Is radiology tech school harder than nursing school?

Nursing school is more difficult in terms of academics and GPA requirements. Registered nurses, for example, are required to have at least an associate's degree, which typically takes less time and costs less than other educational options. However, nurses who earn a bachelor's or advanced degree have a higher earning potential and an advantage when applying for jobs.

To get into a nursing program, for instance, you need to usually have a bachelor's degree and some experience in the medical field. This may be an EMT job or volunteering at a hospital. This may also include taking prerequisite classes before applying to nursing school. The national passage rate for nursing programs (combining associate and bachelors) is 88%.

Nursing programs are notorious for having material that is very tough to learn and easy to forget if you don't use it constantly. You also need a lot of knowledge about body anatomy, physiology, biology, etc. The clinical practice also adds to the difficulty. Every test during clinical contributes to your grades, so if you fail or do poorly on an exam or quiz, that makes every other exam harder too.

Radiology tech school, on the other hand, is broader than nursing school. There are several accredited radiology tech programs, but none of them require college degrees or prerequisite classes. The only requirement for the majority of radiology technician schools is that you must apply within 1 year of completing your training and passing the registry exam.

For one thing, there are no actual course requirements for radiologic technology; you only need a high school diploma or GED equivalent. So unlike nurses who have an average GPA of 3.5 or 4.0, students don't need high marks in order to enter the program. Also, unlike nursing school, there isn't any clinical work to be done.

Radiology tech school teaches you both sides of this job (the technical and the practical), which means you are prepared to take your state board exams after graduation without much additional training. The bottom line is that it's easier to become a radiologic technician than a nurse because there are fewer entry requirements, and you have more time to learn the material since the program is not as intensive