Are You Where You Thought You'd Be?

[Fancychicken]

Hello,

I'm currently heading into my first semester of nursing school (ADN/BSN). A lot of people have been asking me where I hope to end up working, or if I would pursue further specialization. Honestly, I'm not really sure at this point. I have always had a special place in my heart for elderly people, so a long-term care facility might be the place for me.

My question is, did you have a goal of a specialty in mind when you began your education, or did your goals evolve over time during school and/or over the course of your career?

If you had a specific goal in mind from the beginning, did you end up there?

[Everline]

In nursing school, when I dared to dream, I considered my current job to be my "dream job" but never in a million years thought I'd actually get said job. I applied for it straight out of school and got no response, which was what I expected. I worked another job first and was able to make the right connections to get me where I am now. So, no I am not where I thought I'd be, but I am where I wanted to be.

[NYbabyRN, BSN, RN]

Yes, I read about NICU nursing when I was 17 yrs old and decided I wanted to become a NICU nurse. I didn't graduated nursing school till several years later and then I started on a med-surg unit, even though I still desired to work in NICU. I worked there longer than I expected or wanted to, earned my BSN, and finally took the plunge. I have been working in NICU for less than a yr; I am glad I never gave up on my desire to become a NICU nurse and even though part of me regrets waiting so long to get into this specialty, I am thankful for all the experiences I have behind me that I believe made my transition into the NICU world easier.

[Cricket183, BSN, RN]

When I went to nursing school, I did so with an open mind but I did have a specific goal in mind--NICU. I loved the rotation through NICU and spent my last 6 weeks of my clinicals in NICU. When I graduated, where I lived we did not have a NICU. (I lived in a fairly small town with one major hospital and all babies requiring NICU level care were transferred to Dallas/Ft. Worth.) I had already commuted to D/FW for nursing school (140 miles one way) and just wasn't willing to do it any longer. There weren't any openings in the newborn nursery (my next choice) so I took a position in medical oncology thinking I would get my one year of experience and transfer when a position became available in the nursery. I absolutely fell in love with oncology. I spent my entire career there and even received my OCN. Currently, I am medically retired. That is somewhere I never imagined myself being, especially at age 40. 😒

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I started my career as a CPM ("direct entry" midwife) and I went to nursing school expressly to be a CNM, so I had a pretty clear idea of my path when I started. By my second year of RN school, I had picked my hopeful midwifery school and established a reasonable time frame of completing my CNM by the time I turned 32, or 35 at the outside if plan A didn't go as expected. I stuck to my plan, and became licensed as a CNM a month after my 32nd birthday. I also managed to get the job of my dreams right out of school, so I would say I am doing even better than I thought I would be at this point!

It was rough, though. A slower timeline would have made the process easier on my family as a whole. But I wanted to be DONE, and it was totally worth it.

[sjalv]

I started nursing school knowing I wanted to become a CRNA, which would entail getting an ICU job upon graduation. I got into nursing school my first try, passed the NCLEX my first try, got a position in the first ICU I applied to, got my RN-BSN in two semesters (15 credit hours both semesters while working full time), and am starting grad-level prerequisites in the fall for the CRNA program I want to apply to. So yes, I would say I am where I envisioned myself.

I had always thought I would go straight to CRNA school after working in the ICU for two years but I'm starting to think I may do travel nursing a bit so I can do some international traveling between contracts before I go back to school.

[eieiyo]

When I was in nursing school I wanted to be a travel nurse. I did, went to several states, even got to work at Johns Hopkins.

I've done everything in nursing I ever wanted to do. I was well suited for short stay and PACU. I did small town ER, ob, peds in large hospital. Lots of LTC. Now I'm older (63) this year and doing home health of kids. I no longer feel the need for excitement, the adrenaline rush. Of course that happens here when you least expect it. I was meant to be a nurse, can't imagine being anything else. Almost 28 years of it. So, yes, I'm where I thought I would be. Had the excitement of med surg, tele, ice etc. Now want to relax a bit

[Zelda, RN]

I suppose. I knew I wanted to work peds; I am working peds. Now, I still have yet to decide if I like med/surg or PICU best... I am working med/surg right now, though I think in a few years I want to try PICU. I am very book smart, and the intricacies and specifics of critical care, along with the knowledge base necessary, really appeal to me. I am at the hospital that enticed me to go into nursing, so I have met that goal!

[Natasha, RN, BSN]

For me, I remained open to the possibility of venturing different nursing avenues as I knew throughout school that once I GOT into nursing, I would see and learn much more than what I did during school. The first unit I ended up working on, that I THOUGHT I would like, ended up being a place I could not wait to leave. Currently, however, I am working at a surgery center, a place I thought I would never end up, and LOVE it. Ya just never know

[purplegal]

Nope. Although I didn't have a specific specialty in mind when graduating, I always thought I would work in a hospital.

Since I work as an ECG Technician, I thought cardiac nursing might be a fit, but turned out to be very wrong.

I now work at a senior rehab center, which was the last place I wanted to be, and seem to be managing pretty well. I'm not sure this is where I want to stay, but it seems to fit for the moment.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

When I started nursing school I thought I wanted to work in PEDS. By the time I finished nursing school (round one), all I knew for sure was that I wanted to stay far, far away from PEDS. I worked flex pool in a hospital for years and then quality review for a third party company for health insurance companies. Later I found out that LPNs were phased out of hospitals so I tried LTC which scared me and then home health....surprisingly with, who would have guessed it? PEDS!!!

I recently got my RN and am working in a hospital. My ultimate goal at this point is adult critical care, but I'm kind of used to things evolving over time so I'll have to wait and see.

[needlesmcgeeRN, ASN, RN]

My dream was wound care nursing - I LOVE WOUNDS - but I had zero desire to get the experience in bedside nursing that is usually required. Not because I don't want to do the direct care, but because I have no interest in dealing with the BS that comes along with bedside nursing. I ended up at a family practice as a care coordinator/care manager.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I'm one of the rare birds who went into nursing specifically to be in women's health/OB. It's all I've ever done, in some form or another, and all I will ever likely do.