how did you find your nursing niche?

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2004

Well, I've been a nurse for 12 years and haven't found my niche yet!

Many nurses change areas of practice frequently r/t working conditions and burn-out. Some also change jobs frequently in order to secure new sign-on bonues.

I have worked in: LTC, rehab, long term medically unstable psych, hospice homecare office, hospice inpt unit/phone triage, private duty/homecare, med-surg, adult day care consulting and have been doing dialysis for ten months now.

All of my hopping around has not seemed to hinder me in finding jobs.

Best of luck to you!

live4today, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I have to agree with Hellllllllllo Nurse. I've also worked many different areas in nursing, and don't regret working in any of them because I learned a lot from each area that I wouldn't trade for anything. It hasn't hindered my ability in nursing either. Actually, it has helped me as a nurse to be a "nurse of many trades.......trade of no specific one".

suzanne4, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I have always preferred getting as much experience as possible. I know that now they tell you not to float, etc. to another unit, but when ever I possibly could I did. I still do not give up on learning anything knew. Whatever you learn in one unit can only help you in another unit. Does your hospital actually have a float pool? That would be a good area for you to try. Also, talk to the manager of the OR in your hospital and see if you could shadow a nurse for a day to see if you really liked it and if they would be willing to train you. Same thing for L and D. Things look different when you are looking thru the eyes of a staff member than when you were a student. You have nothing to lose if you don't ask.

Good luck to you..............................

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I don't think it's necessary to find your "niche". I've worked in four types of med-surg areas (neuro, trauma, telemetry, and general medicine/oncology).

That's what's great about nursing, so many areas, so many things to learn.

Squeeta2 · Jan 16, 2004

I just left my "niche" after 5.6 years. I am an awesome confident & knowledgable vent/pulmonary nurse.

Why did I leave? Because if you had thrown a peds pt at me I would have been lost. IMHO, you use it or you lose it.

I think nurses who allow themselves to become "comfortable" are doing themselve an injustice. So hop around, every shift should be a chance to learn/experience something new. I'm not saying that you should do that every 3 mos..THAT would look bad. But employers will like the "seasoned" nurse with multiple backgrounds to pull from. I have made it my practice over the years to do a minimal year, some I have stayed at much longer, others I was counting down the days!!

I am far from comfortable in my new place (4 mos) and that suits me. I am the first to say let me see or can i do that?I know thats a PIA when you just wanna get the job done.. However, when they need help with a vent, pulmonary issue or a hard needle stick they come to me...its a win - win situation!!

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I really like suzanne4's suggestions about working for an in-house float pool. (We call it the Resource Pool where I work.) It is a good way to experience a lot of different areas and is usually looked upon positively by administration. Being a professional "float" helps the hospital be flexible with staffing. Having it on your resume makes you look "flexible" and "adaptable" as opposed to looking like someone who stays only long enough to get oriented.

Shadowing a nurse in a unit before taking a job there is also a good idea, if you can do it. OR nursing, as just one example, is so different from other kinds of nursing that you might not be fully aware of all the aspects of the job. Such information could help you make a better-informed decision about a specialty that's very different from what you are already familiar with.

As far as how it looks to have a lot of job hopping on your resume ....

As someone who has done a lot of interviewing and hiring, I believe that a little bit of job hopping is OK, but it can sometimes, it can hurt you. A lot depends on how long you stay in a given job, what kinds of jobs you have taken, and what kinds of jobs you apply for.

For example, if you have had several med-surg jobs and you are applying for a similar position on unit that really needs staff, it will probably be of minimal consequence. They are looking for a competent staff nurse who can step in a take safe care of the patients and you can fill that need.

However, if that same person were to apply for a position that would require a lot of additional orientation/training, that job hopping might count against you because the employer would be hesitant to invest so much money in training someone who probably won't stay long enough to merit the investment.

Similarly, job hoppers may have trouble being promoted or being selected for advanced roles because people new to such roles usually require at least 6 months to settle in and often don't fully "hit their stride" until at least a year into the job. To be selected for such a job, it helps to demonstrate that you can committ to it long enough to become really effective in the position. Also, job hopping can count against you when applying for jobs that might be considered a "career advancement" rather than just a "lateral move" because most people take at least a couple of years to progress into the higher levels of expertise. It's harder to do that when you are always the "new guy" on the job ... so, it raises a question about whether or not you are truly ready for a leadership position.

Finally, excessive job hopping raises a question about your judgment that you need to be prepared to answer. Were you really just shopping for a good fit ... or were you unable to get along with the people you worked with? Do you have unrealistic expectations? Do you leave a place every time it isn't perfect? Why should we believe you won't leave soon if we hire you? Perspective employers may or may not ask those questions to your face, but they may be thinking it. You should be prepared to answer those questions one way or another.

I've done a little more job hopping in my career than would be prefered by an employer, too ... enough that it was a bit of concern. But I survived it, partly because I stayed within the same specialty, partly because I kept increasing my educational level and taking more responsibities whenever I could, and partly because I eventually stuck with a couple of jobs a little longer than I might have wanted to just to show that I could stick with a committment.

Good luck,

llg

findingmywayRN · Jan 16, 2004

Thank you for all of your ideas and suggestions. It is nice to know that it is ok to try many different areas in nursing. I like Suzanne4's idea for inhouse float pool, but I work in an LTC facility, not a hospital. I do float there, though. Squeeta2's idea to make it practice to stay minimum a year sounds like a great practice for me to follow.

llg, thanks for taking the time to offer your many insights! I am in contact with a hospital which has offered for me to visit various units and possibly shadow someone so I can get a feel for their day - and how the unit runs.

To answer your questions about job hopping I think I am just looking for the right fit, but being fairly new I think I also had some unrealistic expectations, too. I thought I would just automatically find my place and love my first job - pretty unrealistic!! I think taking more time to explore a potential position, look around the unit and see the staff in action rather than jumping right in is important too.

mattsmom81 · Jan 16, 2004

Well, it found me...LOL... my niche is ICU which is IMO a natural extension of medsurg. I kinda 'grew' into a tele position from medsurg, then as I saw where my interests were, made the move to critical care.

ICU has been my home for the last 15 yrs or so of my career. I do try to float out to tele, postpartum and ER occasionally so I don't lose my 'edge' in other areas. I do have trouble juggling 8 patients on medsurg now...LOL...but I can handle 5 on PCU.

Don't underestimate your medsurg experience...I still remember lessons learned from my early medsurg years...and a medsurg nurse is worth her weight in gold in most specialty areas. You have the solid background to build on. :)

Best wishes in your career! The great thing about nursing is all the options we have! :)

schoolnurse/dr · Jan 16, 2004

I have been a nurse for 30 years, and have worked in every area but surgery and L&D. I have to agree- float you may not ever find your niche, I havent' yet, I'm still looking. LOL I'm now a schoolnurse. I've worked for insurance company, agency done school nursing before, but you can never get enough experience from different areas. Because of my experience I've had the opportunity to do supervision for the entire hospital, be on committies, revamp nursing forms, etc. etc. But I guess I've worked med-surg the most ovr the years. There's rarely a dull day and never the samething twice. Nurses who stay in the same area have stunted growth, and they have a hard time seeing the big picture, they get stuck in a rut. If you float you will see what I mean.