how do you find your niche?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I've been a nurse for 2 years now, all of that time has been in the ICU. I recently got a new job at a new facility, because I was unhappy with my old facility (bad management and supervision). I'm almost a month into my new job, and I've realized that ICU is not for me. I thought I was burnt out just because of my facility, but it's not, it's the environment itself. But I don't know what other specialty I'd like to work in. I don't want to be that nurse who changes jobs like crazy, but our profession is so broad that there has to be a niche for everyone and staying in a job that makes you unhappy is pointless. I can internally transfer jobs after 6 months. So I'm going to stick out the next 5 months and look into transferring If I am still feeling this way. How did other people out there find their niche?

Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

For me it has been narrowing it down. I always knew L&D wasn't for me. I worked ambulatory Care as a LVN for several years before my RN. I went to inpatient once I got my RN because I wanted to get some new experience. I have since learned I am not an inpatient nurse, I much prefer the ambulatory setting but maybe not the same specialty I was in before (family med). Ambulatory has so many options and specialities so I'm looking into making a change. I would suggest making a simple list of things you absolutely would not want to do and things that may interest you and see what jobs align with that.

Editorial Team / Admin

dianah, ASN

8 Articles; 4,167 Posts

Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

I worked floated X3 years, in various ICUs and step-down units (they were called DOU - Definitive Observation Unit), then got a job in a Cath Lab.

Worked there and in ICUs the next 3-4 years, then got a job in Radiology. Stayed there X21 years. Exciting, challenging, interesting.

I have worked the past 15 years in a Cath Lab.

I wasn't looking when the openings happened, just thought the area would be interesting to work in, and it required ICU experience.

Hopefully you will find your niche!

allnurses Guide

NurseCard, ADN

2,847 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I don't know that I have a "niche", I've just found what makes me happy.

Being a "worker bee" makes me happy; I found that I have no desire to

be in management or to be "over" people. I've done home health and

have found that being inside a facility working at the bedside actually

suits me better. Night shifts suit me; I don't function as well anymore

when the sun is up.

Reading all of that above, you can see I'm quite atypical. :laugh:

I currently work on a small Med Surge floor and am happier than

I've ever been. Weird.

Davey Do

10,476 Posts

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
How did other people out there find their niche?

I used my Zen GPS:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]27210[/ATTACH]

dreamingofbeing

127 Posts

Specializes in Oncology, radiology, ICU.

In my 12 years as a nurse I have done:

1 year Oncology floor. I liked it but was physically attacked by a patient and for reasons to detailed to go into here I left that job.

2 years Telemetry/Intermediate care floor. Stayed as long as my sanity could hold out. Very disorganized floor with to many nurse cliques.

1.5 years Interventional Radiology. Loved this job but was constantly put down and bullied by a few of the nurses.

3 months pediatric psych. Just no.

4.5 years Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging. Loved this job so much but the call was getting to the point I had no life except work. The paycheck was nice but having a family and never seeing them was miserable.

2.5 years Radiation Oncology. This is my current position until the end of the week in which I am transferring to the ICU. This is also the job I thought I would retire from because it felt so right until about 3 months ago. However being an office nurse is a whole different world. I love my patients and my coworkers but I am the only nurse and it is extremely draining and I have zero chance for any type of advancement. I also realized I'm not cut out for the 8-4 world.

Luckily nursing is a career with so many choices that if one area doesn't fit you can try a different one. I keep searching for a "home" and I'm hoping the ICU is it. If you would have asked me back when I first became a nurse if I'd ever work in an ICU I would have told you hell no but now with years of experience behind me I feel a calling to go there. I still have a list of areas you won't see me in (ER, L&D, OR) but there's so many options for nurses now the sky's the limit.

allnurses Guide

hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I

4 Articles; 5,044 Posts

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

well I was a labor and delivery nurse but I suffered from severe depression. One night I drank to much (at home) and said to myself what the heck and took a near fatal overdose of prescription drugs. I ended up in a rehab hospital for depression and substance abuse. After I finished my treatment the DON asked me if I was interested in a job. I have been there since 2003 and I do acute inpatient treat for adolescent girls 12 to 17. I love my niche and can't imagine doing anything else.

Hppy

PS I wouldn't really recommend this route

City-Girl

102 Posts

Sometimes you've got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. Just because you think you know what you want to do, you don't actually know until you get there. After getting my initial experience on a Med / Surg floor, I found myself in an out-patient setting, I thought it was going to be great. No nights, no weekends or holidays, but I was bored and I found that I didn't like working with the same exact people every day (at least in the hospital there was some degree or staff variation every shift). So, back to the in-patient side I went. I scored a job in the PACU at a local community hospital. But, there was the fun of on call and dragging yourself out of bed to go to work in the middle of the night (I found this to be worse than rotating to nights).

Then I moved to a large teaching hospital and took a position in the float pool and have been there for the past 10 years. Every day is different from the next. Even though the hospital is large in size, the vibe on the units is very much like a community hospital. I've been able to learn so much from others around me and having exposure to such amazing medical technology is awesome.

My second week off of orientation in my current position, I was working on the post-op CT surgery unit. One of the patient's monitors rang off w/ sustained VT. Everyone on the unit jumped into action. CPR was initiated, within less than a minute the patient was shocked back to SR. The patient who had been on the brink of death was brought back. When I got back to the nurse's station after the code, I started to cry. The unit secretary asked me if I was crying because the patient didn't make it. I explained to her I was emotional because I finally felt like I was working where I was meant to be. That day the patient who we had coded bought himself an ICD and was discharged home a few days later. It's not an easy job, but I definitely found my niche.

+ Add a Comment