michelleinMA - question for you......

Nursing Students General Students

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I noticed you have a rad tech degree.

I am swinging back and forth between doing a BSN program or the Rad tech program. Both will take the same amount of time, cost about the same, job opportunities are plentiful for both, and pay in the area where I will be living is the same for RNs and Rad techs. With a BSN I could take it in any direction, and even go to grad school, but with the RT I could also specialize in things like Nuclear Medicine or Radiation Therapy. So, I have come to a dead tie on the objective reasons.:uhoh3:

Both interest me but I have noticed that some RTs go on to become RNs but I have never heard of an RN getting an RT degree.:confused:

What made you decide to pursue the RN?

I am curious because I have hit a wall of indecision. I was speaking with a nurse who said that all the RTs she has met at work like their jobs a lot and when she goes down to the dept, they seem pretty laid back and content with their work. OTOH, a lot of nurses seem dissatisfied but also say they would never leave nursing - it is challenging and rewarding.

I'm not who you asked the question of, but I'll just give some brief input. There are a couple of rad tech students who may chime in with some info on their program, too.

I was accepted to a rad tech program the year before I started nursing school (er, this year). When I went to do my shadowing, the nurse who was working with the IR team told me to run, not walk, away from nursing and pursue rad tech. Apparently she didn't have too big of an impact on me I guess. :chuckle

I also ran into a RT in our BSN division office the other day who's going to be applying to nursing school next year.

There are some great RT boards at http://www.radiography.com (or were, not sure they still exist since I haven't checked the link lately)

Have you had the opportunity to job shadow (spend a "day in the life") with both occupations? That might give you some further insight?

Good luck making your choice!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Hi Dollama,

Glad to hear you are interested in both fields! I did enjoy Radiography, but did not enjoy the extremely limited patient contact (think assembly line!) The RT clinical experience was actually longer than Nursing, but some of that was spent in a classroom at the hospital learning clinical skills.

As an older (34) returning student, I am looking for a career I will be happy with... yes, both careers are paying around the same right now and both have opportunities for advancement if you would like to specialize.

I am looking for the chance to educate patients about health, wellness and illness and to serve as a patient/ family advocate. I also really want to specialize in L&D and my dream is to become a Midwife.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions you have about Radiology. Things have changed over the past 14 years, but I'm sure I can help you!:)

okay I hope you don't mind me chiming in too! I am about to start a rad tech program on August 30th and am 100% sure that the rad dept is where I should be. I originally started out pursing nursing. I got my CNA certification and got a job working on a Peds and Urology (sp?) floor. I hated it. The pt contact was okay at first, but after about a week, it got to be overload. The same pt's, everyday, with the same complaints, the same ones pressing their call buttons, over and over and over. Now I know that this was mostly because I was an aide, but seeing the nurses with their mounds of paper work didn't do too much for me either. Nurses notes, charting, graphs, I/O's, it was too overwhelming! Then one day I had to transport a pt to the imaging dept for a chest x-ray. Turns out I knew one of the techs, and she showed me all around the dept, they had just gone digital so she showed me all of that, the CT scanner, the MRI suite and I was instantly intrigued. Also, the dept seemed so serene, so unlike the floor that I was currently working on. My friend who was already a tech said that the mornings were the most hectic, with barium enemas, upper GI studies, etc, but that the afternoon was much more calm, with the occasional trauma rolling in.

I soon quit my CNA job because I was about to go insane and started the pre-reqs for the RT program. One of those requirements was 8 hours of job shadowing spread over 2 days. I got to go in one morning and see the dept at it's most busy time. But it felt right to me, I felt like I was where I belonged, especially after observing a few MRI studies. That is what I hope to do one day. I was enrolled in a rad tech program last fall but due to life getting in the way, I had to withdraw after the first semester and now I am starting over. You couldn't pay me to go into any other field, nursing included.

I would recommend that you do some job shadowing in both nursing and rad tech. It can be a big eye opener on both regards. IMO, the RT's that go one to become RN's are those that crave more pt contact and want to have more of an educational role in a patient's care, if that makes any sense at all. For me, I would rather see a steady stream of pt's, get their films taken care of, and get them out the door. It really just depends on your personality I guess.

You can also feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions. And you can check the message boards at http://www.radiography.com they still exist, but you should check the archived boards, they have way more info than the newer discussions do. Good luck!

A

Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

A,

I'm so happy you have found a field that interests you! MRI is fascinating. Best wishes to you with school this year.

To the OP, I would also recommend shadowing an RT and RN for a day. For the RT program it was required before we were even considered for admission.

Good luck to all!

Thanks everyone for your input!!

It has been very helpful to hear both sides and your reasons for your current choice.

This obviously would not be the major reason for choosing a career but I have always liked how radiology depts are so low key. The lights are usually dim, its fairly quiet...Of course my only experiences are chest x rays and pregnancy u/s, I have never witnessed a GI series.:uhoh3: If I do go into nursing, most of my interest lies in non-inpatient specialty areas, like primary care dr office, or school nursing. Obviously different settings from a medsurg floor or ICU.

If I think of any more questions I will PM those of you who offered!

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