I've changed my mind again

Ha! I too had a recent change of heart. I had been, up until now, set on adult ICU or CCU. Now, I'm thinking of Peds or PICU. I start Peds/OB next semester.

Is your program year round?

We have summer off, I was really hoping to get one of the star internship spots for the summer, only 3 people from my semester got them. One works for the Hospital already and 2 are on contracts for the scholarship for those that had previous bachelors degrees. I was bummed but will enjoy my summer off. LOL

When I first decided I wanted to be a nurse I was set on L&D. Then I decided ER. I said NO WAY for Peds, NICU, Burns, Oncology or Hospice. PICU to. Didn't want to be in an area where death was high and especially with children.

So after school started I went from ER to thinking Correctional would be awesome (after shadowing at the local jail) then I lost my first patient at the nursing home and next day we had end of life seminar. Then I decided Palliative Care or Oncology although scared me, was where I needed to be.

Was on Medical floor for clinicals and decided first I need a good foundation and would like to do Medical for a year or two (that probably won't change, I do believe a good foundation is important and then I can try all the fields I want, maybe even start as a float). So anyway, then just Started Ped/OB on Monday, went over the Maternity portion then and yesterday, and I decided not only did I want another baby, (I guess I will have to patiently wait for grandchildren, although got PLENTY time for that, no rush although I can't wait!) and I wanted L&D again. Today we did Peds. Then I decided although I didn't think I can handle it, this is where I want to go LOL.

Obviously I will get a better idea once clinicals start but my husband said he thinks I would be really great on Peds.

Still have more clinicals and classes so who knows how many more "callings" I will get. Although I do think this Peds one is pretty legit LOL

The great thing about nursing. I can try them all!!!

I don't think I want to start on Med/Surg. That type of nursing is very different than the type of nursing for peds or L&D, so I would rather jump right in, if I could. I will, of course, take what I can get.

I think everytime I went for a new clinical rotation or went on an observation I changed my mind.

I don't think I want to start on Med/Surg. That type of nursing is very different than the type of nursing for peds or L&D, so I would rather jump right in, if I could. I will, of course, take what I can get.

I will take what I can get to and with Peds I might try to jump right in since it's basically mini med surge. L&D I am actually pretty good at, I have helped many friends though labor (well not from the nursing aspect which I know differs) I have even watched a few C Sections of friends with tubal ligation.

Anyway, I know L&D though is very hard to get into because it's so sought after. My peds instructor said Peds wasn't AS bad to get into.

I enjoyed clinicals on the Medical Floor but I didn't on Med/Surge they are different units for us, med/surge is much smaller but the whole vibe their was off.

the medical unit though I had a really good experience. I would still get a job at the jail if that is all I could get, I would still be considered a new grad at the hospital but my chances of getting a new grad position would be better with pt. care experience. A lot of the "new grads" I have met came from being a nurse at the LTC facility or something where they worked with patients as a nurse, it just didn't count as their 1 year but still gave them a boost above the other new grads. My husband has connections pretty high up at 2 of the hospitals here and told me both people said to tell him when I am done and looking for work, but I don't hold a lot of weight into stuff like that. Sometimes people think they can pull strings they can't or are more talk. But it's worth a shot, I won't turn away a chance to get my foot in the door LOL

I think everytime I went for a new clinical rotation or went on an observation I changed my mind.

I can't relate to that at all!

I haven't even started nursing school and I've changed my mind from NICU to L&D to peds and now I'm thinking psych. But every time I see a childbirth on TV I still think "OMG I HAVE to be an L&D nurse!!" haha good thing I have time

BTW I ended up on a acute stroke unit. We also have extra beds for med/surg. I hope at some point to get into psych still.

Best thing about being a nurse is there is always something different to do.

My first semester was spent on an oncology floor. Which I thought I'd like. Though there were some parts I liked about it, there were parts I HATED. Esp on the last day when a patient that we had all had contact with (I'd gone and helped one of my fellow students change her) wound up in the ICU. And she went there in pretty bad shape So I'm not sure about that one.

