How do I decided what area I want to work in?

[hcrn2005]

I thought I had it all figured out, but the hospital I work at has a program for nursing students to visit 3 different floors of their choosing. You spend a month on each floor getting skills experience with a RN, you can't give meds, but you can do anything else. Believe me, I have learned more in this program than any of my school clinicals combined.

I am graduating in May and thanks to this great program I have no idea where I want to apply. I have a job offer from the oncology floor which I really enjoyed for numerous reasons, and I am working in ICU now, and have also had several nurses say that my skills are good enough to come to ICU to work. (let me clarify, my dream was to be a flight nurse so ICU would be a good place to go. The hospital I work at is a level 1 Trauma Center.) I know that most people say you need a good Med-Surg background before you come to ICU, but most of the ICU nurses I have talked to say they started straight out of nursing school in the ICU.

Please help. How do I decided what to do?

[suzanne4, RN]

Where do you feel the most comfortable now? Remember that your learning curve is only going to begin when you start working, school just prepares you to be safe and know the very basics. Which unit is going to give you the bet orientation? Which manager and charge nurses do you prefer working with?

If your goal at the moment is to be a flight nurse, then by all means go for the critical care experience. But don't do critical care for that sole reason, you may find out that you really like that and get plane sick in a small plane. Guess what I am saying is, don't put all of your eggs in one basket and keep your eyes and ears open.

Good luck with whatever you choose..............

[piper_for_hire]

From what you've said - you've already answered your own question. Go to the ICU.

-S