OTD/NP/PA

[reems112]

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Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well during these crazy times! I was looking through this forum and was seeing many different topics and students going through career changes etc. I recently just got accepted into an OTD program which Im very excited for but I wanted some insight. I have heard that overall with NP and PAs its getting really hard to find a job. Moreso getting into PA school each and every year is just extremely competitive. Even people with the perfect scores and GPAs are having a hard time of wedging themselves in. My friend has been through 4 admission cycles already for PA school and she ultimately chose going down the NP route. I have always been interested in OT and i know every job does has its pros and cons. Would sticking to this route be more beneficial rather than going the NP/PA route? If I were to have a career change later in the future would it be best to stick to the NP route? At the same time I was applying to OTD program I was also applying to DPT programs as well because that was my top choice. However I got waitlisted at most schools and was only accepted into two programs that were not very decent, whereas with the OTD program I got accepted into one of the top schools known for occupational therapy. And at that point it was a no brainer for me which I wanted to pick.
Long story short, my questions were just the fact that is a NP position greater than becoming an OTD? I know they get paid higher and well but is it satisfying ultimately? I have shadowed in various settings and I know I would be happy doing either or. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I don't plan on switching anytime soon but it would be good to know as to what the job outlook looked like in the upcoming future for these careers.

 

[shevchenko277]

Congrats on your acceptance! I think it depends on which one you can envision yourself enjoying more as a career. If you go the accelerated BSN route and then NP, the cost can be less than an OTD program depending on instate fees etc. with a higher earning potential. Both are respectable professions while OTD is more focused on rehab therapy, NP is broader and a wider scope of practice. However, there have been certain negative connotations associated with some online only NP schools and the challenge of finding a preceptor in some areas.

Overall the NP route may be the same length or take a little longer than the 4 years for OTD since it’s recommend to work as an RN for a little while to gain experience before entering an MSN program. On paper, the NP route looks better at the moment but could become more saturated in the future. I think you should weigh the pros and cons and choose the once you can actually see yourself doing.

 

[reems112]

Congrats on your acceptance! I think it depends on which one you can envision yourself enjoying more as a career. If you go the accelerated BSN route and then NP, the cost can be less than an OTD program depending on instate fees etc. with a higher earning potential. Both are respectable professions while OTD is more focused on rehab therapy, NP is broader and a wider scope of practice. However, there have been certain negative connotations associated with some online only NP schools and the challenge of finding a preceptor in some areas.

Overall the NP route may be the same length or take a little longer than the 4 years for OTD since it’s recommend to work as an RN for a little while to gain experience before entering an MSN program. On paper, the NP route looks better at the moment but could become more saturated in the future. I think you should weigh the pros and cons and choose the once you can actually see yourself doing.

Thank you so so much!!

 

[pamac]

Look at what you want to do on a daily basis. Becoming an NP only makes sense to me if you can see yourself satisfied doing nurse work for a while, because that’s one of the checkpoints along the path to getting an NP degree. You could make it through to becoming an NP without spending much time as an RN at all, but it’s very rare that it works out that way. Nothing compels you to get into the dirty work of being an RN, and you can certainly find a way to skate through a number of different avenues. I’ve seen a handful of nurses do that. It would have been tortuous for me to navigate RN training if I knew it was just a stepping stone to becoming an NP. That’s not to say it wasn’t mostly a stepping stone, but it was a stepping stone that I enjoyed for the most part. That makes a difference. What I’ve always appreciated was the security of being an RN as a backdrop, the in depth exposure to healthcare I received, and the job satisfaction and camaraderie I enjoyed as a nurse. With all that came the sheer labor involved in the nursing I did. There are easier nursing roles than the ones I filled, but a lot of those roles require networking, as well as existing experience. There are tons of RN roles out there that range from school nurse, to public health nurse, to ER nurse, to employee health nurse, but jumping around among them can be hard, and you see folks settle in to the role they like best eventually. It can be hard to make jumps or enter certain roles if you don’t have some experience as a floor nurse to start with. And floor nursing is bruising.

I feel like if you like what you do, and are good at it, you can find satisfaction in any of the roles you’ve considered. Some careers are hot right now, but I’ve rarely thought about the latent lucrative nature of anything I’ve wanted to go into. Is it thought to find a job as a PA or NP or PT or pharmacist these days? It can be. The key is to be determined to be among the winners in each field. I’m in psyche, and psyche is hot, but it might not always be. I’m seeing FNPs and PAs getting into it and trying to cash in on what they think is good money and better lifestyle. I’m also seeing most of them crash and burn compared to those of us that are invested in psyche in ways they never did. It’s not like what they expected, and a long term relationship with a patient for a psyche issue is a lot different than handling a psyche issue as another provider. But my point is that folks who want to do the job they are in end up good at it in ways that make them successful overall. I can essentially name my price within reason. My friends that are good at what they do in other fields can do the same thing. Saturated job markets don’t matter to us. Therapists, physicians, NPs, PAs, etc send their patients to me. They seek me out. They know that I care. Employers wanted me when I was new because my name was out there from when I did rotations in the community. I networked and reached out to meet providers, even if just to introduce myself. Do the same kind of things as an OT, PA, or NP, or even a PT, and you’ll be doing more than 99% of everyone else in your field. If you want to sit around and just look for jobs, then you will feel what a saturated job market looks like.

