Finding your place in nursing

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I was just wondering how many areas in nursing you guys and girls have worked till you found the place you love right now I'm thinking where I'm at isn't where I'm going to stay I really want er or icu but am on a step down unit now

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I always knew I wanted to be a post partum nurse. How ever it took me a few years to finally land my dream job. I've done everything from Ltc, icu, er, home health , school nursing.

Sometimes it just takes time to get where you want to be

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Specializes in Pulmonary, Lung Transplant, Med/Surg.

I worked with lung transplants out of nursing school for 18 months then went to an ICU stepdown for two years. I knew I needed out of the hospital. I found home care nursing and have never loved a job so much. So basically three jobs and 3.5 years to find my place.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I've worked in Rehab, Home Health, Ambulatory Health, Nursing Informatics, LTC, Dabbled in Critical Care, And back to Rehab (Adult and Peds, respectively).

I've learned to enjoy each specialty I've worked in...I found my place in nursing by simply being-a nurse. ;)

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I needed to read this today! I'm in the process of trying to find my niche! I'm curious above poster do you ever get scared to go into their home?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I needed to read this today! I'm in the process of trying to find my niche! I'm curious above poster do you ever get scared to go into their home?

If you are referring to my post, I never felt uncomfortable going into a home; I made sure that the case was a "fit for me; if it wasn't I simply didn't do the case.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

To add: I think sometimes nurses regardless of mileage in this business, although I'll say newbies, end up feeling as though they are on a life raft, trying to figure out their place; it helps sometimes to look at how one wants to hone their practice on how they approach the environment at hand; meaning the pt population, their conditions and how we contribute to the strategies of being a healing manger; we manage symptoms and diagnose and intervene and educate based on symptoms; I have found approaching our pts in this manner has allowed me to transcend in the different roles and specialties that I have explored; each had their pluses and have helped me be a better nurse. :yes:

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I don't really think it's about finding your niche. It all comes down to (at least for me) can I spend years with the people I work with? I've really liked several different areas but it changed with new managers, new coworkers. When the staff dynamics change, so does my enjoyment of the job.

When staff are given reduced workloads because they are friends of the manager there is a problem. When staff that are bully's are allowed to carry on because they are old staff rehired by a nurse who can't see this, there is a problem.

I'm looking for a new area for exactly these reasons as are several of my coworkers. My manager doesn't understand why we are looking, despite us pointing out there are issues with recent hires. We are suddenly problems. She will be loosing a combined 75 years of experience.

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