What Type of Nursing is Right for Me?

Guest343211 · Dec 1, 2012

My question is this. What drew you or what area did you fancy the most during clinical rotations? What kind of thinker and learner are you? What get's you passionate, and what seems like "ey!"

Shadow areas for more than a day, and see what strikes your fancy the most. Also research the areas and approaches, and see what fits you the best.

Good luck.

Sariga · Dec 1, 2012

HI dear,

Happy to know that you are interested in Psychiatric Nursing.Choose your functional area based on your interest dear you can be a challenging nurse in future no doubts in that.I think its better you do Msc Psychology too so that you can be a good communicator as well as a counsellor for all the needies.The scope is good.Go ahead .Dont be confused.All the very best.

With lots of prayer

Sariga

aikz · Dec 1, 2012

I would apply on a med-surg floor so you get everything. That way it's something you can put on your resume & you're exposed to a variety cases. From that you can decide where you want to go. I'm a new grad, been a nurse for a year now working on a med-surg floor. Unfortunately, mental health isn't my thing. We often get patients from the psychiatric unit because of overflow. Sometimes they can be quiet but when they start acting up, we really don't know how to deal with them. We have to call nurses from the psych unit to calm them down. But ever since working on a med-surg floor I found out that I'm interested in a lot of things. I just can't decide where I want to go next. My plan is to apply everywhere, anywhere and see which place accepts me and I'll take it from there. Good luck! :)

lindykid · Dec 1, 2012

Hello everyone,

I have a big dilemma here too. I came out of nursing school a long time ago and went into a nursing home because that was the only job I could get because of the glut of nursing schools in my area. I did very well, learning how to manage time and tasks and was made charge nurse on the skilled unit in the facility rather quickly. I soon realized that I wanted to be in a hospital where I could really use the clinical skills I had mastered and applied to the nearby children's hospital that I had always had an affinity for and was hired to a med-surg unit. I loved it and transitioned well staying with that unit for a number of years until I lost a young girl who meant the world to our unit since she spent most of her life in the hospital rather than at home. I decided to transfer to the emergency department where I would not become as attached to the patients and I would use my skills much more effectively. Again, I was hired and transitioned well to the point of becoming shift supervisor. I loved my new position except the paperwork part of course. After a few years, I had a problem with my arm, or rather, my elbow. It became swollen and tender to the touch. The pediatricians sent me to an adult hospital for evaluation after the occupational nurse looked at me and scooted me out the door. After months of tests, I was diagnosed with RSD. Needless to say, that was the end of my career as an emergency room nurse. I have been out on disability for a number of years now but I still feel the pull to do some sort of nursing. I have recently gone back to school to finish my bachelors degree in nursing and believe I can be useful somewhere but I don't know where yet. I was hoping my nursing community would have some idea where I might fit in. Can anyone offer advice where I might fit in? Case management requires experience, chart review? Anything? Please help me move forward. Thanks so much..

FurBabyMom, MSN, RN · Dec 2, 2012

Original poster - my advice would be try and see what happens. If you think you want psych, the worst the hospital/agency can do is say no. I worked inpatient med/surg/tele for a year - and we had plenty of psych (whether it's dealing with patients, coworkers or with families of patients...pysch is abundant in hospitals).

Med surg is very nice because you get a wide variety of things from patients just barely stable enough not to be an ICU bed (we had a small stepdown unit on another floor, but we got a lot of ICU transfers cause of the assessment skills required for neuro med/surg) to patients much more stable. Med surg is nice because you get to work on so many skills with a lot of both variety and repetition. Where I worked, our unit was the only non-critical care unit to take trach patients. We did a lot of central line care (PICCs, CVCs, dialysis cath etc). It's a lot of skills and a lot of learning to be good at them. The thing that will most benefit you no matter what specialty you choose to go into after some med/surg experience is experience with assessments. I often had 6-7 patients, and at shift change we went into the rooms so the days RN could introduce the nights RN and vice versa - there is a LOT about a patient that you can get from eyeballing them in 10 seconds to a minutes' time. Those 10-60 seconds in the room told me who I needed to see first and if I was comfortable going to get report on my others or if I had a gut feeling that needed checked out.