One big caveat is that there is saturation. It is a thing. Your competition as an Np or PA will be experienced RNs who have worked as RNs, and they know the ropes of navigating the job market. They will tend to be older, and have played the game of networking as nurses. We jockeyed for jobs before within the RN world, and we know how to market ourselves. I honestly wouldn’t want to be a new grad PA right now due to debt, and due to the fact that the field has turned into everyone’s first real jobs when they come out of school. They marketed it as medical school lite, and their grads are young and fresh, and coking out of school at 25 with $150k+ of debt, and are having a hard time. I don’t know if that is every going to change. And the wages aren’t what they used to be. However, none of that really matters of being a prescriber isn’t what you really want to do. In essence, my suggestion is to pursue what you really want to do, rather than simply looking for a good career. People look at what I do, and think they know what I do, but they don’t see the day to day work I put in, or certainly what I did to get where I’m at. They also don’t see what I have to do at home to stay caught up on my role, between charting, continuing education, and reading to keep sharp. Even peers in other NP realms think they want to do what I do. But find what you want to do and chase it.

 

[reems112]

Look at what you want to do on a daily basis. Becoming an NP only makes sense to me if you can see yourself satisfied doing nurse work for a while, because that’s one of the checkpoints along the path to getting an NP degree. You could make it through to becoming an NP without spending much time as an RN at all, but it’s very rare that it works out that way. Nothing compels you to get into the dirty work of being an RN, and you can certainly find a way to skate through a number of different avenues. I’ve seen a handful of nurses do that. It would have been tortuous for me to navigate RN training if I knew it was just a stepping stone to becoming an NP. That’s not to say it wasn’t mostly a stepping stone, but it was a stepping stone that I enjoyed for the most part. That makes a difference. What I’ve always appreciated was the security of being an RN as a backdrop, the in depth exposure to healthcare I received, and the job satisfaction and camaraderie I enjoyed as a nurse. With all that came the sheer labor involved in the nursing I did. There are easier nursing roles than the ones I filled, but a lot of those roles require networking, as well as existing experience. There are tons of RN roles out there that range from school nurse, to public health nurse, to ER nurse, to employee health nurse, but jumping around among them can be hard, and you see folks settle in to the role they like best eventually. It can be hard to make jumps or enter certain roles if you don’t have some experience as a floor nurse to start with. And floor nursing is bruising.

I feel like if you like what you do, and are good at it, you can find satisfaction in any of the roles you’ve considered. Some careers are hot right now, but I’ve rarely thought about the latent lucrative nature of anything I’ve wanted to go into. Is it thought to find a job as a PA or NP or PT or pharmacist these days? It can be. The key is to be determined to be among the winners in each field. I’m in psyche, and psyche is hot, but it might not always be. I’m seeing FNPs and PAs getting into it and trying to cash in on what they think is good money and better lifestyle. I’m also seeing most of them crash and burn compared to those of us that are invested in psyche in ways they never did. It’s not like what they expected, and a long term relationship with a patient for a psyche issue is a lot different than handling a psyche issue as another provider. But my point is that folks who want to do the job they are in end up good at it in ways that make them successful overall. I can essentially name my price within reason. My friends that are good at what they do in other fields can do the same thing. Saturated job markets don’t matter to us. Therapists, physicians, NPs, PAs, etc send their patients to me. They seek me out. They know that I care. Employers wanted me when I was new because my name was out there from when I did rotations in the community. I networked and reached out to meet providers, even if just to introduce myself. Do the same kind of things as an OT, PA, or NP, or even a PT, and you’ll be doing more than 99% of everyone else in your field. If you want to sit around and just look for jobs, then you will feel what a saturated job market looks like.

One big caveat is that there is saturation. It is a thing. Your competition as an Np or PA will be experienced RNs who have worked as RNs, and they know the ropes of navigating the job market. They will tend to be older, and have played the game of networking as nurses. We jockeyed for jobs before within the RN world, and we know how to market ourselves. I honestly wouldn’t want to be a new grad PA right now due to debt, and due to the fact that the field has turned into everyone’s first real jobs when they come out of school. They marketed it as medical school lite, and their grads are young and fresh, and coking out of school at 25 with $150k+ of debt, and are having a hard time. I don’t know if that is every going to change. And the wages aren’t what they used to be. However, none of that really matters of being a prescriber isn’t what you really want to do. In essence, my suggestion is to pursue what you really want to do, rather than simply looking for a good career. People look at what I do, and think they know what I do, but they don’t see the day to day work I put in, or certainly what I did to get where I’m at. They also don’t see what I have to do at home to stay caught up on my role, between charting, continuing education, and reading to keep sharp. Even peers in other NP realms think they want to do what I do. But find what you want to do and chase it.

