nursing / mri tech dilemma

[poli21]

[color=#333333]hello everyone,

[color=#333333]i'm trying to decide between 2 programs - nursing and mri (ct) tech. i've never thought about becoming a nurse, but while taking prerequisites 90% of my peers were going into nursing and that's when i started to think. i want to be in the field in which there are always possibilities to grow and learn. i don't want to get stuck and not be able to advance. up till now, i was thinking about going into an x-ray program (as) -> bsn in mri (ct) -> and then becoming a radiologist assistant but i've never met one and i don't know what are the chances of me becoming one. what i like about nursing is all the different fields you can specialize in, job security and room for advancement. i don't think i'd be good at or enjoy bedside care so i'd have to look into all the other options. some nurses i've met tried to discourage me saying it's way more demanding than i think, that bedside care is very hard and that patients nowadays behave as if they were in a hotel and not a hospital.. taking into account that my interest in nursing is pretty recent, i really have a hard time deciding. i need to decide quick so any thoughts / advice will be very appreciated. thanks!

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

Ask yourself why you are interested in both fields. Being a nurse is much more than procedures. You are a caregiver. If that doesn't appeal to you, then you're looking at the wrong field.

Being a rad tech is more procedural. Yes, it helps if you have a good beside manner, but your focus is performing a specific task (e.g. MRI, CT scan , XRay, etc.), not on holistic patient care.

Don't let potential salary be the deciding factor. You want a career that will interest you & make you feel fulfilled. If the thought of poop, urine and other bodily fluids grosses you out or having to "deal" with a patient isn't what you want, nursing might not be the right avenue for you.

Make a list of pros & cons for each job and see which one ends up more appealing to you.

I have a friend who is a rad tech working on her bachelors. She LOVES her job and wouldn't even think about becoming a nurse. It all boils down to what makes you tick.

[njmomstudent]

I suggest shadowing both if you can. Quite honestly, I thought about being a rad tech for 5 minutes before I decided on nursing, because there are so many options. I recently went down with a patient to get a CT for possible CVA and O>M>G. I WAS SOOOOO bored. Kudos to those that can do it. I almost lost my mind sitting there for 30 minutes, let alone all day. The only one that will be able to tell is you, so I would go and beg to see if you can shadow one. Same goes for different types of nursing. I am so incredibly thankful that our clinicals are rounded and we get experience everywhere from med/surg to dialysis to ER ICU stepdown and cath lab, homecare, hospice, community, OR, peds, maternity, L&D, LTC and whatever else I'm missing. It really gives you an apportunity to see what you like (not that you'll get a job there right away, but atleast you know).