physiotherapy or occupational therapy??? (1 Viewer)

[poopoohead]

Hey, im starting uni next year- or the year after (assuming i get the results)- ive already put in my application. I put down law @ university of newcastle as my first preference with UAC (cos i lve in newcastle- i dont really want to move away). But now i really, really dont think i want to do law.

some of my other preferences included occupational therapy and physiotherapy. I was just wondering which course is better in terms of job prospects/oppurtunities- and the main difference between them. ive read the UaC book about them and went on the University of newcastle site, but does any one want to give me some of their thoughts. Cos im in a bit of a dilema- i thought i knew exactly what i wanted to do- but now im not sure.

my mum says i should be a physiotherapist cos i give good masages. lol but i really dont much else about the course. whether its interesting or what. Psychology is also on my preferences- and i heard that there is a bit of psychology in occupational therapy? i just dont know???

yeah- so can any one give me some advice??? thankyou

 

[hotpot]

Hey, im starting uni next year- or the year after (assuming i get the results)- ive already put in my application. I put down law @ university of newcastle as my first preference with UAC (cos i lve in newcastle- i dont really want to move away). But now i really, really dont think i want to do law.

some of my other preferences included occupational therapy and physiotherapy. I was just wondering which course is better in terms of job prospects/oppurtunities- and the main difference between them. ive read the UaC book about them and went on the University of newcastle site, but does any one want to give me some of their thoughts. Cos im in a bit of a dilema- i thought i knew exactly what i wanted to do- but now im not sure.

my mum says i should be a physiotherapist cos i give good masages. lol but i really dont much else about the course. whether its interesting or what. Psychology is also on my preferences- and i heard that there is a bit of psychology in occupational therapy? i just dont know???

yeah- so can any one give me some advice??? thankyou

Occupation therapy sounds like psychology, counselling, and some health related subjects mixed together... not too sure about it.

But physio is actually quite highly regarded with patients because they work in hospital (eg with brain/nerve damaged patients) or can open their own private clinic. And works to develop pt's motor skills, and so u might be seeing the same patient for weeks --> months, or work with injured atheletes etc. But u gotta put in the effort with physiotherapy because the course is actually pretty hard, needing quite a bit of neuroscience, maths and phys. Career oppotunity is decent.

 

[poopoohead]

thank you

sounds intesting...

 

[fearless86]

yeah i do physio and would choose it any day over OT too.

physio is like- working in hospitals or private practice, and rehabilitating people to strengthen their muscles, or treat their back ache or shoulder injuries or whatever. Prescribing exercises, doing massages, playing with machines such as electrical stimulation to directly treat their bodily dysfunctions. (i.e. physio is lots of fun)

OT is not directly treating their physical ailments, as facilitating someone's way of life and coping with their injuries. I.e. teaching them how to cook if they have one arm, if they just got a wheelchair- visiting their house and deciding where they need ramps and shower hand rails.

the people i know doing OT dont seem to mind it. and its a 3-year course as opposed to 4 yrs of physio, which is not bad. in both you need to do some psychology subjects.

 

[hipsta_jess]

ok, as someone currently doing OT, how about I set the record straight.

Physio and OT, we're often compared, and although we work very closely, we're very different too. We work in a variety of settings- hospitals, rehab, schools, private practice, you name it and we can be there.
We consider an occupation to be any meaningful task. Therefore, it is not only paid employment, but also education, showering, eating, dressing, toileting, the Sunday game of golf, you name it and it can be an occupation.
We believe that health can be promoted by participation in meaningful activities (for example, you might like running, and if I said 'jog on the spot every morning for 10 minutes' you would quite happily do that, whereas I find no meaning in that activity and ultimately would quit).
We break occupations into 3 broad categories- work/productivity, play/leisure, and activities of daily living (ADL's, showering, eating, dressing, etc). Theoretically, we can treat any of these, possibly all in one go in many cases. Depending on the setting though, you may only focus on one (eg, occ health looks solely at productivity, and in many acute hospital settings you'll focus on ADL's).
Our course is 4 years, and within that we must complete 1000 hours practical experience to gain our accreditation. In the fourth year, you may or may not choose to do your honours (it is still a 4 year course regardless). Our studies include psychology, sociology, anatomy, human bioscience (biology/chemistry type thing), occupational science (the study of why people choose the occupations they do) and occupational therapy.
I find other disciplines lack the 'meaningful occupation' bit that we do. I mean, you can ask someone "ok, do this action 20 times" or you can say "ok, I want you to reach for this cup 20 times" and pretty much invariably, as soon as you make it goal directed (the cup) you will get better results. There isn't as much physical contact with us (we don't have to be hitting someones back or anything), but we're just as hands on as other disciplines.
The course is damn hard work. Sure, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to do it, and I'm sure other uni's run their courses differently than what ours do, but ours is a constant butt kicking for 30 weeks of the year. That being said, it is the most fun I've ever had, OT's are all lovely people and you will make some of the best friends for life.