Is this specialty flooded in your area?

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Hi everyone! I realize that this would definitely depend on area, but I wanted to know directly from people who work in the field, is this department really saturated?

I ask because in my nursing program, every girl except for 3 of us, has her sights set on Peds... Myself included. If this many people have intentions on specializing in this area, it makes me wonder if the field is packed.

Is this true in your area?

Thanks!

Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

When I was in school, I loved post postpartum..I've been in the ICU for over 2 years :) Point being, what you think you like now will most likely not be where you end up or what you really like at all. As a new grad, keep your options open. Jobs are tight in many areas, so take what you can get and then move on to the area you think you will love :)

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The reality will chase most off, possibly even you. Often once people realize instead of playing with toddlers, you're making them scream... instead of changing baby diapers you're changing the diapers of 150 pound 20 year-olds with CP... instead of talking to 5 year-olds you're talking to the moms of 5 year-olds who are refusing albuterol for their child that's looking at being intubated for asthma because Google says albuterol causes cancer... instead of saving children's lives you're instead "saving" their lives so they now have a lifetime of being trapped in a constantly seizing contracted body full of pain instead of toys...

And then there's the fact that even those that WANT their "dream job" won't necessarily get it...

A lot of what you included in your post was definitely food for thought and brought things to my attention that I really hadn't considered. Thanks for that.

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All of these comments are correct; Peds is brutally tough. If you think med/surg is tough (I worked it for 1.5yrs) imagine doing many of the same tasks on a screaming kid. Imagine trying to pass meds on a kid who refuses to swallow when you can just hand some pills to an adult.

However, it is EXTREAMLY rewarding because many of the kids DO bounce back and spend their last day laughing and playing. One of my favorite experiences was working with a little girl, who had a lap coly, and was a mess for a few days bounce back. When she left the unit, she ran up to me, gave me a hug and said "thank you for taking care of me mister". It was heart melting and soooo worth all the struggle.

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Specializes in Peds ED, Peds Stem Cell Transplant, Peds.

Been doing ped for 13 years, worked in many aspects of it. I NEVER EVER wanted to do peds or Picu. It is where I ended up. Mainly because working as a new grad in an adult floor having 17 acutely ill diabetic, renal pt with an LPN wasn't working. Peds seemed the safest route with staffing and acutity. I didn't mind working with adults, just thought the staffing was unsafe.

Point is as a student you may think you want one thing, end up in another. As for opening question it is getting flooded in Chicago area

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

I remember that in nursing school there were a few people other than myself that wanted to work in pedi. Most of them changed their minds after being in clinicals. They usually cite the parents as the reason they changed their minds.

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