (working or volunteering) and take the time you need to truly nail the MCAT.

 

[10rin20]

Hello SN12357,

Yeah... that's true...
But I'm starting to question whether I really want to be a doctor now...
Occupational therapy really looks like something I want to do too...

And also, the other thing that's making me lean towards occupational therapy is that I discovered my passion for traveling/volunteering abroad this year and I'd like to travel a lot in the future.
I feel that if I become a doctor, I won't have much time to do that.,,,

 

[SN12357]

Hello SN12357,

Yeah... that's true...
But I'm starting to question whether I really want to be a doctor now...
Occupational therapy really looks like something I want to do too...

And also, the other thing that's making me lean towards occupational therapy is that I discovered my passion for traveling/volunteering abroad this year and I'd like to travel a lot in the future.
I feel that if I become a doctor, I won't have much time to do that.,,,

If you like occ therapy it can be a great career. The lifestyle issues in terms of becoming and then being a doctor are no joke.

My point is mostly to make that decision--occ therapy or physician--first. Don't view the occ therapy masters degree as a potential stepping stone to medical school.

 

[10rin20]

SN12357,

Thank you for your advice!
I'll try to shadow both a doctor and a occupational therapist and see what I really want to do.

 

[Member03405]

I thought I'd chime in since I am currently an OT and am considering med school as well. I graduated about a year ago from OT school, after completing an undergrad degree in exercise physiology. Always wanted to become a doctor and never thought I could. I wasn't off to the greatest start in college and my sGPA is greatly suffering because of that so being in a position to even apply to med school would be quite a feat. I work in an acute rehab setting (for a for-profit company) and know that I will be doing so for a while longer at least since many things need to fall into place before I could make any sort of change. So please keep that in mind when you read the rest of my post.

As far OT is concerned, my experience during our school rotations and as a full-time OT is not quite as inspiring as I honestly thought it would be. OT can be great in specific niches but, in my opinion, has grown tremendously because companies quickly realized there was money to be made. Truth is, if you're going to go into a rehab field I'd recommend PT in a heart beat. Btw, all the so-called OT specific areas are actually included in the PT scope of practice. I was actually dumbfounded when I looked it up. All that stuff about helping people performing daily activities is way overblown. Most people can do what they need to do once they've built-up some strength/endurance and gotten enough rest to bounce back from whatever injury/illness they experienced. Working with kids is quite fun as an OT but the limited amount of time you can spend with them greatly diminishes the long-term impact you can truly make.

That being said OT has helped me grow tremendously as a person as well as professionally. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even be considering med school if not for the confidence OT has given me, in addition to many other great opportunities. As a piece of the puzzle for someone looking into the healthcare field and wanting the help people, OT can be a good choice. For someone with a very specific vision for their OT career, i.e. a niche they truly love and know they will be able to get into after graduation, OT can work too. But if you're considering OT now and maybe med school later, I would greatly advise to sincerely figure out which one of the 2 you would regret not trying if you looked back down the road. I'd also recommend looking at PTs and PAs, or even further into neurobiology if that's truly where your interest lies.

Now, remember it's coming from someone who wished they could start working toward med school right now. But nonetheless, most of my OT classmates are quite disillusioned with OT regardless of the setting they work in. OT as a stepping stone can work in some rare cases but be careful seeing it as a life-long career. I do second the idea that if you're considering med school right now you should truly figure out which one you want rather than go into OT thinking of it as a stepping stone (I think those rare cases when it does work are from folks who later realize they want something other than OT but didn't know it at the time they entered that field).

Hope this wasn't too negative for you. I do think OT can work for some people. Feel free to PM me if you have any OT specific questions.

 

[10rin20]

Thank you for your thoughtful input. I really appreciate it!

I understand there are positives and negatives for both professions (doctors and OTs).
And I feel that now is the time for me to figure out what I really want to do.

