Advice needed- how did you know?

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2011

isn't that why you do a lot of different rotations in school, to be exposed to different specialties and check them out?

i always told my students to ask all the nurses they met-- anywhere-- why they did what they did, and every bit as importantly, why they didn't do what they didn't do. something will resonate there, one way or the other.

i also set up field trips for all my students who wanted them-- a day or two observing in the or for you, time in cardiac rehab for your buddy, a visit to the hiv clinic for her, time in ortho/rehab for him, the nicu or the stroke unit or the gastroenterology special procedures suite... then they all had to come back and tell us all about it in clinical conference. and a good time was had by all. ask your instructors if you can do that before you choose. pick specialty areas if you can, because you can always learn something you can apply in med/surg.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 26, 2011

Just do what interests you the most. What about PACU? or critical care?

I learned what I was interested in while I was in school. For awhile I thought I wanted to do peds; however, after taking peds I realized it is not something I want to do. Maybe in the future...I even thought about NICU nursing but because I did not have exposure to that in school I really do not know.

Are you able to perhaps meet with a recruiter and set up a shadowing experience with an RN in an area that you might be interested in but not sure about?

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 26, 2011

I learned in school. I learned that the focus that I had always thought that I wanted didn't interest me in the least.

I learned which areas I wouldn't want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

And I learned which areas I would be willing to explore further.

LouisVRN, RN · Oct 26, 2011

I don't think you'll neccessarily know until you do it. I hated med surg in school and thought I wanted to do ob. But out of school I got a position in med surg. I love my job now. I still think maybe one day id like to do ob especially high risk anteparrtum but. I'm definitely in no hurry

MJB2010 · Oct 26, 2011

I currently have a full time job, and have experience in Med Surg which I did not care for. I am a very detail oriented person, very organized. I felt like med surg was all over the place. I felt like with 10 patients, I always left feeling like I did a bad job there just was not enough time to care for everyone appropriately. I think I may enjoy critical care for that reason, it would be better to focus totally on just a few patients. I currently work in Dialysis but I am very interested in working in the OR. In school we had no exposure to the OR, I did a 2 day shadow there when I worked in Med surg. My school rotation for peds only included a walk through the nicu, so I feel like I know nothing about it. As a nurses aid I enjoyed floating to mother baby so I think I might like that area of nursing. I enjoyed my maternity rotation in school it was only a few weeks though. I thought I would loved peds, but did not. I also thought I would hate Psych but ended up enjoying that. I think I might like critical care. I floated there as an NA once and the staff was much more upbeat than the floor I worked on.

To be totally honest, my school experience was lacking in clinical experience. We mostly did LTC and rehab rotations. We had a very long psych rotation, and did a school nurse rotation. We did 1 semester in a hospital. A month with home health nurse.

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Oct 27, 2011

It sounds like maybe ICU would be a good fit. You might make that one of your choices

MJB2010 · Oct 27, 2011

It sounds like maybe ICU would be a good fit. You might make that one of your choices

Thank you for the input! I am thinking I will put OR as first choice, Critical Care as second choice, and third I am going to put labor & delivery or Post Partum I think.

AnonRNC · Oct 27, 2011

I think Critical care sounds like a good choice for you.

And maybe L&D

But post partum is more like healthy med-surg crossed with waitressing. You'll have three to four couplets (mom & baby) - that's eight patients...need I say more?

Have you considered NICU? (my area) It's very exacting and precise and detail-oriented.

As for how I knew...I always knew I wanted to be a nurse-even though I didn't get my license until I was 28. I also always knew that I liked kids - even when I was one. I started with Peds, thought I'd like NICU and when I got a chance to try it, I LOVED IT!

MJB2010 · Oct 27, 2011

I think Critical care sounds like a good choice for you.
And maybe L&D
But post partum is more like healthy med-surg crossed with waitressing. You'll have three to four couplets (mom & baby) - that's eight patients...need I say more?
Have you considered NICU? (my area) It's very exacting and precise and detail-oriented.
As for how I knew...I always knew I wanted to be a nurse-even though I didn't get my license until I was 28. I also always knew that I liked kids - even when I was one. I started with Peds, thought I'd like NICU and when I got a chance to try it, I LOVED IT!

Since I have no experience at all with NICU I am sort of scared of the unknown factor. We walked through it once in school, but there was only one baby at the time. Thanks for the heads up on post partum. lol! The good news is the program I am applying to includes a long orientation. I am *so* hoping they call me for an interview!