one year away from a BS in Biology but thinking about switching paths

[anwcantdecide]

Im in my senior year of a pre-physical therapy program for my bachelors. I have been volunteering at a hospital in the Rehabilitation department and also at a private Physical Therapy practice. My whole life I've been dedicated to physical therapy as a career but now Im starting to feel like PT is a bit boring for me. I am now looking into nursing but don't know where to start. First of all, I would want to find a nursing specialty that suits me: leaning toward an ER nurse, or a CRNA, or an OR nurse, I honestly don't know. I don't think I would want to be in a basic nursing department like med-surg, telemetry, or even rehabilitation, its too boring and certainly not for me. What would be some possible nursing specialties that I should look into.

My second question is how would I get started on a nursing program. I am going to finish up and get my Bachelors in Bio-Physiology but then what. Would I need to go back to nursing school? What certification do I need to get? What kind of program do I need to get into so that I can eventually get into a nursing specialty but not be stuck on any one thing. For example, I was reading that if you go for ENP that you are pretty much stuck in the emergency field.

I'm so confused and need help!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

You may be putting the cart before the horse. Nursing schools are super-competitive to get into right now something with lengthy waiting lists - I don't know about PT programs. You may want to keep your options open if you don't get accepted to nursing right away. Nursing salaries do not keep pace with those of PT in the long term. Physical Therapists are able to function as independent contractors - in today's environment nurses are not.

There is no way to escape med surg for beginning nurses - it is the basic training ground and (with rare exceptions) where new grads are started. Transitioning to a specialty care are may take quite a while. Advanced practice areas such as CRNA, require advanced degrees - have a pre-requisite of very specific amounts of clinical experience in a certain area.

I would encourage you to do some investigation of nursing to get beyond the popular myths. If possible, spend some time with 'real' nurses in your area - job shadow if possible. The scope of nursing practice is wider than that of PT, so there is less likelihood of boredom. However that is also a weakness - nurses are constantly having to cope with new or unfamiliar situations and this is very stressful since mistakes in judgement can have a lasting effect on people's lives, including that of the nurse. This site is a great place to gain insight on the realities of nursing. Take a look at the "First year in nursing" forum.

Good Luck!