How do you choose a specialty?

ukstudent · Mar 16, 2010

Please look though some of the post's here on allnurses. The recession has hurt nursing as well. There are many nursing graduates over the past year that have not found jobs, any jobs let alone in a specialty.

To answer your questions though. Nursing school teaches you to be a generalist when you graduate. You start to specialize by getting a job in a specialty unit. Some start out in one, some go into one later, some nurses like knowing a bit about everything.

Krwats01 · Mar 16, 2010

When you are in nursing school you have the grandiose ideas of the type of nurse you will be and your chosen specialty. When you get out you find out what nursing is really all about, you lose your innocence about everything you thought in nursing school. Make sure that nursing is something you really want to pursue and if it is go with it. Be open to all types of nursing and do not be close minded, thinking you already know what type of nurse you want to be.

aef_btrfli · Mar 16, 2010

I don't want you all to think I'm naive about the recession and how it's hurting all job markets. However, when I'm looking on careerbuilder.com and other local career posting websites, nursing and other health related careers make up about 80% of the jobs available in my area.

Did you feel prepared when you left school and started working full time, or did you feel like there was a lot left out of your education?

I'm looking into nursing because I like to help people, i like interacting with people and working on a team.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Mar 16, 2010

aef,

I wanted to respond to your original question. Basic nursing education (undergrad) is designed to produce generalists. The curriculum includes all areas of nursing, as does the licensing examination (NCLEX). Nursing specialization occurs as a result of work experience and graduate & post-graduate education. Nurses who have sufficient work experience in a specialty area can also become 'board certified' by submitting evidence of their work experience and passing a certification exam.

The 'idea' of nursing appeals to most people - caring for people, making a positive difference, etc. The reality of day-to-day work can come as a shock. It is very fast-paced, hard physical work, in an environment fraught with potential for injury, with a difficult schedule, at the bottom of the authority-based health care heirarchy. There is extreme salary compression.

I would advise you to make sure you understand the reality of nursing before making any major changes in your life. Construction will come back eventually, bringing better opportunities for architects and engineers who made it through the 'lean years'. Meanwhile, nurses will still be toiling away - making less than before in terms of pre-recession dollars.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Mar 17, 2010

my program let us choose a specialty for our immersion/preceptorship. My program is an accelerated program and this immersion falls about 3/4s the way through. I chose Maternity/L&D.

Its both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I get 400 clinical hours in a specality field. On the other hand, new grad positions are few and far between, let alone in much sought out specialties. I am constantly wondering whether I should have preferenced med/surg instead to up my chances of landing a new grad position after I take the NCLEX this summer.

We'll see how it all pans out though.

Abby Normal · Mar 17, 2010

Welcome to the forum!

Doing your research is great. I am changing careers too, and have known far too many people who have been laid off. It makes you put your priorities in a new order. I am entering an accelerated master's program in the fall.

As others have said, you don't decide on a specialty in nursing school. So don't worry about that right now.

If I were you, I would continue to research nursing, look into programs, talk to your community college, see if you can get any training benefits to pay for classes. All of these things take awhile.

And I would volunteer at a hospital or a nursing home or someplace similar to get an up-close view of what nurses (and people in other health-care careers -- there are many!) do. Helping other people after what you've been through will also probably feel good.

Next, you might consider getting a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant or similar position. It only takes a couple of months and if you can handle this important job, you'll have a very useful job cert. (though not the same high salary as nurses, and a lot more poo!) Some work in hospitals, nursing homes, some go into people's houses and take care of them there.

If you need a money job soon, this may be a good bet. Your community college and perhaps the Red Cross have courses for a fee (which the state may pay for if you've been laid off -- ask); nursing homes sometimes give the training for free in exchange for a year or so of paid employment, I'm told. Call around.

I know you feel uncertain now, but you should have a career that makes you happy as well as secure. You deserve that. If nursing is right for you, you'll know it. If not, looking into it with the energy that brought you here will help you find the career that is. It is true that if you'd really rather be sketching beautiful glass buildings at a quiet desk, driving around from site to site, you might find nursing stressful and restrictive and if you jumped in too fast. So, as I said, the research is good, so you can be sure.

Nursing and health care in general still has a lot more job security than most other fields out there, even if there's a temporary backlog because of the terrible economy. It is apparently cyclical. There are many nurses in my family of all ages and it has been a great career for them.

You might also keep in mind that there are other careers that are kind of similar that you might like: physical or occupational therapist, speech therapist, dental hygenist, medical imaging technician, lab tech, respiratory therapist -- too many to name here. You can definitely help, interact and be on a team even if you're not a nurse.

Best of luck.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 17, 2010

I chose my specialty when the hospital we do our clinicals at approached me to work for them after I was done and graduated. Couldnt ask for a better situation than that but it is not like that for everyone.