However, I feel that if I don't try applying to med school now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I've taken all the prerequisites in college (and my science GPA isn't bad) and I already have two letters of recommendation from college professors.
I'd have to retake those classes and get new letters if I decided to pursue occupational therapy, and later decided to apply to med school.
Also, the fact that the MCAT will be different after 2015 scares me.
I don't know what it's going to be like and I might have a better chance of getting a good score now before the test changes.

All of these things are making me lean towards medical school now.
And as I learn more about PM&R, I feel that it's close to what I want to do.
I want to shadow a PM&R doctor but I'm not sure how to find the opportunities.
Do I just look up PM&R doctors in my area and ask them?
I have found a couple in my area but I haven't contacted them yet…

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

I cold-called DOs out of the phone book when I needed to shadow one. It didn't take long to find one willing to let me shadow him. Most people like to talk about what they do, especially if you're interested in their work. Try calling some PM&R doctors and see what happens.

 

[10rin20]

I'll try that! thank you! 🙂

 

[Dharma]

Just going to play devil's advocate and reiterate advice I heard a ways back: If there is anything you can see yourself being happy and successful doing besides medicine, do that instead. Medicine is not worth the sacrifices otherwise. If you can't stand the notion of not becoming a physician, then you have your answer. Trust your intuition.

Also, don't go into this with one speciality in mind. A lot can change and you need to be sure you would be content with a specialty outside of whichever one is currently of interest. Shadowing is great (and necessary IMO), but regardless of the experience, do understand that the experience could very well not be representative of the norm, for better or worse.

 

[10rin20]

Just going to play devil's advocate and reiterate advice I heard a ways back: If there is anything you can see yourself being happy and successful doing besides medicine, do that instead. Medicine is not worth the sacrifices otherwise. If you can't stand the notion of not becoming a physician, then you have your answer. Trust your intuition.

Also, don't go into this with one speciality in mind. A lot can change and you need to be sure you would be content with a specialty outside of whichever one is currently of interest. Shadowing is great (and necessary IMO), but regardless of the experience, do understand that the experience could very well not be representative of the norm, for better or worse.

Hello. That's very true..... I'll keep that in mind.

And for now, I can't imagine myself working in a field other than medicine. But I'll try to be open-minded.
Thank you for your advice! 🙂

 

[Dharma]

Hello. That's very true..... I'll keep that in mind.

And for now, I can't imagine myself working in a field other than medicine. But I'll try to be open-minded.
Thank you for your advice! 🙂

No problem. Just my two cents (and probably worth less).

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Also, don't go into this with one speciality in mind. A lot can change and you need to be sure you would be content with a specialty outside of whichever one is currently of interest. Shadowing is great (and necessary IMO), but regardless of the experience, do understand that the experience could very well not be representative of the norm, for better or worse.

Excellent point. If you would never consider going into primary care or another very noncompetitive specialty, don't go to med school. It's fine to have ortho or derm as a goal, but you just can't count on getting the grades and step scores it'll take to get there, even if you were at the top of your undergrad class. You'll need to be okay with going into something noncompetitive if it comes down to that. Med school is an order of magnitude more difficult than undergrad and the competition is that much tougher.

 

[sockit]

I thought I'd chime in since I am currently an OT and am considering med school as well. I graduated about a year ago from OT school, after completing an undergrad degree in exercise physiology. Always wanted to become a doctor and never thought I could. I wasn't off to the greatest start in college and my sGPA is greatly suffering because of that so being in a position to even apply to med school would be quite a feat. I work in an acute rehab setting (for a for-profit company) and know that I will be doing so for a while longer at least since many things need to fall into place before I could make any sort of change. So please keep that in mind when you read the rest of my post.

As far OT is concerned, my experience during our school rotations and as a full-time OT is not quite as inspiring as I honestly thought it would be. OT can be great in specific niches but, in my opinion, has grown tremendously because companies quickly realized there was money to be made. Truth is, if you're going to go into a rehab field I'd recommend PT in a heart beat. Btw, all the so-called OT specific areas are actually included in the PT scope of practice. I was actually dumbfounded when I looked it up. All that stuff about helping people performing daily activities is way overblown. Most people can do what they need to do once they've built-up some strength/endurance and gotten enough rest to bounce back from whatever injury/illness they experienced. Working with kids is quite fun as an OT but the limited amount of time you can spend with them greatly diminishes the long-term impact you can truly make.