I'm in OB/Peds rotation also. Just finished up OB. L&D was neat. Postpartum was ok, to me it felt just like the care we were giving to the patients in oncology. I never got to assess an infant, of the 3 moms I had 2 of them had babies in the NICU. The 3rd mom only had her baby for a few minutes, and that was the day I had 2 patients (never had before so it was a BIG learning experience LOL) so I was kind of busy.

We visited the children's hospital where we get hands-on day. And if our program's anything like yours, you don't get a whole lot of those days. Boo. Because I'm thinking I might just like peds. Even though today we saw some pretty sick kids, I think I could handle that. NICU might be neat. I have another observational day there next week. I did one on the L&D unit, but those babies aren't as sick as the ones in the NICU at the children's hosptial.

I still have Psych to do, that kind of interests me.

But I'm thinking I'll probably have to start out on a med-surge unit somewhere, just because jobs at the children's hospital (so I've heard) can be really hard to get right now.

Cheryl

My first semester was spent on an oncology floor. Which I thought I'd like. Though there were some parts I liked about it, there were parts I HATED. Esp on the last day when a patient that we had all had contact with (I'd gone and helped one of my fellow students change her) wound up in the ICU. And she went there in pretty bad shape So I'm not sure about that one.

I'm in OB/Peds rotation also. Just finished up OB. L&D was neat. Postpartum was ok, to me it felt just like the care we were giving to the patients in oncology. I never got to assess an infant, of the 3 moms I had 2 of them had babies in the NICU. The 3rd mom only had her baby for a few minutes, and that was the day I had 2 patients (never had before so it was a BIG learning experience LOL) so I was kind of busy.

We visited the children's hospital where we get hands-on day. And if our program's anything like yours, you don't get a whole lot of those days. Boo. Because I'm thinking I might just like peds. Even though today we saw some pretty sick kids, I think I could handle that. NICU might be neat. I have another observational day there next week. I did one on the L&D unit, but those babies aren't as sick as the ones in the NICU at the children's hosptial.

I still have Psych to do, that kind of interests me.

But I'm thinking I'll probably have to start out on a med-surge unit somewhere, just because jobs at the children's hospital (so I've heard) can be really hard to get right now.

Cheryl

What do you mean about rarely getting to be hands on?

I have lost a few patients I got close with, very sad. So far I have witnessed 1 code and to RRT's well one would have been called a code to but RRT was in the next room so we just called them in instead of calling a code. 2 of those people were my patients (no I didn't cause it LOL) anyway, one lady I was doing a presentation on, she got sent to ICU and died the next day. It was very sad

What do you mean about rarely getting to be hands on?

I have lost a few patients I got close with, very sad. So far I have witnessed 1 code and to RRT's well one would have been called a code to but RRT was in the next room so we just called them in instead of calling a code. 2 of those people were my patients (no I didn't cause it LOL) anyway, one lady I was doing a presentation on, she got sent to ICU and died the next day. It was very sad

I only have 5 days of hands-on (as school calls it) in the children's hospital where I have a patient. The other days are spent as observation. I do a day at a day care center, a day in the NICU, a day in the OR and a day as a school nurse, and then a day following a home-health care nurse (who works with babies and moms) around.

On our last day at clinical- as we were walking off the floor, this family comes TEARING in. And then doctors and nurses come running down the hall (we were taking our sweet time talking and had to move LOL). Story was that they'd admitted a young man- and he died on the way up to our floor.

I don't know how long I could physically take that. It was an emotionally draining 6 weeks. I have to admit, the staff on that floor was just wonderful.

Cheryl

It sounds like our school was different. Our first semester we did 8 clinicals in a LTC facility, all hands on.

Second semester first class we did 6 weeks, total of 13 days where we did all care for our patients except things we weren't trained on yet. Like for the first 3 weeks we couldn't do anything with IV's. But we could the second 3 weeks, we could do everything but push drugs (unless putting the syringe in the pump) and no central lines.

As far as all other meds, assesments, ng's caths' etc. etc. we could do it all. Our second day on the floor we were supposed to start looking after 2 patients. We do have to have a nurse watch us for the meds always, and first couple times doing the other things. My first night was supposed to be shadow night and I was giving injections and suppository's lol