How did you know what area of nursing was for you?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2018

I worked in hematology/BMT and all of my primary patients died within a few weeks of one another. I knew I wanted to work someplace where people get better and go home. My manager found out CCU had openings and recommended me for one of them. I've been in critical care ever since. (1982).

brownbook · Sep 16, 2018

From your recent posts.....are you still working in ICU?

Hate to be so shallow....(but I did do 17 years nights, every other weekend, etc.). The area of nursing I found that was right for me was out patient surgery. No nights, no weekends, no holidays, depending on the type of facility no "on call".

With your ICU expirence you could transfer into PACU nursing. Acute care hospital PACU is very intense, and you'd have to take call. But you could find a job in an out patient surgery center not affiliated with an acute care hospital.

cleback · Sep 17, 2018

I get restless sometimes so float pool works well for me. I still consider it a temporary gig until I am completely done with graduate school but it's been good for the past several years.

I also work in an infectious disease clinic. I really like learning about infections... always something new coming up (zika, ebola, a variety of local outbreaks)... and I like the physicians and staff I work with. Also helps that it's no weekends, holidays, or nights.

I am hoping for an advanced position in infection prevention as my next career step. However, I also realize that I can get restless and chose my degree with the most options (clinical care, research, and teaching are all potential options... although I will likely end up in clinical care). In my opinion, choosing a niche isn't like getting married. It's OK to bounce around if you have other interests... as long as you treat your employers fairly.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2018

Sometimes, it's the job that's fallen in my lap.

I have always worked and will always work in pediatrics. My first job was the floor I did my pediatric clinical and senior preceptorship on. It was the only job I applied for as a new grad.

4 1/2 years later, I sought out a per diem job with the goal of dropping my hours at the hospital. I don't remember why I started searching for boarding schools but I got a 16 hr/week position in one and realized I really liked the community environment. Several of my former colleagues had left the hospital to go to home health so I started looking at pediatric VNAs. I got offered a pretty unique position in an office that was ~10 minutes from my house and involved splitting my time between the office and the field. At the time it was a 30 hr/week position but I grew the program sufficiently to justify it becoming a 40 hr/week position and I stopped working at the boarding school at that point. Did that for 3 years then became dismayed by some of the company's practices. I really liked the Mon-Fri schedule (which I didn't think I would) so sought out other Mon-Fri pediatric jobs and had 3 job offers within 2 weeks. The job I accepted I didn't even apply for- I had applied for another job with the same company (interviewed and was offered that position, actually, was going to turn it down because it involved too much on call) and then they called me and offered to take me out to lunch to interview me for a liasion position and offered me the job on the spot. Did that for 3 years then didn't like the changes the company had made and realized I hated working for a national, for-profit company so applied only for Mon-Fri positions at not-fot-profit hospitals/clinics. I accepted the job I currently have- community based case management for medically complex children in foster care- because I thought it would offer the greatest flexibility of all of my options. And it definitely does- I work from home several days/week and make my schedule the other days. It's important to me to have the flexibility to build my own doctor's appointments into my day or to end my day early on Friday if I need to catch a 6pm flight.

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Sep 17, 2018

It found me. I hade done Med Surg in a teaching hospital, LTC (as a DNS). clinic work-internal med and OB-GYN, Home health care, Family Practice RN and then school nursing found me!

This is my 25th year! Woot hoot!

allnurses Guide · Sep 17, 2018

I got energized when I had new grad nurses and nursing students precepting with me. Voila. A professional development specialist was born.

Nurse3242 · Sep 23, 2018

I am still in the ICU, but thinking about making a change in early 2019. I go sooooo back and forth. For weeks and weeks, I will be dead set on leaving and then something will happen that convinces me to stay!

I will have to look into PACU at my hospital. I really believe that's something I would enjoy!