Cardiovascular Tech to RN. Cath lab/IR or ICU/Med Surg/Tele?

firstinfamily, RN · Sep 28, 2014

It depends on what you want to do. It seems with your cath experience you would be a great fit for the cath lab, if you liked your environment there perhaps stay there. However, specializing this way will limit you later on. Same with ICU, although usually ICU is more broad than cath lab. Med surg will give you the broadest type of experience and most likely make you more marketable later on but it is a bear!! Get in where you can and branch out from there. Cath lab usually requires some critical care experience but with your experience already from that environment you may be able to work as an RN in that area. It is different for a RN than it is for a cath tech.

ArikPRN · Sep 30, 2014

Thanks for the advice! I'd like to maximize being a nurse. I've gotten both sides of advice, like "work in the Cath Lab or IR" and the "get some time in the ICU". I'd like to do everything but at the same time, this would also be my first nursing assignment. Maybe since I'm in an area where hospitals are looking for experience, I would perhaps go where I am hired. I wish my real dilemma was "which one should I pick" but unfortunately it's not. So with that, I would use my Cath lab experience as an asset instead of a detriment to myself.