First year here ... how'd you get there?

roser13, ASN, RN · Apr 17, 2010

Be the best student that you can be in your clinicals. Don't sit around in the nursing station, chatting or reading charts. Don't gossip. Don't bring your Starbucks cup. Pay attention to what's going on around you.

Be prepared when you go in every morning so that you can be fully "there" during the day and not worried about getting your assignments done. Offer to help. Show your interest, but don't feel the need to tell every experience you or your family/friends have ever had in medicine. Ask questions, but don't forget to listen to the answers. Ask to be told when an "interesting" procedure will take place.

In other words, make a great first impression at your clinical sites. There is absolutely no predicting what will float your boat in nursing. Even those who go into nursing school for a specific reason ("I always wanted to work with hospice patients") are surprised at where their hearts end up in nursing. Those nurses/administrators that you might impress in your clinical rotation may just be your ticket to your first job as a nurse.

katkonk, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2010

I am a first year nursing student and am curious as to how some of you got from where I am to where you are...
Job shadowing? Rotations during RN school? Epiphanies? Moving from specialization to specialization?
Thanks ahead of time for sharing. :-) I want to make the most of my time in school and make sure I take heed to those who have been in my position.

If you mean how did we know which specialties we wanted to work in...well, I had a vague idea before even starting nursing school. But, as I learned more and more, and I had more experiences and rotations in clinical, I was more certain about what I wanted to do. Also, my program offered electives during the summer. I was able to take an OR clinical elective one summer and an ER clinical elective the next summer. They were both outstanding clinical explorations of those specialties. Also, in the program I graduated from, the entire last semester was dedicated to spending all semester in two different placements...one for clinical "synthesis" in the unit we requested to be in (I got my first choice) and one community placement (I also got my first choice in that one). I knew when I graduated exactly what I wanted to do. I chose not to be an ER or OR nurse, but the experience there was absolutely invaluable for informing my clinical work in related areas. I would not have traded those experiences for anything. Also, as you rotate to different floors with different specialties, you will get a sense of what "lights you up'. One problem can be, if you are a curious person and like learning, is narrowing down the choices, because you may find that so many things interest you. But, try to remember the difference between visiting a floor as a student, and what it is actually like to "live" there, day in and day out. Try to get a feel for how quickly you might get tired of that unit, or how long you think you could work there. When you find one where you say...."wow....I would love to do this for several years!" (or more), or you stumble across some unexpected specialty that completely lifts you up (i.e. bone marrow transplant, or burn unit), then you will know you have "arrived". Enjoy the journey!!!

P_RN, ADN, RN · Apr 18, 2010

With me it was trial and error, job hopping if you will. I REALLY wanted to be an OR nurse 'til I was one and then YUK!

brookeycookie · Apr 22, 2010

Thank you guys!