New Grad / Specialized Job, Advice Please!

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Hi everyone,

I'm about 2 months from graduation and have been thinking heavily on the start of my nursing career. I graduate in May and have had a couple of interviews so far that have gone really well. Throughout school, I've been one of the people who is not sure what kind of nurse I wanted to be. I have always been interested in wounds and all the gross things that come with it, but wasn't sure if I needed floor experience first. In school, people push you to get experience in different areas of the hospital before deciding on a specialty. BUT, I've been offered a position on a wound care team that I wasn't even sure was obtainable as a new grad. I originally applied as a shot in the dark for such a specialized area. With this being said I'm nervous about being what I read is called "pinholed" in my nursing career. I've worked in the hospital on the floor for over 3 years as a PCT and now a nursing extern and soon-to-be RN. I've seen and learned a lot there, but should I continue on the floor after school? I'm not sure if, as a new grad I should go into something so specialized in fear of "not using it and losing it" in terms of knowledge and pt care. My biggest fear would be becoming an incompetent nurse. Should I first get that "on the floor" experience to build a foundation like I've been told so many times? Or should I dive right into the wound care job if I think it's something I may be interested in? I'm as nervous as any new grad is, but my overthinking makes not knowing exactly what to do for the most beneficial long-term choice, that much more difficult. I really love working in direct patient care and just want to make sure I can keep that feeling, while also having the opportunity to expand my career.

for anyone who read this and whoever responds, thank you so much for your time and help! ❤️

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I'm biased, because as a new grad I went into a specialty.

My take on it is that while "floor nursing" can provide a foundation and firm up what was learned in nursing school, it is possible to be successful without that experience. Additionally, even "floor nursing" can be specialized within itself - a unit that takes only neuro patients or a unit that only takes cardiac patients, and so on. Medical surgical nursing has its own certification, demonstrating that it is itself a specialty worthy of that recognition.

If you want wound care and it's been offered, I'd jump at it if I were you. Skills can be (re)learned if you transition in the future.

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Rose_Queen said:

I'm biased, because as a new grad I went into a specialty.

My take on it is that while "floor nursing" can provide a foundation and firm up what was learned in nursing school, it is possible to be successful without that experience. Additionally, even "floor nursing" can be specialized within itself - a unit that takes only neuro patients or a unit that only takes cardiac patients, and so on. Medical surgical nursing has its own certification, demonstrating that it is itself a specialty worthy of that recognition.

If you want wound care and it's been offered, I'd jump at it if I were you. Skills can be (re)learned if you transition in the future.

Thank you so much for your response, that put things in a perspective I hadn't thought about.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

I also went into a specialty as my first nursing gig.  I went into L&D and my employee sent me to specialized training before I even had my liscense. Certified Wound Care nurses are in high demand and if this is what you want go for it. If you feel that you need floor experience consider a position that includes wound care as your jumping off point. Will you have a BSN? If so consider a big hospital/insurance system I know Kaiser promotes their wound care nurses from within but they want that BSN to start.  PS It's refreshing finding someone who likes wound care. 

Hppy

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hppygr8ful said:

I also went into a specialty as my first nursing gig.  I went into L&D and my employee sent me to specialized training before I even had my liscense. Certified Wound Care nurses are in high demand and if this is what you want go for it. If you feel that you need floor experience consider a position that includes wound care as your jumping off point. Will you have a BSN? If so consider a big hospital/insurance system I know Kaiser promotes their wound care nurses from within but they want that BSN to start.  PS It's refreshing finding someone who likes wound care. 

Hppy

Thank you for your input! I'll have a ASN degree, when I spoke with the manager of the team she told me about education and that process for higher education in order to really dive into it. I'll have to be sure to look into insurance / big hospital promotion once I get more experience. Also thank you for the refreshing comment, usually I just get the disgusted looks when people find out I want to deal with wounds willingly LOL 😂 but I've heard nurses in this specialty are very slim in quantity. 

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
SpecialT2 said:

 Also thank you for the refreshing comment, usually I just get the disgusted looks when people find out I want to deal with wounds willingly LOL 😂 but I've heard nurses in this specialty are very slim in quantity. 

I've done my share of wound care and truely enjoyed it. It's the one area where I worked which had real objective improvement with good care.

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