Choosing a Specialty

[BSNofConfusion]

How do you know what specialty was right for you? I have done 2.5 years Med Surg/Telemetry and 6 months NICU and then 1.5 years office nursing. I have relocated and am starting new. I enjoy nursing but I don't feel a strong pull for any direction. How do you know what you want to do? I have a peds/nicu, PACU part-time, and an Urgent Care opportunity offered to me and I just cant pick.  Right now, they all have different things to offer and completely different schedules. I don't want to base my decision solely on scheduling although that does make a difference. HELP!

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

First of all, bravo on the varied nursing experience, you have a wide range of knowledge and skills, impressive! All things being equal I would pick the job that seemed to have the best culture, of course this is hard to assess during the interview but really read the manager and any other staff nurses that sit in on the interview. If I get a bad feeling at all, I tend to not pursue that position. Peds/nicu positions are usually quite coveted, supplementing your current nicu experience could be a good idea in order to improve your marketability in that area. PACU can be great work from what I hear, however with it being part time, that would be a turn off to me. Also with the uncertain times we live in, if another lockdown were to occur and surgeries were canceled you could see your part time position get cut. Urgent care, I've heard can be a lot of fun. It's fast paced, unpredictable, miniature ER. Many UC's are doing IV therapy, labs, x-rays, the whole gambit. I would think UC experience would be marketable due to the variety of things you see and range of technical skills you would be using.

Ultimately if it were me it would come down to how the interview went, and whether I liked adults or peds better. If adults I'd do UC, if peds I'd pursue peds/nicu

Good luck in what you decide, sounds like you can't make a wrong choice, they're all good offers.