That being said OT has helped me grow tremendously as a person as well as professionally. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even be considering med school if not for the confidence OT has given me, in addition to many other great opportunities. As a piece of the puzzle for someone looking into the healthcare field and wanting the help people, OT can be a good choice. For someone with a very specific vision for their OT career, i.e. a niche they truly love and know they will be able to get into after graduation, OT can work too. But if you're considering OT now and maybe med school later, I would greatly advise to sincerely figure out which one of the 2 you would regret not trying if you looked back down the road. I'd also recommend looking at PTs and PAs, or even further into neurobiology if that's truly where your interest lies.

Now, remember it's coming from someone who wished they could start working toward med school right now. But nonetheless, most of my OT classmates are quite disillusioned with OT regardless of the setting they work in. OT as a stepping stone can work in some rare cases but be careful seeing it as a life-long career. I do second the idea that if you're considering med school right now you should truly figure out which one you want rather than go into OT thinking of it as a stepping stone (I think those rare cases when it does work are from folks who later realize they want something other than OT but didn't know it at the time they entered that field).

Hope this wasn't too negative for you. I do think OT can work for some people. Feel free to PM me if you have any OT specific questions.

Can you expand on the limitations of OT, as you see them? Do you think they result from the how OT is used within the wider system, given pragmatic constraints/incentives, or is it that you don't actually see OT practice making a difference, long-term? (What about neuro rehab?) What applied possibilities exist for doctoral-level OTs?

 

[cutemom2012]

As an OT now interested in pursuing medicine, you can ask me any questions you may have and I'll try my best to answer them.
MD, as I see it, is being at the front-lines of the disease process. As an OT, we got the patients after they were already "mended" by the physician and our role was to help them get back to their daily lives. E.g. helping them with toileting, grooming, dressing. As important as these tasks are, who is to say that with the normal progression of time, the patient wouldn't be able to get dressed independently after regaining their strength?
OT however, has a huge scope of practice. You may work for 10 years in pediatrics and then decide you want to jump in to mental health. Whereas in medicine it would require additional training (i.e. residency and/or fellowship), as an OT, you can pretty much do everything.
In OT school you learn the importance of occupation -- finding meaning in your life and getting satisfaction out of that. So if for any reason, someone was unable to engage in their meaningful occupations, an OT would assess the patient and develop a treatment plan to get that person back to engaging the occupation as independently as possible. Ironically, OT has shown me that I currently feel unfulfilled in this profession and that this isn't a meaningful occupation for me. (But many of my former classmates are plenty happy in this field!)

 

[10rin20]

As an OT now interested in pursuing medicine, you can ask me any questions you may have and I'll try my best to answer them.
MD, as I see it, is being at the front-lines of the disease process. As an OT, we got the patients after they were already "mended" by the physician and our role was to help them get back to their daily lives. E.g. helping them with toileting, grooming, dressing. As important as these tasks are, who is to say that with the normal progression of time, the patient wouldn't be able to get dressed independently after regaining their strength?
OT however, has a huge scope of practice. You may work for 10 years in pediatrics and then decide you want to jump in to mental health. Whereas in medicine it would require additional training (i.e. residency and/or fellowship), as an OT, you can pretty much do everything.
In OT school you learn the importance of occupation -- finding meaning in your life and getting satisfaction out of that. So if for any reason, someone was unable to engage in their meaningful occupations, an OT would assess the patient and develop a treatment plan to get that person back to engaging the occupation as independently as possible. Ironically, OT has shown me that I currently feel unfulfilled in this profession and that this isn't a meaningful occupation for me. (But many of my former classmates are plenty happy in this field!)

Thank you for your input!


I'm considering applying to medical school next cycle and maybe pursuing OT if no school accepts me.
But may I ask why you feel unfulfilled doing OT?
Because the description of OT you wrote sounds like what I want to do....

