What area of nursing do I choose??

[Cls62011]

After all of my clinical rotations, I'm still so undecided on which area of nursing to apply for . I have determined that my least favorites are pediatrics and mental health so I won't be applying for those. Other than those 2 I'm so undecided. Areas that I did have an interest in included ER, ICU, CCU, NICU, Surgical, Labor and Delivery. I'll be graduating soon and am starting to apply for jobs but I just don't know which units to apply for. I realize that most places don't accept new grads in the critical care areas but I'm applying to residency programs that do. Since I've decided that I've wanted to be a nurse, I've always thought that I've wanted to do NICU nursing but I only had one day there and I'm sort of nervous about specializing like that right out of school because what if I do and I don't like it. Also if I'm going to apply to the critical care areas I would like to get some certifications out of the way such as ACLS, TNCC, NLS, etc during my maternity leave but it's hard to do this if I'm so undecided. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I determine which area I will thrive in the most? Or do I just apply to all of them??? Please help!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I determine which area I will thrive in the most? Or do I just apply to all of them??? Please help!

Unless you live in an area where the employment market for new grads is still thriving, I would go ahead and apply to all of them. Beggars cannot be choosers in this day and age, especially since many new grad positions have disappeared during the economic downturn.

[sophie<3]

I agree, apply to them all. If you get offers then you can go from there! :) I also like nicu, ccu, icu, and ed...I'm applying to all of those though. If you don't like it you can always learn something from it anyway!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Apply for all of them. Not doing so is basically turning down a job before it is even offered. Few few few people are getting in at hospitals at ALL right now, let alone on their floor of choice anyway.

Apply for all of them and worry about deciding on a specialty if you are lucky enough to get offered more than one. And then you choose between those that have been offered.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

The beauty of nursing is that there are lots of areas to work in, and you don't have to stay in one area forever. I agree with the previous poster- since it's hard for new grads to find work, apply to all the areas and see what you get for offers. Then you can weigh the offers based on hours, salary, benefits, etc. If you decide in a year or two you don't like your area, move into a new specialty.

Ashley