How do you decide

[fastwalk]

I have worked in a hospital setting for a while as a phlebotomist ( not to fast I know most people frown on lab people or at least they do where I work) I am in my first semester of nursing school and I'm really thinking that I want to become a OR nurse BUT how do you decide? What got me really thinking is just the other day I had to go to the OR to type and cross a patient and I really found the entire setting very interesting....Please give me some feed back.....

Thanks

[TazziRN, RN]

Some of us know just what kind of nursing we want to do and we work toward that goal. Some of us (like me) just have an opportunity fall into the lap and it turns out to be perfect. Others try different areas before finding their niches.

[AprilRNhere]

I was constantly concerned about deciding while in nursing school. By the time I was done...I realized that there were many areas i LOVED and i'd be willing to take a job in any of those. I applied everywhere I was really interested in and found a great job. You can always change fields in nursing...and I just figured if I fell into something I didn't care for..I have YEARS AND YEARS to do something else.

Good luck...I hope it just clicks somewhere for you!

[SCRN1]

First of all, let me say that I am thankful for phlebotomists. If it weren't for them, I'd have even more work to do.

As to your question, nursing is something I just always wanted to do. I was kind of steered toward doing something else right after high school that I ended up not liking. So, when my kids started school, I went back to school to do what I wanted to do to begin with.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

If you are already employed by the hospital, and are a nursing student, then I really think you stand a very good chance of getting permission to shadow for a couple of days in the O.R. to get a better feel of what really goes on. You are in a terrific position to take a look at several departments and the hospital is probably only too happy to help you develop an interest in one of them with the hopes of potentially hiring you as a new grad. It's certainly worth asking, they can only say no and you would be no worse off.

Good luck.

[fastwalk]

Thanks so much to ALL of you for responding to my question. Special thanks to SCRN1 for making to comment about phlebs..that is good to know that not ALL hospital staff thinks the same...(Sometimes I wonder) Thanks to TakeTwoAspirin that was great information I would have never thought about asking to shadow a nurse (I'm all over that) ....And like I said thanks to everyone else basically I realize I don't need to worry myself now about really making that choice if I don't enjoy the choice I make then I can always change.....

Thanks again

[shodobe]

I worked as a phlebotomist for over a year in a stand alone lab in town going around to all the nursing homes and really enjoyed it. I worked this while an RN and took much less pay because they didn'y have a scale for this that included an RN. That was OK, I enjoyed doing it and honed my IV skills on this practice and know how hard the job can be. I have worked in the OR for over 30 years and if you really want something you'll get it with will and determination. Good luck!