Best area to work in???

After five semesters of clinical placement in the same hospital... I can tell you there is no answer to that question. You need to find your best "fit". There are nurses who absolutely love the continuity of care on the chronic ward, love a steadfast schedule (enemas q3d), and constant routine. There are other nurses who would be bored to tears on the chronic side and prefer the "action" of ER. There are nurses who love palliative care (as I do) and others who are terrified of it. There are nurses that love OB (another area I love) and nurses that hate it. There are nurses who love CCU (close third to my other two favourites) and nurses that hate it. Through clinical placements, you will find your "fit", the area of nursing that you are best suited for, and that best suits you. Some nurses prefer home care nursing, some nurses prefer community nursing, some prefer physician's office nursing. Good luck and try to try every area of nursing that you can, even if you think you won't like it, (I thought I would hate palliative and OB and CCU).

I think it is rather subjective. I work in NICU I deal with the little preemies. It is stressful but totally different than med/surg. No matter what other nurses tell you, you have to get your feet wet and find your niche.

Let's not forget there is always the psychiatric ward. It certainly has the potential to be as exciting as an ER or ICU, but typically the patients are not physically ill--certainly not as acutely ill as one of the aforementioned depts. I could expand on what I believe to be the virtues of psych nursing, but you can research a couple of my previous posts and get a firm grasp on that.