RN vs. Radiation Therapist

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So I am done with all of the prerequisites with both the nursing program and radiation therapy programs and I am going to apply to both. I currently work as a medication tech at a addiction treatment center for youth. I enjoy my job a lot and could see myself doing something in pysch. I have always known I wanted to be in the medical field (a nurse sjnce I was two) but I am just not sure if nursing is my calling. I have a 3.0 exact GPA and I got an 81 on my TEAS. I am worried about not getting accepted into the MANE program. I have looked at many programs in MN and radiation therapy seems very interesting. I've been around the whole cancer thing before and never really thought about the jobs the go into it. I love helping people who can't help themselves, I am just not sure where I belong in that world. I had an interview for the radiation therapy program and it seems like I could get in pretty easily. Does anyone know someone that's a radiation therapist? How do they like their job?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

In my organization, Radiation therapy is usually a secure job with very little turnover. Salary and benefits are commensurate with other therapies that require similar educational preparation.

However - radiation therapy is a narrow field of work. There is really only one reason that this is used - and this can lead to burnout due to compassion fatigue. If you can't see yourself dealing with this cancer patients - many of whom are terminal - it may not be a good choice for you.

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what did you end up choosing?

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