Clinicals and choosing a specialty

Published

Hi all, 

I would love to get some much needed, honest feedback on this topic. 

When it comes to clinicals, do you have to work at a hospital or can you choose based on interest/personality? Truthfully, I gravitate more towards LTC, family health clinics, and community care. I have some experience doing home-care and working in LTC and I loved every experience. I also really like the vibe from family clinics or even specialized clinics compared to hospitals, however this is based on personal experiences. 

I'm definitely don't want to pigeon hole myself here and I'm open to specialities I have no experience in but would love to learn (psych, maternal-child). I guess I'm just apprehensive about specialities like ER and ICU mainly because I feel like I'm not well suited for the pace and that I would get flustered so quickly, making me feel incompetent. Maybe my perception is totally wrong here though or maybe it's the nerves in thinking that LTC and family health can't be as high pressure. 

So ya, is it a requirement to try as many specialities and settings during clinical? RPN and RN alike (I'm definitely thinking of bridging once the RPN program is complete, but baby steps LOL). Does thinking like this already make me not well suited for this field if I'm not as open to certain specialties due to anxiety and knowing my personality well? 

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You don't get to choose where you do your clinical placements except for perhaps your final consolidation. Placements are a good opportunity to gain exposure to different areas of nursing. You may be surprised at what you end up liking. 

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in General Internal Medicine, ICU.

Nursing school graduates are generalists—they’re not trained to work in any one specialty, but have a basic foundation of the different major areas of nursing.

Clinicals will reflect that. They are typically in nursing homes, med/surg units, community health clinics, OBGYN units, psych units, and paediatric units. You cannot choose where you go for clinicals.

 You can request for specialty placements for your consolidation/preceptorship but they’re limited in the spaces available.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I went into nursing thinking LTC would be my future.

 

Loathed it.  Turns out I was meant for Acute Care.

 

don't start school with blinders on.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Clinicals are actually a great way of trying the areas of interest out without having to fully commit to it. You'll also be a student so you'll have someone guiding you. From the few people that I know who applied in the community (LTC and home care), it doesn't seem as difficult getting an interview compared to hospitals. One exception could be clinics where they may require you to work in the acute setting in that specialty before working in the clinic. 

Up Vote Up Vote ×
On 7/31/2021 at 11:27 AM, Khow89 said:

Clinicals are actually a great way of trying the areas of interest out without having to fully commit to it. You'll also be a student so you'll have someone guiding you. From the few people that I know who applied in the community (LTC and home care), it doesn't seem as difficult getting an interview compared to hospitals. One exception could be clinics where they may require you to work in the acute setting in that specialty before working in the clinic. 

Cannot like this enough.  Clinics are hard to get into!  It took me 15 years to get an interview in the clinics in my hospital.   But so many new grads expect a clinic job with less than six months of working because ‘it’s Monday to Friday, day shifts and works for my family life’.  It’s not up to mature nurses to work shifts.  There is way too much of the ‘you can work anywhere you want’ on forums.  You need experience 

 

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Public Health.
On 7/27/2021 at 11:50 PM, Fiona59 said:

I went into nursing thinking LTC would be my future.

 

Loathed it.  Turns out I was meant for Acute Care.

 

don't start school with blinders on.

I went into nursing school thinking oncology was my future. Did my RN consolidation on a leukaemia unit. Hated it. I'm in Public Health and adore it.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion