GN here looking for career advice!! Please

[sunfirebsn]

Hi all, I just recently graduated from a diploma program this month and I"m still trying to decide where I want to work at, I know it is a little late. Most of my classmates are doing med/surg even if some of them don't want to. Med/surg has not been my favorite area, the patients were great but the stress was greater, I realize every job is stressful though. I think I am more anxious and nervous than anything if I was to try that, I only went up to 4 pts. a few times and thought that was enough! lol :uhoh21: I know most people I talk to say do med/surg for 6 mths. or 1 yr., but I don't think I can. Two of my classmates are going straight into the ICU & CCU, I can't imagine that! So, the areas that really interested me through school were OR and dialysis. I always thought the OR was interesting even before school. Even though we only had 2 days of the OR, I thought it was neat & blood & open organs didn't bother me! We spent a few hours at a dialysis clinic, I think I liked that since it was less of a hospital setting and the nurses seemed less stressed (it probably went crazy after we left since it was calm while we were there!). Also, my friend's sister graduated from my school a year earlier and was working there, I talked to her about it on several different occasions and she loved it (she told me that she did not want to do med/surg either after grad.)

SO, here are a few questions I pose: What other fields did anyone go into after school that weren't med/surg?? Is it possible to be hired as a GN into the OR (I have heard it mentioned that they do in Pittsburgh) or Dialysis (chronic I suppose, since I gather acute is more for the experienced??). Any other comments about OR/dialysis or just any general advice would be greatly appreciated!!! :)

Sometimes, I wonder if nursing was the right choice, I have been told I will do fine, but since I am having a hard time deciding right now, I'm just not sure anymore. Also, this may be a duh! question, but after you graduated did you feel like you didn't know enough? lol Again thanks for any advice ( hope to get some at least )

[rnpilot]

I also hated med-surg. I went into NICU at a university hospital. As a new grad, I had 6 months of orientation so I was eased into it. Since it's so different from other nursing, everyone learns it on the job. It worked very well for me. I'm now orienting to the OR in Pittsburgh, where they do hire new grads. Again, it's a 6 month orientation and you get paid to learn on the job (and well at that!) :) A year in the OR in PGH and you can probably go anywhere. If you like the OR, find a hospital that will train you. Don't work a job you don't like. It will just make you miserable and possibly hate nursing. I was also interested in the OR as a new grad and missed opportunities because I didn't think I could be hired so I didn't pursue it.