WOW. I can hear the ignorance flowing through this post! LOL where to start. Probably with spelling, since obviously, us nurses, can do that. Secondly, the pay scale for nursing varies and does pay for xray techs. So to compare a traveler with a staff RN or xray tech is just plain dumb as it is like apples and oranges. Sure, all travelers make more money, but it depends on many factors. I just returned from a 5 month stint as an RN and would have made over 150k for the year. That and I didnt have to travel via semi..oh and my food and lodging were paid for! oh, wait, thats what being a traveler is....right. Oh and I only have to work three days a week like most RNs.
3RD, perhaps the last poster should do his research BEFORE he decides to have diarrhea of the mouth, every RN program I have known (and that is many since I am in education, and have researched RN programs all over the country) requires algebra!! OH and pathophysiology, anatomy x2, nutrition, biology, chemistry, math, psych, soc, nutrition, etc. (and OH and those are just the pre reqs!! That doesnt include the full 2 years (as all NURSES know and ADN is never truly 2 years!)
Oh, and the kicker! OUR scope of practice is limited?? LOL. ON a standard day, i MUST know exactly how the body works in relation to everything else in the world (esp in ICU), how every medication works with the body and with other drugs. OH, and thats the "basics". OUr scope of practice is 10 fold compared to an xray tech! I mean come on! OUr scope of practice includes full on pt care...aka don't let your pt die. SOrry, no tech Ive ever known has had a scope of practice that encompassed that. I have saved lives in the ICU for 5 years, my assessment skills have to be sharp as a tac! You have to know as much as the MDs with out the benefit of medical school. We run multiple drips to control every system a patient has. So, yes, you MUST know what you are doing..oh and the college algebra (that none of us had to take, and that most of us prob passed out of) comes in handy when you are managing 8 gtts to keep BP certain parameters and UO..oh but wait...had I taken that physics class, I would have that all figured out. OH wait, I did take physics and its useless in my sector of the field!
IM not putting down techs just correcting the ignorant rant of the last poster. Wow if you are going to post something, at LEAST know what you are talking about! To those thinking about this career, do your own research ! Call the schools that have this program and talk to an advisor. Make sure you research salary in YOUR area!. RNs have a huge pay gap from state to state. Oh, and my final point...with an RN there are so many avenues you can take and pay is variable depending on that facet of nursing you do, I know some RNs who make 500$ working for a law office, however, that's not a salary you can compare to bedside nurses. I know in my area, techs are lucky to make low 20$/hr with mid 20 cap. Nurses are generally started at 65-70k where I am. Oh and that number is a low ballpark, I know the other hospitals around here the pay is higher.
