Attention need advice please!!

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2018

I don't recommend anyone get their heart set on a particular specialty during school, especially ones that everyone and their sister wants to specialize in. (Although for less popular specialties it could work. For example, a classmate of mine wanted to become a geriatric NP. Even as pre-nursing students, she said she was going to work in LTC for a few years to gain experience, then go back for her GNP.)

Nursing school is primarily adult acute care focused, but you will have clinicals in a wide variety of areas. Keep an open mind, and focus on absorbing everything you are taught. As I said earlier, there are a loooooooot of people with maternal aspirations, and NICU and ED, etc.

xxstarrynitesxx · Jan 22, 2018

While I agree that I would not get too set on a particular speciality just yet as interests change and position come and go, I would recommend that you find a nurse who specializes in the areas you are interested in and shadow/interview him or her. The interview will allow you to ask any burning questions and allows you to hear about the pros and cons of each speciality. Reach out to more than one in each area in order to get more than one opinion. Shadowing, if you are able to, will allow you to see what a day or a couple of hours is like firsthand. Best wishes!

Extra Pickles · Jan 22, 2018

My first suggestion would be to edit your post and change your user name, you might find that having your full name known on a website as large as this isn't a good idea. Just a word of caution.

Next suggestion is to let go thinking about specializing for now. There is SO much to learn and do between the start of nursing school---which for you is still 5-7 months away!--and the end. Even those who are 100% sure what it is they want to do when they graduate will frequently find they change their minds a couple of times. Be open to those changes, you might be a great fit for what you are interested in now and you might not. Or what interests you now might NOT interest you later once you get down to the nitty-gritty of what the job actually entails.

And with that said you've managed to name two areas of nursing that are usually very competitive as far as getting a foot in the door. Many places will want to see a year, two or three years of experience in med-surg before giving you a shot in a Maternity unit. Not always, but you should expect that to be likely.

For now your focus is on school and all that it entails. After all if you don't successfully navigate that, the rest is moot :)

Good luck!