What Inspired Your Choice of Nursing Specialty?

Nurses General Nursing

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What inspired y'all to choose the specialty you did?

Did you figure it out in clinicals, or through trial and tribulation on other units after graduation?

And best of all, any cool stories that go with that "aha!" moment?

Specializes in Rehab, Infection, LTC.

i started working as a CNA while finishing my prereqs for my degree. i knew the minute i hit the floor in the nursing home that geriatrics was for me.

i did clinicals in all areas and it never changed my mind. i just knew thats where i wanted to be.

i've worked in hospitals and the whole time there wanted to get back to my geriatric population. it's where my heart is.

my dream job would be an alzheimer's unit but unfortunately they hire very few RNs for those areas. i've been the RN weekend supervisor at my job for 5 yrs now. we are 75% short stay rehab and 25% LTC, private pay. we don't have a lot of alzheimer's pts because of that but the ones we do get...they are always my favorite!

when i first started working as a nurse even my own family would say things to me like "when are you going to get a REAL nursing job?" i'd just tell them "never, i like my 'pretend' job" :D

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ER. It is high energy and keeps me motivated to learn more and more. Now I am trying to position myself in forensics.

To some extent it is more the reason I chose nursing. I saw it as an opportunity for lifelong learning and honing of skills (due to the constant new developments). I have never been disappointed. To some extent it may not have mattered what I specialized in because, as I gained more experience, I realized that there were few specialties that did not allow for constant growth and learning.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

What inspired your choice of specialty?

Inertia, mainly. I applied for a job at a hospital and landed on tele. Face first. :D

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Absolutely loved CVICU! Knowledge about anatomy and physiology of the heart is not enough, there's more to it in CVICU than that. Knowing, understanding, and managing how hemodynamics, critical care drugs and complicated machines (IABP, CRRT, ventilators to name a few) can work together to save a patient's life is completely amazing. I have said this over and over, if you can take care of open heart patients, you will be able to take care of anybody thrown at you. I still miss taking care of fresh open hearts, sometimes.

As of now, I am a clinical instructor and where do I get to send my students? One unit is CVICU of course, so I am also able to help the nurses I worked with previously, with their open heart patients. ;)

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Specializes in Behavioral Health, Show Biz.

;) i started in med-surg

:eek: then the 1980's aids epidemic hit with no safety needles

:cry: had to leave fast 'cause i would literally prick my finger at least once per shift

:onbch: aaaaaah...i found and never left the comfortable bed of psych nursing.

:imbar oooooppps!!! now i've got to dodge agitated, combative patients---

where are the needles???:eek:

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

ED. Worked ICU and med surg for some experience but always knew I wanted to work in the ED. It was the 5th largest trauma center in the US. We saw 400 patients per day. Lots of action and some real funny stories to tell. I loved every minute of it.

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Specializes in Case Management, Life Care Planning.

I was always better at the theory than the practice (A's on the classroom stuff B-C on the clinicals). I did work in the hospital for a while but serendipitously got hired in a case management/risk management job (also have a degree in business). Fell in love with case management immediately. Also started doing life care planning a few years ago. It is the perfect combo of using clinical knowledge without doing hands-on patient care. I love it.

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.

I decided I wanted to be an ER nurse after being a volunteer in the ER at the age of 13 (having a Dad who worked administration at the hospital helped). :lol2: After graduation I worked in a level one trauma center for 2 years, then went to a super small hospital. I could never get the shift I wanted (long story), and stumbled in a public health job (school nurse). Now we're relocating and I'm taking a position in the OR. Initially the schedule appealed to me, but it seems very interesting, always new procedures and growth, and I like the sense of teamwork.

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