Career Confusion

Nursing Students General Students

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Hello Everybody :)

I will be graduating in May and I have recently been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I graduate. So many MANY things are running through my head. I really like the ER, but the OR seems very appealing to me as well. I like high-tech environments. Love monitors and lab values, and stuff like that, I like fresh injuries, and lots of tubes, but not really "long term care" types of things. Ofcourse baths and bedbans are not my favorite things to do, but I dont really mind them... its just part of the job. I am not cut out for Med-Surg, and I just dont enjoy it. I worked in the CCU/ICU last night, and it really wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting more of a fast-paced type of environment, but besides the trachs and suctioning, and sicker patients, it really didnt seem that much different than the Med-Surg floor did. So, actually, I am just feeling really confused. I remember when I was little, and people would ask me "what do you want to be when you grow up", I always said that I wanted to be a nurse. I want to be a GREAT nurse, atleast i know that much right?? :) But besides that, I am just so confused. Anyone else feel that way? Feel like I am just searching for my niche, but I am not sure I have found it yet. ER is the closest thing to it so far, but not exactly a perfect fit... although I know each hospital is different, maybe it is just the hospital that I am working in for clinicals... but I tell you all, its depressing not feeling like I have much direction. Are any of you feeling the same way? Just kinda lost? I know I sure am.

Thanks for letting me ramble,

BrandyBSN

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Brandy,

It's nice to see someone in the same boat! I graduate in May 2002 and have interests but am not for sure as to what or where. I live across the river from St. Louis in IL and the teaching hospitals in St. Louis are a tempting start! I do know what I am not interested in..LOL

I really have enjoyed the CCU and also OR, there are several

hospitals that offer internships for these two areas..I am just not ready to commit. My nursing instructor said at the beginning of this fall semester that some students may know already where and what they want to do while others..well they will be like you and I!!

I also had my clinical instructor say that more often than not the first job you take will not be the one you stay in for your career..sigh! This just leads to more confusion for me..LOL

Best of luck and if you come to a conclusion...please share!!

Channa

Little is much with God in it!!
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Brandy I know how you are feeling. At first I was 100% certain that I want to do PEDS. I still have a strong interest in PEDS but after doing research for my first nursing paper which is right now. I have been going through a bunch of maternal/newborn nursing journals for my topic and textbooks and it is really amazing and interesting in me. I never thought I would have an interest for maternal/newborn but now I do. I do know what I don't want to do and should not do I am do not want to do pysch/mental health and ER I have an interest for it but have been told I should not do ER because I am a sensitive person. I think that it takes time for some people to find their Niche in nursing. It took my cousin's wife 4 different areas of nursing before she finally found her love in neonatal nursing which she said she would never do but an personal event inspired her.

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Yep, I feel the same way. I start my first nursing job Oct. 1 on the med/surg floor of a small hospital. I know I don't want to stay on the med/surg floor for the rest of my life, but I thought I'd get some experience first and then go from there. Hospice looked appealing to me and I LOVED my ED clinical rotation and also the OB rotation. The one hospital requires 1 year med/surg experience and the other hospital didn't have openings in those areas, so, I'll get my experience and hopefully other opportunities will come my way. :D Best wishes to you, I know you'll be a great nurse wherever you end up going! Take care.

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Glad to see I am not in my boat alone :)

Does it seem sometimes that you list of things you really DO NOT want to do gets longer, while the list of options gets shorter? :)

Here is what i DONT want to do:

Med-Surg, LTC, Geriatrics, PostP (although I really liked the nursery), Home Health (Thats a 100% no :)), not real crazy about ICU yet, and no peds (atleast not all the time)

Things I would like more time in to get a better feel for:

ER/ED, OR, L&D

Or i would be happy to work on webpages and build computers all day too, since I do that now... for free!

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Specializes in NICU.

I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE????????? Thank goodness! It seems like everyone I speak to in class has known exactly where they want to go from birth! Personally, at times, I've felt overwhelmed with all of the choices available to new grads these days! Here in the South, people are hiring new grads for almost every unit- med/surg for a year seems, at least temporarily, to be long gone. I, too, thought some aspect of Peds would be my place in nursing. I thoroughly enjoyed our rotations in L/D, OBGN, PPartum, as well as Nursery and Level II Nursery. Peds was only okay...wasn't as into it as I thought I would be, though PICU was interesting. I, unlike some of you, am not into critical types of care, at least not right off the bat. I'd prefer to start learning from the bottom- being thrust into ICU this semester has made me realize that we've barely scraped the tip of the iceburg as far as knowledge is concerned. I also loved Psych. So where to go? I've tried looking at long-term goals to help me decide...eventually I'll be returning to a BSN/MSN accelerated program, but I don't know what specialty, so I'm back at square one. Women's Health NP? Nurse-Midwife? Neonatal NP? I DON'T KNOW. So there. As long as I'm in the boat, I'm glad I've got such great company. ;>)

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hey. i know how you all feel.. i really dont want to go in to med/surg, ccu,icu, or anything like that. i really would like to go into L&D, NB nursery, PPartum,peds, or surgery, in that order. i am afraid i will end up getting stuck in med/surg or somewhere i dont want to be and end up hating my profession as a nurse. :( (since that is where they need more nurses- the places i dont like). but hopefully everything will work out for the best!! good luck to all!!

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Hi Brandy!

Boy, do I know how you feel! When I started nursing school, I was certain that I wanted to be in the OR. But, after spending my clinical rotation there, NOT! I would like to be more involved than that.

It seems the longer I am in school, the more fickle I get! I'm currently doing my OB rotation, which includes L/D, PP. Peds and NICU (all those tiny babies!), so it seems to be the most current desire for me. I loved being in on the two births the other day. One patient was 17, with no Lamaze training. I went in and told her we were going to have a crash course in Lamaze. She listened beautifully, and it was really a neat experience. I loved it.

NICU is too tragic for me, and Peds would remind me of my own kids, so probably not.

But, do I want to do this for a career? Who knows! I just hope I have an idea before I do my summer preceptorship program! Maybe God will hit me up side the head with a brick to tell me where to go.......:p

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hello i'm so glad to read all these posts i agree with everyone else i want to go in either L&D or OR but thten people keep telling me to go to a med-surg floor to get some expereince well i don't want to go to a med-surg floor. i am thinking about working as a tech in either OR, but i'm not sure if the OR hires techs or just srcub tech. well glad to see there's more nursing students out there like me unsure of what to do

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It's good to know I'm not the only one who doesn't know which direction to turn. This is my first semester, and I was thinking about trauma or ED. I tend to work really well under pressure. But it scares me to death. We don't do OR or ED rotations here, though OR/ED/Trauma is an elective clinical. But that doesn't come until much later and what if I don't like it and it's too late to take another elective?

Aaargh. You'd think at my age I'd have it figured out.

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