 

[cutemom2012]

If you know what you're getting yourself into, it's a great career. For me it was a personal decision and I always wanted to be on the "front lines". More of the actual medical or surgical procedure than restoring them after surgery.

 

[Member03405]

"Can you expand on the limitations of OT, as you see them? Do you think they result from the how OT is used within the wider system, given pragmatic constraints/incentives, or is it that you don't actually see OT practice making a difference, long-term? (What about neuro rehab?) What applied possibilities exist for doctoral-level OTs?"

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I've been away from the board for a few weeks. I feel that OT in and out of itself is a niche field which has been expending too much too quickly. In specific instances, i.e. stroke rehab or sensory integration for example, it can play a vital role in a patient's recovery or life in general. However many patients in acute care, acute rehab, SNF, home health and outpatient get OT when, in my opinion, it is not warranted. OT then ends up being some mix of nursing, pt and speech without bringing much to the table. As far as the cause, I agree that the current system is not conducive to best OT practice as it is very much productivity driven in a clinical environment (vs. true needs assessment in a patient's natural environment).
Concerning OT practice making a long-term difference, it's difficult for me to separate those patients with true needs from the bulk of those who only get OT because of how the system as a whole works. Again, in those with specific needs OT can have a significant impact. But the reality is that most patients OTs treat, regardless of setting, don't truly need anything from OT which couldn't be provided by PT, Speech, nursing or even Rec therapy.

Doctoral-level OT opportunities fall under 2 categories: an OTD, which is a clinical doctorate although many OTs use it as a gateway to academia, and PhDs in fields like OT or Occupational Science. The latter being only of interest to those strongly interested/invested in academia and research. Both options would require at least a couple years of clinical OT practice before admissions and are truly geared toward academia/research, even the OTD. If clinical practice is the goal, money would be much better spent of quality CEUs.

Please understand that I'm really not trying to bash a profession or just be a downer. OT has blessed me with great opportunities and allowed me to grow significantly as a person. That being said I do not ultimately find it fulfilling and it's actually been reminding every day of the fact that I've always wanted to be a doctor and that I am interested in medicine, not rehab. I would not recommend OT to most ppl as a career (with some exceptions of course), especially if they expressed interest in PT, Speech, nursing, PA or MD/DO.

One more thing to consider. While no one can predict the future, at least getting a sense of the current healthcare climate and the direction it might take is worth thinking about. OT has a difficult time distinguishing itself from the other therapies and nursing as its scope of practice overlaps the others. From a business standpoint, when trying to save money, the least well-known profession which doesn't appear to bring anything unique to the table (even if not always true) is likely to get the ax first. I do think OT will still be around for decades, but the current healthcare climate may very well pop the OT bubble so to speak. I don't feel all that confidence about the profession being able to sustain its own growth.

I'll try to check back more often. Let me know if you have any other questions or topic you'd like to discuss. Good luck with everything! Hope you can get as many shadowing/volunteering experience as possible to help you with your decision.

 

[10rin20]

"Can you expand on the limitations of OT, as you see them? Do you think they result from the how OT is used within the wider system, given pragmatic constraints/incentives, or is it that you don't actually see OT practice making a difference, long-term? (What about neuro rehab?) What applied possibilities exist for doctoral-level OTs?"

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I've been away from the board for a few weeks. I feel that OT in and out of itself is a niche field which has been expending too much too quickly. In specific instances, i.e. stroke rehab or sensory integration for example, it can play a vital role in a patient's recovery or life in general. However many patients in acute care, acute rehab, SNF, home health and outpatient get OT when, in my opinion, it is not warranted. OT then ends up being some mix of nursing, pt and speech without bringing much to the table. As far as the cause, I agree that the current system is not conducive to best OT practice as it is very much productivity driven in a clinical environment (vs. true needs assessment in a patient's natural environment).
Concerning OT practice making a long-term difference, it's difficult for me to separate those patients with true needs from the bulk of those who only get OT because of how the system as a whole works. Again, in those with specific needs OT can have a significant impact. But the reality is that most patients OTs treat, regardless of setting, don't truly need anything from OT which couldn't be provided by PT, Speech, nursing or even Rec therapy.

