I'm so lost :(

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Specializes in Oncology.

I am a nursing student, set to graduate on June 23. I have already accepted a med-surg job at one of my local hospitals, which is great. Here's my dilemma: I'm already thinking about what specialty I want to go into after about a year of doing med-surg. I feel lost because I have NO IDEA what I want to do. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a psych nurse or an ER nurse, I haven't fully changed my mind about these options, but I'm not sure if these are the right fit for me. ER: too fast paced; Psych: the environment overall. I'm so lost :(. Any suggestions would be HIGHLY appreciated :yes:

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Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

My honest advice: Concentrate on your first year as a med-surg nurse and think about what you will do next later on. The first year of nursing can be very challenging. In addition, as you work you might get more ideas about what you do and do not like in nursing and you can use that to guide you. Congrats on your new job and best wishes as you enter the workforce. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you might want to do next along the way.

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Get up to speed and work toward competency/expertise in your med-surg position. Go above and beyond - really go for it! This is your chance to learn something about a lot of things. It will not be "biding time" but rather laying down a great foundation for wherever your career may take you. You may even find that you've become good at med-surg and want to continue to help people in that setting!

Good wishes~

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Specializes in Hospice.

I've worked with many nurses who've gotten their start in med-surg with no clue what they wanted to "specialize" in. Some have ended up specializing in med surge. Others have discovered another area of interest because of the exposure to the variety of patients that med surge nurses care for. I agree with the previous posters... your first year is going to set the foundation and will likely have a steep learning curve!

Congrats on already having a job offer and good luck!

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Congrats on graduating soon and already having a job! As others have said, use this coming year to build a great foundation in your work.

I think you will find your way soon enough.

And if nothing else really tugs at you, stay in Med Surg. Nothing wrong with that, even though the trend these days seems to be that everyone should specialize, become some sort of APRN, go into Management or Education or Administration.

Just do what feels right for you and do it when/if you are ready.

Best wishes.

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Specializes in 25 years NICU 5 years Telephone Triage.

When I graduated, they used to say all nurses should have a year of med-surg first. I don't agree AT

ALL.

I went straight into the NICU and trained as a new grad! If you want to try something else first, go for it! there are training programs for new grads in ER, NICU, L&D, etc. If I had to work with adults as a new grad, I would have never kept working as a nurse. I knew in school I wanted to work with babies!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Congratulations on that first job! It's a good feeling heading into graduation and NCLEX time not needing to worry about finding work also. While long term goals are good, focus more on your short-term and mid-term goals right now. Short term goal being passing the NCLEX, that really needs to be a top priority. Then focus on learning your practice, believe me you will learn a ton in that first year you are a nurse. During that first year in med-surg chances are pretty good you will decide what direction you would like your career to go. You might be surprised what you decide you like. You might even change your mind on what you like several times during your career, and that's ok too!

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I've been a nurse for 6 years and still don't know what I want to do ;). It's very common in nursing to change specialties at least a few times. And sometimes, right out the gate we think we know what specialty we want, but start in a different specialty bc it is a job and you need to start somewhere. Then come to realize you love that specialty and choose it over your initial "dream job."

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I have liked just about every specialty so I can't decide myself! I chose a position in ICU mainly because it is the one area I didn't get much experience in as a student or as a PCT, and also I figured it would facilitate transferring anywhere I wanted after learning how to be an ICU nurse. I had my nurse internship in medsurg though and I loved it and learned a lot. You will see a variety of conditions and after working there you might get an idea what you really want to do next, maybe even stay there.

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Specializes in critical care transport.

You will be doing so many things in med-surg. The COOLEST part of this is, you are gonna get PAID while you figure out what calls to you! How cool is that? You will be exposed to different disease processes and wound care, and certain aspects of patient care are gonna get your attention and pique your interest. You're gonna talk to nurses that came from other floors and hospitals, and you are gonna find your way. What is even better is, if something isn't a good fit for you, you can always switch! There's a no lose situation for you! :)

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