This was amazing advise! Thank you so much!

 

[DownJonesIndustrial]

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well during these crazy times! I was looking through this forum and was seeing many different topics and students going through career changes etc. I recently just got accepted into an OTD program which Im very excited for but I wanted some insight. I have heard that overall with NP and PAs its getting really hard to find a job. Moreso getting into PA school each and every year is just extremely competitive. Even people with the perfect scores and GPAs are having a hard time of wedging themselves in. My friend has been through 4 admission cycles already for PA school and she ultimately chose going down the NP route. I have always been interested in OT and i know every job does has its pros and cons. Would sticking to this route be more beneficial rather than going the NP/PA route? If I were to have a career change later in the future would it be best to stick to the NP route? At the same time I was applying to OTD program I was also applying to DPT programs as well because that was my top choice. However I got waitlisted at most schools and was only accepted into two programs that were not very decent, whereas with the OTD program I got accepted into one of the top schools known for occupational therapy. And at that point it was a no brainer for me which I wanted to pick.
Long story short, my questions were just the fact that is a NP position greater than becoming an OTD? I know they get paid higher and well but is it satisfying ultimately? I have shadowed in various settings and I know I would be happy doing either or. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I don't plan on switching anytime soon but it would be good to know as to what the job outlook looked like in the upcoming future for these careers.

I think people have a hard time understanding the entirety of what OT does. I know I do. I have referred patients to them, took my kid to one once, and have watched them in action.

Would being a NP be satisfying to you? Well, if you look across SDN (and I'm new here) you'll see a large swath of physicians who think NPs are absolute idiots. You'd work with those, physicians who like and accept you, and other who treat you well publicly and disparage you privately. I'm too old to care what they think, but if you're in a collaborative or supervisory state or even an independent practice state the "gods of medicine" will likely look down upon you, and I'm referring to physicians.

As a NP, you'll have to become a RN first, possibly work as one for some period of time, and sort of accept that. I really had no great comprehension of what nurses do when I went through nursing school as a career changer. There was a heavy emphasis on toileting people throughout the first semester. People need to potty, I get it, but the level of emphasis seemed puzzling. We learned how to change bedding with bodies lying in them. I went with 20 year olds and saw them get super geeked out putting in urinary catheters (which I've only done once and still feel traumatized by it) and other tubings. People say nurses get used to poop. Could you? I did not. You could work part-time as an OT throughout nursing school. You have both the intellect and study skills. I held a full-time, non health job throughout nursing school.

Finally, you become a NP. What specialty and what practice environment? That largely drives fulfillment. Clinic vs inpatient? Fee for service vs salary? Supervised vs autonomous. What work environment are you looking for? I like what I do, but I'm actually tired of it if that makes sense. When I "chose" this profession I was looking for a specific set of work activities not necessarily a role or vocation. From my observation, patients seem to have pretty nice relationships with their NPs. It's definitely a worthwhile endeavor if all the negative I've described above is something you can accept. You might even find a niche working with a physiatrist in a rehab setting or something.

 

[reems112]

I think people have a hard time understanding the entirety of what OT does. I know I do. I have referred patients to them, took my kid to one once, and have watched them in action.

Would being a NP be satisfying to you? Well, if you look across SDN (and I'm new here) you'll see a large swath of physicians who think NPs are absolute idiots. You'd work with those, physicians who like and accept you, and other who treat you well publicly and disparage you privately. I'm too old to care what they think, but if you're in a collaborative or supervisory state or even an independent practice state the "gods of medicine" will likely look down upon you, and I'm referring to physicians.

As a NP, you'll have to become a RN first, possibly work as one for some period of time, and sort of accept that. I really had no great comprehension of what nurses do when I went through nursing school as a career changer. There was a heavy emphasis on toileting people throughout the first semester. People need to potty, I get it, but the level of emphasis seemed puzzling. We learned how to change bedding with bodies lying in them. I went with 20 year olds and saw them get super geeked out putting in urinary catheters (which I've only done once and still feel traumatized by it) and other tubings. People say nurses get used to poop. Could you? I did not. You could work part-time as an OT throughout nursing school. You have both the intellect and study skills. I held a full-time, non health job throughout nursing school.

Finally, you become a NP. What specialty and what practice environment? That largely drives fulfillment. Clinic vs inpatient? Fee for service vs salary? Supervised vs autonomous. What work environment are you looking for? I like what I do, but I'm actually tired of it if that makes sense. When I "chose" this profession I was looking for a specific set of work activities not necessarily a role or vocation. From my observation, patients seem to have pretty nice relationships with their NPs. It's definitely a worthwhile endeavor if all the negative I've described above is something you can accept. You might even find a niche working with a physiatrist in a rehab setting or something.

Thank you for that. I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding what the world of rehabilitation actually does do. So yes I agree with you in complete entirety on that. But yes, I see where you are coming from and yes I agree that a lot of people do end up looking down on NPs. Either way, I know I will be satisfied with having a career in OT. And if I do happen to change anything down the line it would be way way later. Not anytime soon. I appreciate your input though so thank you!