Alrewolf

Hello everyone - this is my first post on this website, and I'm very excited to have found it, as I've been looking for a site like this for a long time. I don't know many people in person who are nurses - or, if I do know them it's only from hospitals or my physician or what have you. I will be starting nursing school this fall and am immensely excited at the prospect, but I don't really know what to expect... What I do know is that my mother constantly says I need to know my specialization now. My problem is, I don't really have any experience with the different types of nursing or how the different levels differ in terms of care. I have been working as an in-home caregiver for some time, and I love it. Even the grosser sides like toileting and blood and vomit don't detract from the fact that I love my job. I don't provide any medical care of course so this is strictly a feeding/toileting/cleaning up after sort of job. From my very little experience... it seems the further up you go in nursing, the less the jobs have to do with what I love, and what makes it worth it for me. My mom says if you specialize, there's money. If you go higher, there's money. But I firmly believe that the world needs good, dedicated people in all positions - from the lowest to the highest. If you love your job and are good at it and happy with it, even if it pays less, it just seems like a disservice to yourself and others to go higher into jobs you might not be as happy with and may even come to resent. I am not good with children as a general rule - young babies and from middle school age up is fine. So I have already sort of ruled Pediatrics out, though I will of course do my best when we do those units in school I am actually looking more into geriatrics, but I'm not sure. How far should I go if I want to keep doing the more "undesirable" side of nursing? Does it all depend on where you work? Do I have to think about what I want to specialize in before I'm even in nursing school? I would be the first nurse in my entire family. I don't really have many places to turn for information. I try to be cool and collected and go along with what my school tells/sends me, but I'm really in a bind and don't have a solid place for advice... my adviser won't e-mail me back and I can't get a hold of anyone knowledgeable over the phone. Any answers or advice would be appreciated.