Diversification of Skill set/Experience

[Guest915876]

Hello all,

Just wanted to get some advice. I am a relatively new nurse. I graduated a little over a year ago and have been working in a pediatric primary care clinic since. I am really enjoying pediatrics but worry about limiting myself to this specialty. We see healthy and sick children but really nothing too intense. My employer is the only pediatric hospital in my area and they also own most if not all of the primary care and specialty clinics. I am wondering if it would be a good idea to try to get a prn job in adult care to both maintain my skill set and diversify my experience just in case. I am a good employee and don't anticipate leaving my job or getting fired but it just makes me nervous because it seems I'd have nowhere else to go if something were to happen in my current position.

I'd like to know your thoughts.

Thanks!

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

So...you like what you do, yes?

Remember what comes out of pediatric patients, volume-wise, is much smaller than adults....

You are an ambulatory nurse and probably a good one. None of my nursing school classmates who specialized in pediatrics had a hard time transitioning to adults, and vice versa. I started in the adult world and became a high school nurse who occasionally takes care of little dudes at summer camp. What changes is the lab values, vitals rates and the other "normals". What doesn't change is your nursing process.

If you wish to broaden your skill set, you could consider looking at some inpatient care?