Which is a better career being an occupational therapist or a nurse practitioner and why?

Question

I am having trouble deciding on careers, I have even thought about doing both. I would like to get some REAL and SERIOUS opinions about the careers and reasoning for answers. Thanks in advance for helpful answers.

Answer 1

The NP is sort of like a doctor where he or she can assess and evaluate medical conditions and provide treatment which may include prescription medication. The NP is more invasive with the patients and must already have gotten their bachelor's as an RN.

The OT is an allied health profession, but they don't do anything invasive such as give injections or such and helps people with physical and/or psychological problems to perform their ADL's (activities of daily living) such as bathing, dressing, eating, grooming more independently. The job of an OT can actually be quite physically as well as emotionally demanding which I'm sure is the same for the NP. The OT has many different responsibilities though than the NP. And just fyi, the OT programs are supposed to be quite competitive to gain acceptance into (which I'm sure that the NP programs are as well) with most applicants needing a 4.0 in prereq's and possibly even a 4.0 overall.

You may want to do some volunteer work (may even be required for either program) or at least to observe in an occupational therapy department (perhaps at the different kinds of sites such as hospital, nursing home, psychiatric unit, outpatient therapy) and a nurse's station within a hospital to observe the different tasks of each professional while being able to help others as well. For general volunteer opportunities: www.volunteerwatch.org and type zip code and area(s) of interest. Wishing you the best of luck and please remember that ol' adage, 'if you love what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life' :)

Answer 2

Nurse practitioner may pay more but it is also physically demanding. You are working with people who are dying (AIDS, cancer, etc). You have to clean up everything. My cousin went into the maternity ward because she was sick and tired of male patients coming on to her especially when their pants were off (for cleaning). They would actually get rude if she did not "do more" (in their words).
Occupational therapy you are helping people when they are recovering from an accident. You see them progressing even if the pace is slow. It however pays less.