nursing or radiology tech????

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I am having a very difficult time deciding between nursing school or radiology school. Does anyone know which is harder? (yes i know they are both hard) Can you shadow a nurse or radiology tech at any hospital and how do you go about doing that? I am really interested in shadowing someone but I don't know how to do that. Also, those of you that have been through the program, did you think that the program was harder or the pre requisites? (math, biology, anatomy, physiology, etc.) Thanks for your time!!

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

I had the same problem when I started taking classes.

When started classes I wanted to be a Rad tech ( I was interested in being a MRI tech )and I remember that i have even said that I never want to be a nursing student due to the thick books that I've seen students with, way too much work lol.

But as time went by realised that I could'nt just stand all day and do the same things again and again as a Rad Tech , Ill get bored too quick.

So I had to evaluate my career choice. At this time I started taking A&P and I absolutely loved the Human Body and its functions and I found myself looking at Respiratory Therapy (I even shadowed a therapist) but I realised that I would only work with the Resp System and I wanted to be able to work with entire body (if that makes any sense) lol. I then decided to talk to Pre- Nursing students about Nursing and I found myself hooked to nursing and now I am starting the program this Fall.

Im scared to death about failure, because I want to do well and now I finally know what I want , I want to be a Nurse.

Definitely do some investigating before you get into a program. I suggest you to do some research, find Rad tech forums like , call Hospitals to see if you can shadow someone. And remember it doesnt matter how hard the program is but if it's something that you really want then you'll work your way through it.:up:

I wish you the best

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It really depends on what you are more interested in. Going to forums will definitely help you get an idea of what each field is about and you get to read about the prereqs, class experiences and clinical experiences, which can give you a better idea of what you would prefer. I would definitely encourage you to go into nursing if you have the passion to become one because the hard work does pay off. The length of school varies depending on what type of program you enroll into.

You can try calling hospitals and talking to unit managers about shadowing a nurse. They can let you know more information and may even guide you to the right place. Remember that nurses work all over the place not just hospitals so consider looking into shadowing a school nurse, a nurse in an elderly home or a nurse in the public health system just to name a few.

GOOD LUCK!!

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yes, you can job shadow in the radiology dept. I just spent the last 7 years as an x-ray tech & lost my job in January. So I'm going to nursing school. I loved being a tech, but there is more money & job security in Nursing. There are NO jobs here in Alabama for techs right now. Both are going to be hard, but if you want to succeed bad enough, you'll make it through. There are many more options with nursing, but you make the decision that is right for you. I'm keeping my RT license current in case I should decide to fall back on it, but I'm surging ahead into a Nursing career.

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