Favorite place to work

[rtin05]

Hi All,

I am a student and trying to find where I want to work. I have always thought about neonatal or labor and delivery but still trying to decide. I thought it would be interesting to find out where everyone works and what area you enjoy the most and why. Thanks for your responses.

[zambezi, BSN, RN]

When I was in nursing school, I too went in thinking mother/baby or working with pregnant adolescents...I thought mabye public health as well...

However, while, I liked these areas in school, I found that I was really interested in working in the critical care areas...I really enjoy the heart so I work in our coronary care unit--where we take both medical and surgical cardiac patients...I love it. I like the docs and that they trust and value our opinions (most of the time anyway), I like the teamwork, and I like the autonomy that the unit has to offer.

As others have said...it is good to have a goal, but until you experience all of the different areas, keep your mind open...you may find that an area that you didn't expect excites and challenges you.

[mac23]

In school my thoughts were peds or NICU. So I went to a NICU and that's where I still am today. I've tried PICU, peds oncology, and Adults ICU but after a short while I always went back to the babies. I think my interest came alot from experiences in my personal life and NICU is the place I had the most to offer. I LOVE it.

[jannecdote]

I worked med/surg right out of school and floated to just about every department in the hospital except L&D and outpt surgery. This helped when I worked agency as I had a good solid background in ICU, med/surg, post-partum, ER, etc. One of my favorite jobs was working as an IV nurse, but it hurt my one-on-one patient skills in the long run. I even tried ALF/Alzheimer's unit (not for me). By chance I got called about a job in an extended care facility with a Rehab and med/surg floor. I love it. Just about all my past experiences have helped me--especially IV, cardiac and pulmonary. I feel really comfortable in this position and think that I might pass my 3 1/2 year record of staying in the same place for a while.

Point being, it may take a while to figure out what you like. But when you find your niche, you'll know it.

[hypnotic_nurse]

I really like my research job. It's challenging on many different levels and the hours are somewhat flexible (I've worked in several different research areas, psych, NIH trials, and now ENT). Plus I like being on the cutting edge of things. I also get a lot of respect from the people I work with, physicians, nurses, and other staff.

[TXMomRN]

20 years ago I wanted to be a surgical nurse... work in the OR, see the wonders of the human body up close... Didn't take too many "observations" in the OR to realize the OR is a small room, probably does not have windows, and not many seats - I am no athlete but I like to move around!! Did Med-Surg, ER, and Nursery as a tech waiting to work L & D, and in nursing school my L & D preceptor commented that she could see I was "right at home" there... and I was! It's been L & D (or Nursery/NICU) ever since... still the occasional surgery but 45 minutes sure beats 4-5 hours!