[mgd31181]

I am a nursing student going into my senior year. I am wondering how did you know what area of nursing you wanted to get into. I like pediatrics, emergency medicine, and cardiology. How do I decide. I am a male also. I just got done doing a pediatrics rotation at DUKE and I liked it a lot, but you don't see many males in pediatrics. I like helping these children though. I am confused.

[CinLPN2RN]

Originally Posted by mgd31181

I am a nursing student going into my senior year. I am wondering how did you know what area of nursing you wanted to get into. I like pediatrics, emergency medicine, and cardiology. How do I decide. I am a male also. I just got done doing a pediatrics rotation at DUKE and I liked it a lot, but you don't see many males in pediatrics. I like helping these children though. I am confused.

I actually see a lot of males in pediatrics. For some reason, most of the guys in my Peds office have a special knack for kids. My 2 year old loves her daycare provider Mark "Marky-doodle". That isn't a typical male position either.

Whether you are male or female, I recommend paying special attention to your clinical rotations. I am in my senior year in school too, but I am working at the same pediatric office as an LPN that I did my rotations at as a freshman. I was able to see the inner workings of the facility before I became employed. When I did my rotations I payed special attention to the "writing on the wall" so to speak. This office seemed really well put together and I was estatic about working with the kids. The nice thing about peds is you get to see a gambit and you need to keep on your toes. Peds is 0-18 and sometimes you have a 14 year old with a baby, so you see what I mean by a wide range of experiences.

I'm trying to decide between cardiac, OR, or Peds. I don't know when I'll know. I think I'd really like to do them all, and why not!? In this day and age, crosstraining is a good thing and gives you versitility.

Good luck in your last year, isn't it exciting?

Cindy

[jhowirn]

Originally Posted by mgd31181

I am a nursing student going into my senior year. I am wondering how did you know what area of nursing you wanted to get into. I like pediatrics, emergency medicine, and cardiology. How do I decide. I am a male also. I just got done doing a pediatrics rotation at DUKE and I liked it a lot, but you don't see many males in pediatrics. I like helping these children though. I am confused.

Poor thing. You have the same problem I had my senior year of nursing school: EVERYTHING interests me. I'm not real familiar with Duke, but don't they have a big pediatric hospital? With lots of specialties? Work in pediatric CCU and cross-train to float to the ER. I used to work at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and no, there were hardly any male nurses working there. But, the world of nursing is changing, and more guys are are discovering just how wonderful this world is! If pediatrics is your passion, go for it! There is absolutely no reason why someone with a gift for caring for sick children should not work in that field. Best of luck to you

[jhowirn]

OR you can move to Atlanta and work at the Sibley Heart Center. I'm sure they'd be tickled pink to have you!

[jhowirn]

www.choa.org

[TNnurse05]

I graduated in May. I knew I wanted to do peds from the time I decided to go get my nursing degree. Peopke told me I would change my mind when I did my peds rotation, but I didn't. It definately takes more than just liking kids. You have to enjoy taking care of sick kids and thier families. You have to be good at explaining the procedures and things on their level. I can't tell you what to do, but personally, I love pediatrics.

[GigLs2u]

Interestingly, I knew the area of nursing I wanted to do after graduating from nursing school It was intermediate care surgical cardiology. The problem was when I graduated there were not any openings in cardiology on the shift I wanted to work.

A neurology unit is where I ended up. Amazingly, it was the best thing that could have happened to me! Nerves are what make things work in the body. Fortunately, the hospital had great nursing educators who helped me better understand a subject in nursing school I hated.

The best part about nursing is that you can work in all kinds of specialties and if you get bored you can try another. Also, generally, no matter where you were there are co-morbid diseases so you get exposure to other diseases.

Of the three you listed, if I were just out of school again I would chose emergency medicine because you will see a phenomenal amount of medicine and all ages. In addition, should you chose to become a nurse consultant this is more marketable than some other areas of nursing. This is also an area of nursing where you might have a step up if you pursue your master's in FNP because hospitals are utilizing NPs more and more.

Another area I was not exposed to in nusing school was the operating room. It is extremely interesting and can be exciting.

Keep in mind where ever you chose to work it is not a life committment because the business world has changed in the past 50 years. This was difficult to accept. It took me 15 years before I moved on to the next phase in my career.

Good Luck!
Joy

Originally Posted by mgd31181

I am a nursing student going into my senior year. I am wondering how did you know what area of nursing you wanted to get into. I like pediatrics, emergency medicine, and cardiology. How do I decide. I am a male also. I just got done doing a pediatrics rotation at DUKE and I liked it a lot, but you don't see many males in pediatrics. I like helping these children though. I am confused.