OT or Med School?

[lal116172]

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Hi, I am currently about to finish my second year of OT school. My program is a 5.5 year Bachelors/Masters program, so I'm really only in my second year of my bachelors. I have started to think about going to med school, so I was wondering if anyone has had this problem before?

I love my anatomy classes and I feel like I just want to learn everything there is about anatomy. Med school really interests me because I almost feel as if I am not being challenged currently.

My problem is that I cannot see myself leaving OT school either. I really do love OT and I enjoy going to my class. So it is not that I am not enjoying OT, I think I might want something more.

If anyone has had to make this choice before and had some advice that would be great! I told a friend and we discussed maybe finishing OT school and then going to med school but I don't know if it would be worth it to finish the masters degree and then go right into medical school. This started as a thought in the back of my mind, but now I find myself actively thinking about it every day. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I'm only a third-year medical student who went straight into med school from college.

Anatomy is one of my favorite classes in medical school. Unfortunately it was only 1 class + lab... for one semester.

There is a lot that goes into succeeding in medical school (not to mention taking on a load of debt (we're talking $100,000-$250,000 in debt depending on the school)). Do you have interest in learning:
Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Hematology/Oncology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Nephrology, Biostatistics?
How to take a full history and physical and arrive to a diagnosis and form a treatment plan?

If some/most of the topics interest you then maybe you should pursue it! Also according to some of my peers who came from other fields, if you have the itch become a physician, nothing will scratch it. Many of my peers are nurses, OT's, etc that wanted to go to medical school. They worked at their job for 5-20 years before deciding to take the plunge.

Maybe consider working in OT for a while before making the decision? While in OT I am sure you will work with many physicians and get a great perspective of what their jobs are like and the varying specialties and lifestyles!

Best of luck to you!

 

[beestrng]

I am in OT school atm. I am seriously considering medical school. Make sure you observe/shadow a dr before taking prereqs.

I would at least complete you BA portion of you degree. Med school is not a shoe in so having the MOT would not hurt either. Dont forget about debt etc.

 

[TBV]

I couldn't imagine being a PT or OT or even an RT, seems so boring

 

[Ismet]

Moving to pre-allo

 

[metopic]

You need to keep in mind studying OT is not the same as practicing it. Same with MD/DO. The first 2 years of medical school can be absolutely miserable for some people who end up loving the last 2 years and the next 40 years of their career. The daily life of an OT is very very very very different from that of a physician. Not to mention, there are many different things you can do with an MD that are very dissimilar.

I did a PM&R rotation and got to spend time just shadowing an OT because I wanted to see what it was like. I'd gouge my eyes out I'd be so bored doing that job. Zero intellectual stimulation. It is very, very different from practicing medicine.

So get out there and shadow both and see what you like!

 

[beestrng]

You need to keep in mind studying OT is not the same as practicing it. Same with MD/DO. The first 2 years of medical school can be absolutely miserable for some people who end up loving the last 2 years and the next 40 years of their career. The daily life of an OT is very very very very different from that of a physician. Not to mention, there are many different things you can do with an MD that are very dissimilar.

I did a PM&R rotation and got to spend time just shadowing an OT because I wanted to see what it was like. I'd gouge my eyes out I'd be so bored doing that job. Zero intellectual stimulation. It is very, very different from practicing medicine.

So get out there and shadow both and see what you like!

Not saying you are wrong here but what did you observe? I noticed that some OTs are good and some are not so good and robotic.

 

[metopic]

Not saying you are wrong here but what did you observe? I noticed that some OTs are good and some are not so good and robotic.

They helped people recovering from stroke, broken bones, steroid myopathy and other debilitating conditions that acutely reduced their functional status below their baseline. They would work with them for an hour or so a day on activities of daily living. They might help them take a shower one day, work on arm exercises and using kitchen stuff the next. I found it boring. It was like being a personal trainer, except you have to help people shower instead of bench press.

For me, I would be bored and hate it. But that's what is great about life, people like different things. The OT's there were very happy, enthusiastic, talented professionals.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be an OT, just that being an OT and an MD are very different. Make sure and get some shadowing done before you settle on one or the other. You really have to love medicine, or at least like it and be driven, in order to make it through the whole process.

 

[beestrng]

Yep pretty much what OTs do. Bring people base to their full functional potential. Wiping bathing all that.

I like OT but I was a MA for a doc for 6 years. I probably should have pursued that haha.