Preceptorship

[Bourne]

Long time lurker of these forums. I believe i was registered, but I have too many email addresses to remember which one applies to where anymore...

I graduate in May 2014 and I know i will make it. That much is not to question.. what is is where I should apply myself next year when we are allowed a week at the site of our choosing to follow a nurse in that department as well as perform nursing duties under supervision. Of course there is the stipulations: no clinics and the hospital/facility has to be willing and open for students, the college and facility much reach an agreement on this as well. One such hospital is denying all ADN students.

So I'm limited to 2 major hospitals and anywhere nurses work that i am not aware of. I need guidance and inspiration and maybe some motivation that all is not lost as I have delayed my choice longer than I should have because I am simply overwhelmed, unsure, lost, and want to make the best of my decision. My perspective is limited to only hospitals and nursing homes.

To keep this short I have narrowed the field to the following that i have interests in:

Pediatric Psych, pedi's (med/surg or ICU), Tele, oncology, maybe ER/ICU, + anything i don't know

I have ruled out: IR, OR, Dialysis, nursing homes (worked in them for +8 years), maternity. Possibly ortho.. not much for total hips/knees, broken/mended bones and the many types of traction.. ugh.

Reasoning: I like being a mentor to a younger age group (been a role model to my multiple cousins), i like interesting (like in-depth patho/phys or interesting i.e psych), i like doing things i.e IV's, meds, focused assessments, some teaching, i like somewhat of a variety, but i want to be great in my select, specialized field and as we students say it "know my stuff".

Psych is interesting, allows me to be a mentor, see interesting, build off my experience administering medications and such. Pedi's.. well again mentor + i like kids. However, one buddy nurse recently told me "you really want to deal with 'the parents' or 'them idiot parents' who think immunizations are the devil." I had no answer.

Oncology..the way i see it: in-depth, challenging in many ways, medication knowledge is intense and requires decent experience, I like cancer in that the way it makes me thing on what is happening and could go wrong or is happening and what as a nurse I will do and is to be done. Its all "cool" to me. I looove listening to my aunt talk about the cancer patients shes had just as a experienced float RN. I also am very privy to death both from nursing homes and traumatic events. I am pretty "cold" emotionally on the job. I am all about doing, tasks, objectives, moving forward after client dies to next thing. I take my own time to grieve.

Tele. I just got introduced to it more so this year and it think its fascinating interpreting strips and the whole patho/phys of it all-the heart, conduction, heart failure-the whole 9 yards. I take ACLS within a month and im stoked because I want to know clinically what to do in that crisis situation. I'm even looking passed that to even more certifications.

Which brings me to ICU/ER. I say maybe because i do not want to make it more grandiose than it is. The knowledge and things excite me; i want to be able to know what to do to save someone/keep them alive (i watched someone die helplessly in a farm accident years ago and I have since felt burden as you can imagine) but i do not want to get carried away. I want to save a life and feel that gratitude that i have done something i can be proud of.My life as a child was harsh. I was told i was worthless, a mistake, good for nothing, will not amount to jack- I want to prove all that wrong. But do i not want to do it in anger to say "hah told you so."

So any idea. What to others see? I know I'm being specific, but i want to aid my job search and what area of nursing i would like to shadow. This is going to play heavily for when i leave school. I don't care if i need pre-experience as long as i know what i am going for.

Sorry for long post.

[bankssarn]

I would suggest tele. You will see a little bit of everything on a tele floor. All ages, all conditions. Not everyone is there strictly for cardiac related issues, but a lot of the patients do have a cardiac history and/or an acute condition that requires tele monitoring (dehydration, renal failure, etc). You'll see a lot of pneumonia and COPD. I worked on a tele unit right out of school and it was a great experience. It was crazy, but I learned a lot. Just my two cents.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

I get the impression you are allowed by your school to pick whatever you want. Seems weird to me that the school does not have more input in this. As for which is better, I agree that tele is a great way to learn rhythms, medications and interventions for various adult conditions.

[Dranger]

I would go for tele or even PCU if you have that option. ICU in many ways will be over your head until you spend a while in the area and the rest of the options are too specialized to really give you a good grasp on nursing. I did ED which was fun but doesn't compare to my current job at the ICU.