O/T any RNs on here?

[xdime00]

X-ray is a great field to get into, because like nursing, it has many options for lateral movement. Once youre an x-ray tech, you can cross train in MRI, CT, Ultrasound, Interventional Radiology or QA. Not the greatest money, but once you get into a more specialized section you get in the 50's and 60's. Not a terribly hard job, stays pretty interesting, and you dont deal with most of the shit the nurses deal with, literally. My girlfriends a nurse and loves it, but I like working with the technical side of medicine, the machines are interesting. The best thing to do is SHADOW. Many places are willing for you to come in and spend a day in their shoes. This would be the best thing to do, in many positions, to see if its something that interests you.

 

[xmoo]

didnt read the whole thread so someone may have already mentioned it-- since you already have a BS in another discipliune, look into the 1 year accelerated BS Nursing programs that are becoming quite popular now.

 

[mekanikal]

growth..I've been an RN for 4 years and enjoy it, but carry a lot of stress, prior to that I was a bartender working my way through school. Both are service oriented and in some areas... performance based. I work in a CVICU and an ICU. get lots of excitement, see quick validation/response of my choices, and enjoy a high degree of autonomy and respect from other professions...downside of that is if I make a bad call or am not proactive, a patient's health can deteriorate very quickly. The adrenaline from working this can be fun, but a bad experience can be very humbling and leave you awake for a few nights second guessing your decisions. Moneys great, I work 40-48 hours/week and made over 130K last year in a high paying geographic area, it's not like this everywhere. Rex Ferals posts where dead on..I read them a couple times..a lot of good advice in there. If this is something you are interested in, find a good hospital and unit you are interested in, contact the nurse manager, explain you are interested in nursing and ask if you could walk through and observe what nurses do there, you might get a good opportunity. Good luck.