Anyone else having a hard time choosing...

[Maladroit, BSN, RN]

I am having the biggest dilema going on in my head. I know I still have a good long year and a half to figure this out, but it bothers me. I don't know what kind of a nurse I want to be. As soon as someone finds out you are going to Nursing School they expect you to know what kind of nurse you want to be. I always respond with "A great one", but in reality, I'm REALLy torn between what I like. On the one hand, I'm absolutely intrigued by Labor & Delivery, but worry I would get bored. I think NICU would be challenging and exciting but heartbreaking. I also want to work in Pediatric Hematology Oncology, becuase I've lost about 4 close friends to Leukemia and I understand a lot of what they/their families have to go through and I want to be one of those rays of light for one family and maybe make a difference. This too is really heartbreaking and hits really close to home for me - this would be an everyday struggle for me to keep composure and stay sane long-term I think. Anyone else going through this? How do you pick what type of nurse you want to be? Was it easy or hard for you?

[Selene006, BSN, LPN]

I'm in my last year of a BSN program and I STILL have no idea what specialty I'd like to go into. My classmates (for the most part) have decided which fields they would be interested in, but I'm still on the fence about it.

I'm finishing up a rotation in Critical Care Nursing, and while it's very interesting and I have tremendous respect for all nurses in the individual specialties, I'm not feeling too picky. Considering what the job market has been like these days for new grads, I plan on leaving my options opened.

[NursingStudent2012]

I'm in the same boat as you....I'm thinking adult ICU if I decide to go back to school later or NICU. But honestly, I think I'm just going to accept whatever offer I get on whatever floor once I graduate... But because we're both still in the program, we still have some time to think about it and make a decision based on our clinical experiences.

[anonymousstudent]

I have absolutely no idea either. I'm OK with it. I'm just going to get as much experience in each area as I can and see what happens. I like going in without a bunch of pre-conceived notions and expectations. I've known a lot of nursing students who want "this or that" and don't end up getting what they want anyway. I want to be prepared and be able to move into whatever opportunity comes my way with confidence.