Becoming an Endocrine Nurse

[Mr Sacdiff]

I am currently in nursing school and have a bit to go, but I thought I'd ask this here. How do you go about getting into endocrine and more specifically pediatric endocrinology? I don't believe there are too many doctors in my area that practice this specialty, so I'm guessing it is probably even more competitive than other fields.

What is a work day like for those that work within an endocrine practice?

Thank you!

[Jakijo]

I just saw this, shame no one responded!

If you're still a student, I'd say the best way to get into it is to volunteer at a diabetes camp! I may be biased (I LOVE CAMP) but when I was in nursing school I was hell bent on doing trauma. Then one summer in between semesters I basically took a volunteer job at a diabetes camp on whim thinking it would look good on a resume. And it changed my focus so much! Working medical staff at a diabetes camp is like a crash course on daily treatment of type 1 diabetes. You get to dose insulin, work with pumps, test blood sugars (often at night while the kids are asleep, very fun), and do LOTS of education and support. It's a really great way to see if diabetes/endocrine nursing is for you. After just one summer I knew it was for me!

And you're right, depending on the area, pediatric endocrinologists are few and far between. If you're looking for something besides camp, look into any area children's hospitals. They will usually have a diabetes clinic that does outpatient education and check ups on type 1s in the area, and most would at least entertain the idea of an intern for a summer.

But seriously, camp. It's the right time of year to start applying to camps for this summer. If you want a list of names, go to the ADA website, they have a whole giant list of the accredited (approved?) diabetes camps in the country (I'm assuming you're US?). Or PM me, I could give you a short list of the ones I know are good places to volunteer at.

Best of luck to you!