Nursing or Sonography???

Yes most often it can be stressful for any great number of reasons--many of them occurring at the same time a good amount of the time. Office politics is a major issue in nursing--you have to get past the honeymoon phase to see how it can really be--unless you are one of those super lucky nurse. (I've been that a few times.) Office politics is one thing, but when you throw it is with severe cattiness and insecurity and having to so carefully dot all you "i's" and cross all your "t's" while keeping patients safe and protecting your license as well--honestly, it can be very hard. And you really have to have very tough skin in order to work in many places as a nurse--especially critical care and other specialty areas. There are actually nurses that are ever on the prow to find fault--as if most nurses don't really want to be good, safe nurses in their heart of hearts. It's more a function of insecurity I see in the field. And it's be that way for YEARS. . .and short of the coming of God, at least to some degree, it will stay that way. You can only hope to find as little of it as possible--but good luck with that.

Personally, I can deal with the blood--I mean I've been saturated with human blood any number of times. I can deal with *****, pee, vomit, and dear Lord, even sputum--but sputum is one of those things that especially skeeves me out---and I am a critical care nurse. Most of all my patients have been on ventilators at one point or another--whether adults or kids or babies. I can deal with being bombarded with patients and piles of orders and no clerks and codes and back to bend IV meds that are incompatible with limited line access and the need to give blood asap as well. It's a pain in the butt, and nothing is perfect and neither is anyone. But what is the toughest thing to deal with is the cattiness, insecurity, lack of open, truly honest, effective communication, lack of collegial spirits, pitting nurses against other nurses, excessive hyper-criticalness and faultfinding. That is what makes nursing sucky. It's not all the holidays, 12 hours back to back to back or worse yet 12 on then off then 12 on again, nor is it the horrendous night shifts that they only pay you 10 or 15% diff. for--as if that makes up for the hell that it plays on your body.

Now ultrasound techs and the like--generally much better hours--generally work autonomously--so less direct back biting and cut throat antics, at least when you are trying to do the job. Generally less of all the other stuff I referred to as well. Generally salaries aren't all that much different.

Now, is it as intrinsically rewarding as nursing? Well I guess it depends on your POV; but I'd tend to say "No way."

You've got to do it b/c you love what you are learning and do, but most of all you really, truly care about he patients and families. And this is something I often see missing anymore in nursing. People learn the theory, learn even a lot of medicine, technical things, pharm things, all kinds of interesting things, and even the basic nursing process and other relevant processes. But they are, at least at times it seems to me, kidding themselves about a deeper sense of caring and empathy for patients and families. Don['t get me wrong. Probably most of the nurses I've been fortunate enough to work with do care--though they may have different ways of expressing and dealing with the bumps and lumps of caring. But I've also seen nurses that just want to deal with the technical aspects of nursing--or being promoted up the ranks--or working in some ICU primarily b/c they want to do that so they can get into anesthesia school and make six figures, etc. And it's not wrong to do the technical well or be promoted up the ranks, or go to anesthesia school--really it isn't. But for some, it just seems like this whole means to an end. And no matter what they do, at the end of the day, even if they cry when a patient dies or express certain things emotionally, in generally they just don't have that real heart of a nurse. IMHO, some folks have it, and some do not. You can learn the theory and technical things and increase your knowledge bases infinitely. You can learn how to "play the game" and move up the ladder, etc. But it doesn't mean you will ever truly know true empathy for your patients and families--even when they may not be the greatest of patients or families to take care of.

IMHO, the truth of that is know by God, the patients themselves, and perhaps their families, if they are around you enough to really sense it. They are the ones that know if it is in you--they and of course, well, you know. Sometimes some really close colleagues know as well. But I've seen a number of folks play a good game or avoid it by way of "professionalism" or by staying very business--and being Oh so technically talented. Again, I've been fortunate to have worked with so many that I believe truly do have that genuine heart of nursing. But I've also worked with some that seem proficient in many other ways as nurses, but they just don't have that same heart and soul for it--empathetically speaking.

So only you can decide where your heart and passion is and what you want. School has gotten to expensive to play "hit or miss" with choosing a path. If you want better hours, siimilar pay, and generally less stress and guff (not saying you will never have any--just overall), then go for sonography.

If you can be smart on your feet while being truly compassionate--even when people (patients and even staff and other professionals) are being a big pain in the butt, and if you can prioritize, think critically, have a lot of energy, don't mind off-shifts, holidays, 12 hour shifts, little control over your schedule, at the like, choose nursing. I won't lie to you though. Most nursing positions can be quite stressful on many levels at one time. People are complex, and so there is their physical needs/disorders, etc, emotional, psychological, spiritual, social all while working with all these other disciplines--all of which have fallible, often stressed people working in them. Its a a juggling act, while rollerskating on very wet ice in a windstorm. Really. I personally think too that one has to develop a very high EQ to be a nurse--and very tough skin--tough without being hard.

thank you so much for your information. i also was thinking should i go for nursing or for sonography program. i am glad that i red your posting before i go forward. thank you again for your posting.

now, i have a question and please if any one can give me advise i appreciate. i have a bachelor degree in nurse-midwifery from a foreign country that has been evaluated by the educational credential evaluator inc, as equal to a bachelor degree in obstetric nursing in the u.s. i do not have a nursing license from u.s. i have a master degree in heath care administration from texas woman's university. i couldn't find any job in health care field so far. i am thinking to go back to school and get a sonography degree or go for fast track nursing program. for fast track nursing, since my degree is old i have to take almost all of prerequisites, which will take a year. if i get my nursing license i like to go for nurse anesthesia or nurse midwifery.

can any one tells me if there is any better option for me out there? i love to work in health care filed but i need a short program with opportunity to grow? i appreciate any comment.