How far should I further my education?

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Considering the disadvantages of monetary expenses and a longer education, do you think specializing in a certain field is more beneficial than becoming a general RN? What made you nurses decide whether to continue your education, or stop?

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Specializes in Med Surg.

Is this homework?

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No. I came up with this question myself.

My assignment was to join AllNurses.com and start a thread on a topic of my choice. Your response would be appreciated!

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That is an interesting assignment. Is the school affiliated with the site?

Anyway, specializing is generally done once you graduate, so no additional expenses. I'm also not quite sure what you mean by "general RN".

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I'm also not quite sure what you mean by "general RN".

Perhaps she is referring to a generalist nurse who has no particular specialization, a.k.a. a 'jack of all trades, master of none' type of nurse.

These types of nurses generally have no specialty certificates and tend to cluster in areas such as med/surg, long term care, home health, ambulatory care, and other types of nursing that draw heavily on basic procedural skills and where experience in a specialty is purely optional. I consider myself a generalist nurse and there's no shame in my game.

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.. I consider myself a generalist nurse and there's no shame in my game.

Love this! You're AWESOME! :D

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Rock on, TheCommuter! LOL, I was under the (mistaken, apparently) impression that nurses tend to stick in a niche once there. Like once an L&D nurse, always an L&D nurse, but I see what you're saying.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Welcome! You should stick around after your assignment is finished--this is a great site. :)

I am stopping my academic-institutional education at the BSN because I like being a bedside nurse. I don't need an MSN or a DNP/PhD to be a bedside nurse. Well I don't exactly need the BSN either, as I did get a level 1 trauma ICU position w/ my lowly ADN, but if we were ever to move out of the area it might be tougher to find a job w/o the BSN. Plus part of me wants to feel like a "real" college grad. :) I did hem and haw about becoming a CRNA...I was on the fence for a long time, but ultimately decided I like being a bedside nurse. Plus my husband wants to go back for his PhD, and we're already stretched thin as a family without both of us in grad school.

Once I am finished w/ my BSN and have my study time back though, I do plan on getting my CCRN. That is a credential and knowledge that is directly applicable to my chosen bedside specialty.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Considering the disadvantages of monetary expenses and a longer education, do you think specializing in a certain field is more beneficial than becoming a general RN?
The answer to this question is, in my opinion, totally dependent on what one wishes to do with his/her career. I prefer to remain a generalist nurse because I have no strong interest in any particular area of nursing, so I want to leave my options open.

However, the nurse who wants to remain a critical care nurse until retirement or has a strong interest in public health might want to specialize and attain specialty certifications to set themselves apart from the rest of the ever-enlarging crowd of hopefuls.

What made you nurses decide whether to continue your education, or stop?
I am continuing my education because I can already see that the wave of nursing's future will involve more education. To remain a somewhat competitive applicant, I do not want my employment applications tossed into file number thirteen (a.k.a. the wastebasket) because I lack a baccalaureate degree in nursing.

I entered the profession as an LPN/LVN before earning an ASN degree. I have 10 more credits to go before I earn the BSN degree, and I certainly have plans to enroll in a MSN degree program afterward.

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The answer to this question is, in my opinion, totally dependent on what one wishes to do with his/her career. I prefer to remain a generalist nurse because I have no strong interest in any particular area of nursing, so I want to leave my options open..

Agree 100% ! Also, ccarda, nursing was a second career for me (I have a previous degree in social work). Completely by chance, I wound up in GYN and absolutely love it. Working with teens is especially rewarding to me, though we see female patients of all ages.

In the outpatient (clinic/ambulatory surgical facility) setting where I work, it is common to work with NP's who have specialized in Women's Health, RN's, LPN's, and MA's . Agree with what The Commuter said above.... for many nurses, the future will involve more education.

Good luck with your studies, and best wishes to you, ccarda !

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Thank you so much for all of your contribution!

I'll first start off by saying that when I mentioned "general RN" I was just referring to the typical nurse in any hospital that isn't specialized in a certain field.

When I become a nurse, I know I will specialize into a certain field because I want to learn more and get more out of the job (educationally, not monetarily). I want to be educated in a particular area. I'm thinking about heading toward GYN, midwifery, oncology, peds, or maybe psychiatric? I'm just so indecisive.

I mentioned the question about furthering your education or stopping, because I feel that if you've already come this far, why not specialize? After that, why not become a practitioner? Why not become a doctor even?!

Also, I'd like to say that I didn't mean to put a "general" nurse In a bad lighting, or make them seem less educated at all. I just didn't know the exact title to type!

Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get experience in the different fields I mentioned so that I'll be able to make a better decision on which direction I'd like to go?

If I obtain my CNA license over the summer, what will that allow me to do in the hospitals? I know some of my friends have already gotten theirs, but I'm not sure what their duties are.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I mentioned the question about furthering your education or stopping, because I feel that if you've already come this far, why not specialize?
Specialties just don't appeal to some nurses. I don't particularly like any patient populations in particular, so specializing is not that alluring to me.

After that, why not become a practitioner? Why not become a doctor even?!
The nurse practitioner career pathway is becoming oversaturated as everybody (and their mamas) enrolls in online nurse practitioner programs. As more people become nurse practitioners, the value of being one actually drops.

And if a person wants to be a doctor, (s)he should totally bypass nursing school altogether. Nurses practice under the nursing model of care provision, whereas doctors have their own medical model. Nurses are not junior doctors and we do not practice medicine. We practice nursing.

This is why aspiring doctors usually major in biology or some empirical science instead of nursing. The thought processes and approaches to care are totally divergent.

The truth is that the nursing workforce's distribution is akin to a pyramid. At the base we need good bedside nurses, in the middle we need good managers and midlevel providers, and at the tip we need innovative leaders, nurse scientists and researchers who will lead the way into the future.

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