Are you nursing where you thought you'd be?

dazzle256 · Jan 15, 2005

I'm just wondering how many of the nurses on here are working in an area that they hadn't planned on working in.
I have heard many stories from instructors about students who complained loudly going into certain rotations--esp. nursing home--& then later on ended up taking a job in that area.
I love children & had always thought seriously about being a Peds nurse. I thought I would really like it. In our final semester, we had a rotation in pediatrics and I was miserable. Sure, the instructor's intimidation tactics & the unfriendly staff contributed to my dislike of the clinical, but I also don't like spending half an hour trying to cajole a preschooler into taking her meds. It also made me sad to see the kids who were sick due to parental neglect. It is one thing to treat your own body like crap & end up with a chronic condition, but I saw children in there who had their health ruined by noncompliant parents.
What about you? Are you where you thought you'd be?

I don't know what happened? I responded to this and it didn't show up. Oh well.....try again

Nope I'm working in a totally different field then what I went into nursing for. I wanted to work in a nursing home because I love the elderly. That only lasted about a year. Not that I don't still love the elderly I just didn't feel I was given the tools to be the kind of nurse I wanted to be. I played around with homecare and Med/Surg until I found my nitch in MICU.

My friend went to nursing school solely to become an OB nurse. She didn't like it. Works Psych now and loves her job.

One really good thing about nursing.... so many different areas you can go into. I think there is something for everyone.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 15, 2005

I planned on being a med-surg nurse on a gynecology/urology floor. That all changed when i did my OR clinicals.

begalli · Jan 15, 2005

I went into nursing thinking that I'd do ER. Ended up in ICU.

I'm completely content.

zambezi, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2005

I went into nursing to work with at risk teens/ob/peds/ or public health...I now have worked in CCU for about 2.5 years and love it...

Midwest4me · Jan 15, 2005

I'm nowhere near where I thought ---or wished ---I'd be. Had dreams of being in the OR as a circulating nurse but foolishly stopped the 2-yr RN program I was in when I got the LPN.(That was 20 yrs ago;I was younger and not thinking clearly!) As I understand it in Oregon, one must have at least an RN degree and then "specialize" and that takes quite a bit of training or so I recall. I currently work with MR/DD clients in group homes and LOVE it and figure I'll do this till retirement...but a secret part of me still ACHES to be trained and work in the OR...

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Jan 15, 2005

I was going to be an L&D nurse until my rotation in school. That cured me. I was going to be a hospice nurse when I graduated but never went down that path. Instead I wound up med/surg/tele for several years then NICU.

I don't regret not going to L&D. I do wish I had worked hospice, inpatient unit or home health style.

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Jan 15, 2005

OH heck no! LOL! I was shooting straight for the ED, and had the energy, drive and desire to be there...but wound up in assisted living! Makes my head spin!

Our local ED's had such a horrible turn over rate that it pretty much scared me out of any nearby. I talked to many of the nurses in them and they were absolutely miserable, and they had to start hiring paramedics to help because they were so understaffed. I looked at it as either a good chance to get in, or a really bad mistake. But alas...after two interviews I found that the timing was NOT right for them, bad management problems, cut backs, and almost strike situations for the nurses there..I chose not to take that on..but to wait....

So I still needed a job, so I found a local assisted living that pays very well, part time hours..and although it is FAR from what I wanted in nursing, and the managment isn't great either...I am making a paycheck and still being a fun and great nurse. I have been there ever since..and after 4 years...the situation at my local ED has not changed...turn over rate of 3 months for nurses! OUCH! Maybe one day they will get better management, but till then...well I am losing my skills so they better get it better quick (it isn't easy to keep up with ED skills when you aren't in one!...Thank goodness my hubby is a paramedic and the company loves me..they let me in free to all inservices and CME and updated classes at local hospitals too! That helps!).

My time will come and I will find my niche (whether it be ED or another area), or it may even open doors to other careers all together (which I am very open to as well)...the trick is to not give up hope, even when it feels like it is hopeless...believe in yourself and remember..you went through RN school...you can make just about anything happen you put your mind too! :)

Oh yeah..and I am learning a TON each day from working with elderly..far more than I expected! Good experience!

peaceful · Jan 15, 2005

Not sure your age BUT you can still go to school and get that degree. I went back later in life & do not regret it a moment. Will be hard but worth it. PM me if you get serious about going back.

I'm nowhere near where I thought ---or wished ---I'd be. Had dreams of being in the OR as a circulating nurse but foolishly stopped the 2-yr RN program I was in when I got the LPN.(That was 20 yrs ago;I was younger and not thinking clearly!) As I understand it in Oregon, one must have at least an RN degree and then "specialize" and that takes quite a bit of training or so I recall. I currently work with MR/DD clients in group homes and LOVE it and figure I'll do this till retirement...but a secret part of me still ACHES to be trained and work in the OR...

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 15, 2005

It's taken a long time, but I'm right where I always wanted to be since I was an aide at our local hospital, working as a float nurse.

When I started nursing school back in 1995, I did so with the sole intent and purpose of becoming an OB/pediatric nurse. Well, as one of my recent posts will tell you, peds is not my area of expertise, and coding an infant is NOT the kind of excitement I want in my life. Nope, I ended up loving geriatrics.....worked in LTC for years until the system finally got me down, then came back to the hospital where my career began, the place I go back to whenever I get tired of wandering around, and where I now plan to stay until I'm too old and used-up to run the floors anymore. There are bad days, of course, but I love where I work, and I love the people I work with and most of the patients I care for. There's a certain security in knowing that no matter what happens on a given day, you'll still be living and working in the same town long after events have faded into distant memory.

Yep, it's a pretty good life after all. I'm glad to be where I am. :)

tylerlvn · Jan 15, 2005

I am exactly where I hoped to be. I love working with geriatric patients and I work in LTC and love it. That is where my heart is an I feel so fortunate to have a job that I can't wait to get to each day. I only wish I had gone to school earlier and not waited till I was 34.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2005

I figured pretty much I'd be in med-surg. I had a goal to do critical care one day, but I'm still in med-surg and have been for the last 14 years.