Advice on choosing a starting point in nursing

[fleur-de-lis, BSN, RN]

I am almost done with my first semester in nursing school, and since it is an accelerated program, I am already being told to start thinking about the area I want to enter when I graduate. We graduate August '07, and since few hospitals take new grads in August, we are being told to choose the facility we extern in for our last semester wisely, becuase it will likely be the only place willing to hire us! I have no idea what area I would like to go into, but I am interested in ER, ICU, Oncology/Hospice, and even geriatrics. I have heard opinions ranging from 'Do ER because you'll see everything', to 'Do Med/Surg floor because it gives you a base to start from'. I am clueless and stressing about having to basically pick my first nursing job when I have not even finished my first Clinical yet (tomorrow is the last day...hooray!) Any advice on where to start???

[MIA-RN1, RN]

I am almost done with my first semester in nursing school, and since it is an accelerated program, I am already being told to start thinking about the area I want to enter when I graduate. We graduate August '07, and since few hospitals take new grads in August, we are being told to choose the facility we extern in for our last semester wisely, becuase it will likely be the only place willing to hire us! I have no idea what area I would like to go into, but I am interested in ER, ICU, Oncology/Hospice, and even geriatrics. I have heard opinions ranging from 'Do ER because you'll see everything', to 'Do Med/Surg floor because it gives you a base to start from'. I am clueless and stressing about having to basically pick my first nursing job when I have not even finished my first Clinical yet (tomorrow is the last day...hooray!) Any advice on where to start???

personally I think it is too early to choose if you have only just taken your first semester.

Many ER's require you to have some med-surg or critical care background. As a recent grad myself, I would n't work in the ER right out of school.

I wish I could tell you 'do this' or 'do that' but realy, its all based on what you see during school that gets your interest. I chose Postpartum after my maternity rotation and got lucky enough to find a job.

[aprilangel01]

I also graduated from an accelerated program and so I know that it is going to be very difficult to choose something based on what you get in your clinical experiences alone. If you are not feeling a strong draw to go one way or another once you get to the end of your schooling then I would really suggest giong med/surg. This was not my first option when I got done with school but looking back I am so glad that I was able to have that experience and see as much as I have. Being that you are going to be coming from an accelerated program the med/surg will definately help to cement in all that you have learned and help you to learn tons of new stuff really fast! But that is just my suggestion, and like the previous post said "I wish I could tell you 'do this' or 'do that' but realy, its all based on what you see during school that gets your interest."