Doctoral-level OT opportunities fall under 2 categories: an OTD, which is a clinical doctorate although many OTs use it as a gateway to academia, and PhDs in fields like OT or Occupational Science. The latter being only of interest to those strongly interested/invested in academia and research. Both options would require at least a couple years of clinical OT practice before admissions and are truly geared toward academia/research, even the OTD. If clinical practice is the goal, money would be much better spent of quality CEUs.

Please understand that I'm really not trying to bash a profession or just be a downer. OT has blessed me with great opportunities and allowed me to grow significantly as a person. That being said I do not ultimately find it fulfilling and it's actually been reminding every day of the fact that I've always wanted to be a doctor and that I am interested in medicine, not rehab. I would not recommend OT to most ppl as a career (with some exceptions of course), especially if they expressed interest in PT, Speech, nursing, PA or MD/DO.

One more thing to consider. While no one can predict the future, at least getting a sense of the current healthcare climate and the direction it might take is worth thinking about. OT has a difficult time distinguishing itself from the other therapies and nursing as its scope of practice overlaps the others. From a business standpoint, when trying to save money, the least well-known profession which doesn't appear to bring anything unique to the table (even if not always true) is likely to get the ax first. I do think OT will still be around for decades, but the current healthcare climate may very well pop the OT bubble so to speak. I don't feel all that confidence about the profession being able to sustain its own growth.

I'll try to check back more often. Let me know if you have any other questions or topic you'd like to discuss. Good luck with everything! Hope you can get as many shadowing/volunteering experience as possible to help you with your decision.

Thank you for the informative opinion!
I appreciate it!


I shadowed a PM&R doctor for the first time last Friday and thought it was interesting.
But I felt like the doctor was just prescribing medications for the patients.
I want to help patients with exercise. Do PM&R doctors do that too? or that's physical/occupational therapists' job?

 

[Member03405]

Thank you for the informative opinion!
I appreciate it!


I shadowed a PM&R doctor for the first time last Friday and thought it was interesting.
But I felt like the doctor was just prescribing medications for the patients.
I want to help patients with exercise. Do PM&R doctors do that too? or that's physical/occupational therapists' job?

No problem! In my experience, PM&R doctors are not directly involved with the exercise component. At our facility, they handle the overall rehab medicine aspect of it including prescribing medication, determining when a patient is medically ready to go home or may need to be transferred to an acute hospital, medical plan of care discussions with family and referral to various specialists. They also have clinic hours where they see our former patients for follow-up appointments. Beyond that the patients are encouraged to connect with their PCP and any relevant specialist upon D/C. Most patients will have these appointments already scheduled by case management on their behalf so the discharge process can be as smooth as possible. We also have doctors from an outside medical practice who frequently come in for consults. Their role seems to be limited to medication prescribing and patient referral as they are based out of a local acute hospital from which we get many patients.

As interested as I am in medicine I will say that PM&R doesn't really appeal to me. That being said, it doesn't seem to be a bad job. The doctors at my facility have fairly regular hours and work 1 or 2 weekends a month. I do think at least one of them has several commitments outside of the facility itself, i.e. board meetings and lectures. They see a lot of deconditioned older folks, strokes, some brain injuries, some spinal cord injuries and a few peds patients. Many of these patients are quite involved, whether it be because of their injury itself, i.e. many ramifications of a brain injury caused by a 4 wheeler accident s/p craniotomy, or the plethora of chronic co-morbidities, i.e. obese with COPD, heart failure, kidney failure s/p bowel obstruction with MRSA and developing wounds. We also have a couple PAs who help lighten the load of the MDs a bit as we are a rather large facility. But as far as the exercise component of things, PT and OT do that...they gotta pay me for something 😉

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[10rin20]

No problem! In my experience, PM&R doctors are not directly involved with the exercise component. At our facility, they handle the overall rehab medicine aspect of it including prescribing medication, determining when a patient is medically ready to go home or may need to be transferred to an acute hospital, medical plan of care discussions with family and referral to various specialists. They also have clinic hours where they see our former patients for follow-up appointments. Beyond that the patients are encouraged to connect with their PCP and any relevant specialist upon D/C. Most patients will have these appointments already scheduled by case management on their behalf so the discharge process can be as smooth as possible. We also have doctors from an outside medical practice who frequently come in for consults. Their role seems to be limited to medication prescribing and patient referral as they are based out of a local acute hospital from which we get many patients.

