Telemetry Tech position VS. Nursing Assistant

Specialties Cardiac

Published

I was wondering if I could get some good feeback from some experienced nurses as to which position would be more valuable for my future. I am a nursing student (RN) and have the opportunity to work as a Nursing Assistant on a heavy med-surg/ortho floor OR as a Telemetry Tech. My ultimate goal as I become an RN, is to be in the ER or a Critical Care Unit. I have one year left as a student and I want to use it wisely. THANK YOU!!

ok but what is the starting salary?

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Salary is going to vary by location, not sure anyone can give you a good idea on that. Have you checked the state forums? Might get a more specific answer there. Where I live, the pay is on par with a PCA/CNA.

I have worked as both and will say it depends heavily on the job description. Is the tele tech only watching the monitors and reading strips or are there other responsibilities? Some hospitals use their tele techs for multiple positions. Where I worked, all the tele tech did was watch the monitors and read tele but I know another local hospital also has their tele tech function as a unit secretary. A larger hospital nearby has multiple tele techs who also function as limited PCAs (taking turns covering the monitors to attend to other things like vitals, I/O's etc).

Personally, I'd take the tele tech job. Everything you would do as a CNA you will learn to do in nursing school and it's likely you'll practice at every clinical. This is the stuff you'll be most comfortable with as a new grad. Depending on your program, you may or may not spend much time learning the rhythms well enough to be comfortable with them right out of school--especially if you never have to clinical on a tele floor. My hospital's policies won't allow me to sign off on telemetry strips as an RN because I haven't completed Level I and ACLS yet but even the most experienced nurses will ask my opinion on rhythms because of my tele tech experience (where all I did was read rhythms for hours on end).

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Ok let me try this again:

"Could any of you folks who have worked as Telemetry Techs please let me know what the starting salary is for your location?"

(first line of my previous question):rolleyes:

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Starting in my area, northeastern Oklahoma is about 10.50$. Thats without differential. CNA's get about 9$ to start with. We are a centralized monitoring unit so we watch the whole hospital from our unit. Everything from med-surg tele to a couple of the ICU's in the hospital. We also do bed charging and patient census. We also monitor continous pulse ox's and sometimes we help nurses read 12 lead EKGs.

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Starting in my area, northeastern Oklahoma is about 10.50$. Thats without differential. CNA's get about 9$ to start with. We are a centralized monitoring unit so we watch the whole hospital from our unit. Everything from med-surg tele to a couple of the ICU's in the hospital. We also do bed charging and patient census. We also monitor continous pulse ox's and sometimes we help nurses read 12 lead EKGs.

Wow I sure won't be able to quit my other part time job if they're only gonna pay me $10.50 to start off. But if the work is enjoyable then I'd take it.

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Specializes in med surg/cardiac.

I live in IL and CNAs start around $12, a little more for tele techs. $16 or so I believe. Check out salary.com for ur area.

I worked as a CNA, unit secretary, and a tele tech for a couple years before and during nursing school in a hospital. I currently work as an RN on a cardiac floor. Although the tele experience was great, and made me more comfortable, I dont think it was the most beneficial. If you end up working on a cardiac floor or a critical unit they will teach you the rhythms. If you thinking you want to work in ICU it will make it easier for you to interpret the rhythms. It will look good on a resume. A dual role would be great if you can get hired on a tele unit! It was great experience to come in and have different experience everyday. Working as a CNA makes you more comfortable with the patients and the general health care setting and routine. If you have never worked in healthcare that is probably your best choice. And if you go into ICU it would help because you will be the primary caregiver. Dont downplay working as a CNA, or glorify a tele tech. Both are hard work, just different types; and both will give you good experience.

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please do you need any kind of certification to work as a telementary tech?

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Specializes in Cath Lab/ ICU.

You need to be tele certified. That just means you've taken, and passed, an ekg course.

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If you are trying to go for emergency or critical care then ultimately tele tech is the way to go. Nurse aide shows you are willing to work hard (for not enough money haha) and it also gives you a general orientation to nursing. With the tele tech job though you will be (hopefully) forced to learn at least the general idea to all of the basic dysrhythmias, and then hopefully if you have a full year before you begin to work you will really learn to pick out the small stories that the rhythm will tell you. This will give you a valuable head start in either the ED or the critical care areas.

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Wow I sure won't be able to quit my other part time job if they're only gonna pay me $10.50 to start off. But if the work is enjoyable then I'd take it.

How much did you figure on making? Bear in mind the average starting nursing salary is only between 18 and 25 dollars, and of course the region you live in is the big deciding factor. Unfortunately when it comes down to it, despite all the training and knowledge required, healthcare jobs are treated as vocational jobs, and as such unrelated previous experience really has no bearing on salary or things of that nature.

The tele techs at the facility where I work make significantly more than the nurse aides, which in my opinion is absurd. Some of them have extensive interpretation skills, but the basic skills they are required to have for the job are no greater than that which we expect our nurse aides to have on my unit, and the tele techs are running their tails off the entire shift with us as the aides are. I don't think that the tele tech pay is wrong, I just think the nurse aides should be paid equally.

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