Mental health nursing or occupational therapy?

[PennyPearl]

Hi all,

I'm a mature student and I have the opportunity to retrain but I can not decide between the two as they both seem similar in the sense of your working closely with people and helping them and that's what I want to do obviously but I don't know if one's a "better" profession than the other so I thought I'd ask people experiences of each profession and what you love or don't love about them?

I don't know if background matters but I'm late 20s with two young children.

It's mostly inspired by people on MN saying they wished they did OT but I was just wondering what other people thought.

Thank you

On a very practical note, the vast majority of MH nursing is shift work on the ward. Yes there are 9-5 community jobs but they are competitive to get into and you would always be expected to gain your experience on the wards. OT is much more 9-5. OT is still a very challenging job, but if you've got young children I'd say OT is a no brainer over MH nurse.

OT is the better role imo. Similar levels of training, but OTs go up the bands quicker and earn more. Both professions are understaffed though.

I was a mental.health nurse ,occupational therapy,for sure the hours are better and you would have .more autonomy you can still workI in a mental health setting ,but you wouldn't have the endless drudgery of nursing .

I am a mental health practitioner and work in the community which I love. Although my job is demanding and stressful at times (like most jobs) it's very very rewarding. I get to work with a wonderful team of OT's too.

If we have a client due to be discharged who I will support in the community the OT's will often visit and check the clients home first to check everything is in order and safe for the client to return home. Our OT's also support clients on the ward with going to do a shop and help them cook and prepare meals to assess their capabilities before discharge, they will also help set up a basic meal prep plan and shopping list. They are great.

Both roles are great. The mental health sector are desperate for mental health workers.

Whatever you choose, I wish you all the best 🙂

I have no professional experience of either and no experience of mental health nursing at all.

I can say I have seen occupational therapists/ nurses both in the community and in care home settings. This has been at a personal level due to my mother's decline with Alzheimer's.

It looks to be a very satisfying career and maybe with lower levels of stress than those working in a mental health capacity.

Good luck whichever route you choose

I’m an ex HCP (neither of your areas) and would say that if you don’t have a passion for MH nursing, go for OT. Better hours, less personal risk, lower risk of burnout, still plenty of opportunity for career progression, a wide variety of settings, patient contact, autonomous working but still with the support of a team.

I am a MH Nurse (now Manager) and I would plump for OT unless as a pp said you have a passion for MH Nursing. I manage OT's in my service and they are fantastic creative thinkers, develop treatment plans and generally have more flexibility.
In my geographical area most teams are desperate for Community Mental Heath Nurses, it is much less competitive than 10 years ago, so if you live in the SE you would pretty much have your pick of posts in both professions.

OT in mental health or learning disability services is what I would have done instead of nursing if I could rewind.

OT, much better hours, pay and more autonomy.

I’m a clinical psychologist and work with both. My experience is that MH nurses do a bloody amazing job and carry a lot of responsibility for some very complex clients. OTs similarly do a brilliant job but I would argue carry slightly less responsibility overall as they tend not to be the care co-ordinators. There are promotion opportunities with both. If I had to choose I’d go OT as the ones I know are less burnt out and have diversified into other areas of mental health more.

OT sounds like an easier life. Which may be a consideration esp for someone who already has two kids.

<girds loins for a clutch of OTs rushing in to tell me it's more stressful than air traffic control>

Depends how much you like baking, I suppose.

I’m an OT, I love it! Qualified 5 years ago and was able to build my career by going for non-traditional roles within charities until I had the experience to work myself up in specialised area in childrens services in NHS. I’m now a band 7 with flexible hours/term time only and love what I do. Very rewarding, though probably not all OTs feel the same way as I know those who work on wards are constantly under pressure to assess to discharge.

Ive never worked in a hospital though, only ever with children in the community/schools.

DH is a MH nurse, I’m an OT. We would both say go for OT. Only downside is that if you’re particularly interested in MH, you still have to do the full range of physical placements for the training. I hated all my physical placements and couldn’t wait to focus in on MH.

I'm a paediatric nurse and I love it. But I'd love to be an OT!

Not sure I can weight in here OP but I’m currently training to be an adult nurse and just had a placement in a mental health unit, I loved it so much I’m considering doing a top up in a few years!

OT training is dual so qualify to work for physical and mental health, any age from neonates to 100 + and full range of conditions. You'll do placements across several areas, but definitely across physical and mental health. Over that time you will find something you love, and if not there are still some mixed rotations for band 5s across mental and physical. Likely to be less shift work depending upon where you work. More choice as to where you work e.g huge variety in NHS, social care, private settings, prisons, schools, charities and other 3rd sectors.

I am an OT working in older persons mental health services. Its great and really interesting. I love my nursing colleagues but their job seems to be more care coordination than actual nursing. OTs often work generically in mental health services so technically you could do a mental health practitioner job as an OT, which is traditionally a nurse job. OT is so diverse, I have worked both in phyisical health and mental health as well as ward and and community! Lots of opportunity for change! Plus every OT I know is lovely! Good luck whatever you decide!

I think you need to do some research as they’re really quite different roles, though can work with the same clients.
I was torn between midwifery and OT, but chose OT due to the likelihood of securing a job with hours to work around my children as a single parent.
Id go along to the uni open days and book in on the lectures for Mental health nursing, OT, and any other professions you think you might consider.
Id also do some brief reading on the philosophy of OT as I am a massive believer in it, but not everyone is.