As interested as I am in medicine I will say that PM&R doesn't really appeal to me. That being said, it doesn't seem to be a bad job. The doctors at my facility have fairly regular hours and work 1 or 2 weekends a month. I do think at least one of them has several commitments outside of the facility itself, i.e. board meetings and lectures. They see a lot of deconditioned older folks, strokes, some brain injuries, some spinal cord injuries and a few peds patients. Many of these patients are quite involved, whether it be because of their injury itself, i.e. many ramifications of a brain injury caused by a 4 wheeler accident s/p craniotomy, or the plethora of chronic co-morbidities, i.e. obese with COPD, heart failure, kidney failure s/p bowel obstruction with MRSA and developing wounds. We also have a couple PAs who help lighten the load of the MDs a bit as we are a rather large facility. But as far as the exercise component of things, PT and OT do that...they gotta pay me for something 😉

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you so much!
I really appreciate your input!
I'll do more research 🙂

Happy Holidays to you too!

 

[COTAstar]

I thought I'd chime in since I am currently an OT and am considering med school as well. I graduated about a year ago from OT school, after completing an undergrad degree in exercise physiology. Always wanted to become a doctor and never thought I could. I wasn't off to the greatest start in college and my sGPA is greatly suffering because of that so being in a position to even apply to med school would be quite a feat. I work in an acute rehab setting (for a for-profit company) and know that I will be doing so for a while longer at least since many things need to fall into place before I could make any sort of change. So please keep that in mind when you read the rest of my post.

As far OT is concerned, my experience during our school rotations and as a full-time OT is not quite as inspiring as I honestly thought it would be. OT can be great in specific niches but, in my opinion, has grown tremendously because companies quickly realized there was money to be made. Truth is, if you're going to go into a rehab field I'd recommend PT in a heart beat. Btw, all the so-called OT specific areas are actually included in the PT scope of practice. I was actually dumbfounded when I looked it up. All that stuff about helping people performing daily activities is way overblown. Most people can do what they need to do once they've built-up some strength/endurance and gotten enough rest to bounce back from whatever injury/illness they experienced. Working with kids is quite fun as an OT but the limited amount of time you can spend with them greatly diminishes the long-term impact you can truly make.

That being said OT has helped me grow tremendously as a person as well as professionally. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even be considering med school if not for the confidence OT has given me, in addition to many other great opportunities. As a piece of the puzzle for someone looking into the healthcare field and wanting the help people, OT can be a good choice. For someone with a very specific vision for their OT career, i.e. a niche they truly love and know they will be able to get into after graduation, OT can work too. But if you're considering OT now and maybe med school later, I would greatly advise to sincerely figure out which one of the 2 you would regret not trying if you looked back down the road. I'd also recommend looking at PTs and PAs, or even further into neurobiology if that's truly where your interest lies.

Now, remember it's coming from someone who wished they could start working toward med school right now. But nonetheless, most of my OT classmates are quite disillusioned with OT regardless of the setting they work in. OT as a stepping stone can work in some rare cases but be careful seeing it as a life-long career. I do second the idea that if you're considering med school right now you should truly figure out which one you want rather than go into OT thinking of it as a stepping stone (I think those rare cases when it does work are from folks who later realize they want something other than OT but didn't know it at the time they entered that field).

Hope this wasn't too negative for you. I do think OT can work for some people. Feel free to PM me if you have any OT specific questions.