I'm in the OR now, and I appreciate having had a year's worth of med/surg experience before this. For so many reasons.

somenurse · Dec 2, 2012

Hello everyone,
I have a big dilemma here too. I came out of nursing school a long time ago and went into a nursing home because that was the only job I could get because of the glut of nursing schools in my area. I did very well, learning how to manage time and tasks and was made charge nurse on the skilled unit in the facility rather quickly. I soon realized that I wanted to be in a hospital where I could really use the clinical skills I had mastered and applied to the nearby children's hospital that I had always had an affinity for and was hired to a med-surg unit. I loved it and transitioned well staying with that unit for a number of years until I lost a young girl who meant the world to our unit since she spent most of her life in the hospital rather than at home. I decided to transfer to the emergency department where I would not become as attached to the patients and I would use my skills much more effectively. Again, I was hired and transitioned well to the point of becoming shift supervisor. I loved my new position except the paperwork part of course. After a few years, I had a problem with my arm, or rather, my elbow. It became swollen and tender to the touch. The pediatricians sent me to an adult hospital for evaluation after the occupational nurse looked at me and scooted me out the door. After months of tests, I was diagnosed with RSD. Needless to say, that was the end of my career as an emergency room nurse. I have been out on disability for a number of years now but I still feel the pull to do some sort of nursing. I have recently gone back to school to finish my bachelors degree in nursing and believe I can be useful somewhere but I don't know where yet. I was hoping my nursing community would have some idea where I might fit in. Can anyone offer advice where I might fit in? Case management requires experience, chart review? Anything? Please help me move forward. Thanks so much..

This might deserve a thread of it's own, since maybe some who might have ideas for you, won't spot this whole other topic hidden away on page 2 of this here thread on psyche nursing??

best of luck, though!!

Hoozdo, ADN · Dec 3, 2012

This might deserve a thread of it's own, since maybe some who might have ideas for you, won't spot this whole other topic hidden away on page 2 of this here thread on psyche nursing??
best of luck, though!!

I agree. Lindykid, repost this over disabled nurses under the general tab. I have some advice for you but can't email you yet due to your low number of posts.

carolina1969 · Dec 5, 2012

Anna,

If you feel pulled toward psyche nursing, follow your heart. I would check the local psyche facilities or even psyche units in hospitals and see if they offer nurse tech positions. I worked as a tech my entire time in nursing school and the experience was invaluable. Also, see if you could shadow a psyche nurse for a day (not sure if this is possible with HIPAA). If nothing else, just ask the nurses when you do psyche rotations.

That being said, don't narrow your choices in nursing. In my opinion, once you specialize it's difficult if and when you want a career change. I am going through this now. I've been doing case management for so long that I feel immobilized to go into another area of nursing. As you said, there are so many options in nursing, so keep your mind and your opportunities open.

I strongly suggest the book The Ultimate Career Guide for Nurses by Donna Wilk Cardillo. It's an excellent book for nursing students, new nurses and seasoned nurses. She offers insight and ways of thinking that I'd never thought of, and I've been a nurse for almost 20 years. I call it my career bible!

Good luck!

Dawn

Nurse Mentor Nancy, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 5, 2012

Here is an article I wrote about this subject, called, "3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Help You Decide On Your Next Career Move"

As a nurse, you have the opportunity to work in several different roles and specialty areas during your career. When you are ready to make a change, how do you decide what position or specialty might be right for you? Here are three questions to ask yourself to help you determine your next career move.

1. What do you like to do and why?

Look at the jobs you’ve held in the past. Ask yourself which you liked the most and why. When I worked as the evening charge nurse on a hospital medical/surgical floor, I found I liked being in charge. Why? I’d rather solve problems myself than discuss possible solutions with many different nurses.

One of my favorite jobs turned out to be Home Health. Why? I liked the autonomy and independence. I was responsible for assessing my patients and writing and carrying out their nursing care plans. I liked forming long-term relationships with patients. I developed a great working relationship with the family practice physicians in the clinic I worked for. They consulted me about nursing issues, and I consulted them when a patient’s condition worsened. A few years later, I became a nurse practitioner because my experience as a home health nurse showed me I wanted to learn more advanced assessment techniques.

2. What do you hate doing and why?

I hated working in the CCU/ICU. Why? It was too fast paced for me. I did not like all the machines and equipment. Several codes every night was draining. Many of the patients were unconscious so I could not develop a relationship with them.

3. Do you know what you do well and what you don’t do well?

Years ago, as a part-time supervisor, I had trouble delegating responsibility to my staff. Instead, I did it myself. Then, I knew the job would get done right. Consequently, I wasn’t a very effective supervisor.

If you are having difficulty recognizing your abilities, ask your friends and coworkers for feedback. Recently, when I did, my peers told me I communicated well with others and resolved conflict effectively. Management was a good fit for me since I needed to have both these skills to do my job well.

Lastly, analyze your answers. Knowing what you like to do and what you do well will guide you in choosing your next position and specialty. Looking at what you don’t like and don’t do well may help you avoid jobs that would not be a good fit for you. answering these questions will help you figure out your next career move.