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I 10000% agree with you. I called up the nursing program (only one in my state has an accelerated BSN program) it's 41,500 for the 12-month program. This figure does not include the prereqs that would take about a year to complete. I would try to complete them as cheapy as possible by doing them at a 2-year transfer school. The BSN program is at a public school and does the instruction online and enables you to do the clinical training under a local nurse preceptor.
As for the OT schools, 3 in my immediate area. 2 private, 1 public. Public would run about 38k and requires additional prereqs (biology and statistics) than the standard A&P and psych courses. Next private school runs 44k and requires prereqs: A&P 1 and 2 and developmental and introductory psych. Also they want to complete a OT orientation and a medical terminology course that I can find only at there campus. The other private schools offers a flex program that would require classes 2 days a week for 2.5 years. The school costs about 66k. The only requirement for this school is A&P 1 and 2 and OT shadowing.
I asked the schools about starting salaries and the info varied. One school said OTs make 40k starting; another said 55k, another said 50k.
Hope this helps you advise me.
You might get a nice discount if you apply for financial aid. Since you are 26 and working/on your own, your parents income no longer comes into play. You should fill out the financial aid form and apply to see what YOUR cost will be.
I'm a 26 year old male and working at a hospital in a non-medical role. I graduated 4 years ago with a BA in history. Never got a job in my field so I just took any job I could get. I gained exp and applied for my current job and have been working here a little over a year. The hospital has an educational assistance program which I plan to use.
I narrowed it down to two options 1) nursing 2) occupational therapy.
For nursing I found an accelerated BSN that allow me to complete the degree within a year. However, I would need a year to complete the prereqs and a CNA license.
For occupational therapy, it'll take me a year for perquisites and 2 years for a master's degree.
What would you do?
My dad who is a physician didn't recommend OT because he thinks they are beholden to doctors for referrals, therefore limited. He thinks being a nurse is a good option because I could go on to be a nurse practioner and have prescribing powers. Do you agree?
Thanks in advance for any consul. I apologize if there are typographical errors, as I am typing this on my smart phone.
HistoryMajor, I had a B.S. in Dental Hygiene and wanted to switch to becoming an R.N. I looked at all my options (including the accelerated one year R.N. program). I was thinking then of going on for a master's as a nurse practitioner so that I could either practice or teach. I was told by two universities that no master's program would accept a one-year accelerated degree program nurse into an N.P. program. They said I could go on for just a master's in clinical nursing or management...but not the N.P. program. So, I went for a two-year A.A.S. in nursing and then for a master's in education so that I could teach in either nursing or dental hygiene.
Things may be different now, but check it out carefully before going into the accelerated degree program so that you don't get burned if an N.P. is in your future plans. Good luck to you. Nursing is a wonderful field. I loved it.
HistoryMajor, I had a B.S. in Dental Hygiene and wanted to switch to becoming an R.N. I looked at all my options (including the accelerated one year R.N. program). I was thinking then of going on for a master's as a nurse practitioner so that I could either practice or teach. I was told by two universities that no master's program would accept a one-year accelerated degree program nurse into an N.P. program. They said I could go on for just a master's in clinical nursing or management...but not the N.P. program. So, I went for a two-year A.A.S. in nursing and then for a master's in education so that I could teach in either nursing or dental hygiene.
Things may be different now, but check it out carefully before going into the accelerated degree program so that you don't get burned if an N.P. is in your future plans. Good luck to you. Nursing is a wonderful field. I loved it.
That is a very good point. Thank you. I did not know about that potential pitfall of the accelerated BSN programs. The program I researched was at a public school from a reputable program, but I will definitely ask them if that is true. That would be a major bummer to find that out after completing the degree.
If I went down the BSN track, I would definitely want to be a NP, perhaps specializing in psychiatry, surgery, or anesthesiology.
Speaking as a registered nurse. Your father is right. You are beholden to referrals from physicians. As a nurse there are myriads of avenues that you can go into. It is no longer the tradition where nurses work only in hospitals. As a nurse you can venture into different areas such as home-care, case management, public health nursing, private physician offices, teaching (be it an adjunct clinical professor, or university professor), cruise line nurses (yes, people get sick on cruise ships, who do you think is going to help take care of them, the captain?), the list goes on. You don't even have to be situated in one area. You can be a nurse case manager and moonlight doing home-care. Nursing is a field that I can definitely say there is job security and room to re-invent yourself however you want. Tell me if you can do the same in occupational therapy.
I have been a pre-PT for a number of years, and have decided for many reasons posted here to pursue the RN. It's not a cakewalk profession by any means and many people I don't think are cut out for it, but I believe it would work well for me considering my education and work background.
Nursing provides a number of options. Therapy (OT and PT) has not only experienced stagnant wages in the past 20 so years, the pay is going down. How much you are reimbursed for services is associated with how much revenue you can generate for a business and therefore how much salary you can expect to get. The therapist's salary has no association with how much schooling one has. (PT is now at the clinical doctorate level with no increase but decrease in earning potential).
Last edited by Mikelee81; 07-05-2014 at 05:02 PM..
That is a very good point. Thank you. I did not know about that potential pitfall of the accelerated BSN programs. The program I researched was at a public school from a reputable program, but I will definitely ask them if that is true. That would be a major bummer to find that out after completing the degree.
If I went down the BSN track, I would definitely want to be a NP, perhaps specializing in psychiatry, surgery, or anesthesiology.
Be sure you ask the people in the Graduate degree nursing program. Good luck to you!
My choice would be neither. If you have to do prerequisites, just go to PA school. Physician Assistants have much more freedom and you will have better employment opportunities.
I think you'll be bored with OT and if I'm right, you'll be right back in school.
What about being a physical therapist? I know you were asking about nursing or OT.
I was going to say the same thing, but PT is headed towards a PhD level requirement. Too much work and financial investment compared to Physician Assistant programs. PA programs are now even doing loan forgiveness, which proves there is a high demand.
Does anyone know the starting salary for an OT? Does it depend on specialty/ type of venue worked in? If so, which pay the highest?
I would ask these questions over at the indeed.com career forums
Not that the posters at CD don't have good advice, but the indeed folks can give you detailed answers to your questions. There is a great thread about regretting going into nursing you might want to check out
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Nursing or OT?