Hi, I'm just an OTA student with a thought of going to OT or RN school after OTA. Your post is very interesting. I was CNA for awhile and honestly didn't like much RN's job, but because so many people keep bashing OT,now I have doubts if I want to go to grad school for it. I consider RN school as I would not mind to work in pediatrics or home care, or should I stay just as a COTA? Nursing is definitely not my dream job, but I was very good CNA and many nurses and patients were saying I would be a good RN, so it is something I know I could handle. My question is :would you, as a current OT strongly not recommend to become an OT, because you think it doesn't worth it, or you don't like it more because it is not your dream job, but you still think it is a decent profession?It is not very clear from your post. Also, could you give specific examples how OT overlaps Nursing? I don't understand it. Nurses do things for their patients, OTs teach patients how to do things themselves and be independent, so in what way it overlaps?I would appreciate your opinion on what profession to pursue. I'm torn between nursing and OT and would appreciate any advise from OTs, RNs, OTAs, MDs. What do you think about these two careers? People, please help!

 

[Member03405]

Hi! I'm not sure if anyone will see this response as it's been quite a while since this thread was active but I just noticed COTAstar's post and thought I'd reply anyway. I'm still an OT but my outlook has changed a little bit as far as my professional future is concerned. I still want to get out of OT but may end up going a different route as I'm not sure that the pros of being a doctor outweigh the cons at this time in my life, i.e. the enormous time, financial and emotional commitment vs the overall healthcare system/climate at the end of that long pre-med/med school/residency journey. I'm now looking at more academia and research based options.
As far as my recommendation for or against OT, my personal feelings obviously play a strong part. That being said, I do stand by what I had mentioned earlier in that OT in small specific areas can be great. The problem is that most people will end up working in a somewhat generic setting, i.e. inpatient rehab, outpatient, SNF or home health. In my opinion, most of the patients in those settings do not need anything "OT-specific". Truthfully I often feel like a glorified personal trainer unless I am working with someone like a brain injury patient. As far as being a decent profession, I do believe OTs are mostly decent people trying to help others. That is always commendable. However the healthcare system doesn't care much about that and, in my opinion, takes advantage of many professionals with good intentions, whether it be RNs, OTs, PTs, MDs etc. Unless you can successfully manage your own private business, the majority of employers will be money driven and aim to please their shareholders first despite what their PR may say. I'm definitely looking to better my future so I understand trying to find the best fit for you but I would strongly warn anyone against looking at any healthcare job as "a dream job". Again, lots of nice folks with good intentions end up having a serious reality check after school (myself included and across healthcare professions). I truly admire anyone being aware of the harsh realities of healthcare who is still willing to put themselves through school, including taking on serious debts, and work in their field year after year.

As far as OT vs RN, I would advise on RN if for no other reason that both jobs are physically taxing. As such, it will come a point when most people will want to move from a predominantly clinical job to a more administrative position. Most jobs between clinicians and higher management (which is the domain of business/management majors) require an RN degree. It's quite crazy actually to look at job descriptions as many OTs and PTs meet all the requirements except for the RN degree. It's somewhat of an unfair monopoly but it's worth knowing ahead of time as far as future career planning is concerned. OT is very self-contained, RN offers many more options.

"Nurses do things for their patients, OTs teach patients how to do things themselves and be independent, so in what way it overlaps?". That's actually the ideal that most people have in mind. The reality however is that I've wiped more butts than I could ever keep track of. For example, pts still need to go to the bathroom before they are able to do everything for themselves. When that happens in therapy, as the OT you are often expected to take them because a) OTs do ADLs and b) as such you can bill for it so no missed units/time wasted. Also, many patients may not be able to do that stuff before they leave your facility, if ever, and many would truthfully rather someone else do it for them. Again, many people will do it for themselves as soon as they can but in the meantime you have to help them. If someone is very deconditioned, it's a matter of time before they can dress themselves so there's really little to teach. Again OT is good in some situations but has grown tremendously and people, myself included, have bought into a rosy picture of something that doesn't truly exist.

Sorry to be a downer but I do feel the need to be honest when it comes to such a major decision. Regardless, hope you did make a choice you are happy with. Either professions would enable you to help others, just don't forget about keeping yourself healthy too 🙂