Women or Children??????? Help Lol

[CallingNurseNena]

Sooo I'm sort of confused on what I want to go back to school for. I know that I want to become a NP, and I know that I want to work in women's health but I also love pediatrics.

I just started working as a Peds PDN and absolutely love it, just like I thought I would. But I know I would also love working in a birthing center or women's clinic.

My question is what would be the better option: Go to school for my NP and get certified in both Women's Health AND Pediatrics. Or just become a FNP??

All these options make me love nursing even more....but my head hurts trying to figure out the best road to take to get where I want to be!!! LOL

[babyNP., APRN]

Haha...I've thought about women's health NP when I was school to get my NNP. I shadowed a midwife in a clinic during on my rotations in school (so that we as neonatal NPs could see what it's like on the other side of medicine that's not L&D) and absolutely loved it. Loved the fast-pace and seeing many women throughout the day, plus the benefit of no holidays, weekends, or nights.

I'm still on the fence now about what I want to do long-term. I do love my job as a NNP, but working nights, holidays, and weekends for the rest of my career might grate on me after awhile...

If you want to work in a birthing center birthing babies, you need to do CNM, not FNP or WHNP. WHNP is limited to clinic work. I would tend towards doing both specialities in school (or picking one and doing a post-masters later on) because FNP is so broad and while you'd technically be covered for everything, you would be starting lower knowledge range than someone who had exclusive peds program or exclusive women's health, plus if you're only applying to peds or women's health jobs, you would probably be preferred versus a FNP, unless the other applicants were experienced.

[CallingNurseNena]

Thanks. Great advice!!