Different Fields of Nursing

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2012

Specialties

littlepeopleRNICU · Oct 17, 2012

Congrats on starting nursing school! It's a great career to go into because, like you are obviously well aware, there are so many areas you can work in! A beauty of nursing is that when you get bored of one area or find out it isn't for you, there are a ton more that you can dabble in until you find your niche. Have you started your clinicals yet? If not, you will most likely find an area or two that seem to draw you in more than the others.

As for me, I currently work in an adult telemetry unit. I have been there about 2 and 1/2 years, and I will be transferring to a NICU in a week and a half. I went into nursing knowing 4 things about myself. 1) I love medicine. 2) I wanted to help people. 3) I wanted to eventually go into critical care of some sort, and 4) I wanted to work with children or babies. I was a NICU baby myself, and hearing the way my mom talked of the nurses made me want to offer that kind of hope and support to other parents in return. So it was always a possibility, then when I did my clinical time there, I fell in love with it! I love what the NICU is about. Parents don't anticipate this to happen when the babies are born. Whether they are there by a parent's mistake, genetics, chance, what have you, everyone wants to be able to have a happy, healthy baby and take them home in a couple of days after birth. Working in the NICU will be not only a support system for the parents, but a fighting hope for the babies and work for them to get a shot at life...whether their parents are involved or not. To get to be an advocate for the ones who cannot speak or do for themselves. I interviewed as a new grad at another hospital, but sadly did not get the position. I love the technology, the challenges, the work that the NICU is about, and I'm very excited to get there. I hope it ends up working out for me :) The hospital I'm at now has a much bigger unit with more acuity, ECMO, surgeries, and we are the regional perinatal center for many counties in my state. So it worked out in time for me to get this experience now.

I took the position that I was offered for the unit I'm on now. I have gotten GREAT experience. The majority of our patients are renal patients, and most of them are very chronically sick and complex. I have learned how to work with complex patients and seen many things. Our patients crash easily and quickly, and I've learned to deal with that. The telemetry aspect helps me learn things about patients going in and out of funky rhythms. I knew going into the floor that it would be difficult and challenging, and that the types of patients and the telemetry would help be good experience to eventually work in critical care.

Sorry such a long post, but that is why I chose where I work now and where I will be going very soon :) Good luck in making your decision, but keep in mind that you have lots of time to decide! Just enjoy where you go in clinical now for the mean time, and the answer will eventually come to you!