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@virgogirl good for you for standing up to your instructor and having more belief in yourself! If my instructor did that to me, I wouldn't know what to do. I am in sort of a similar boat in that nursing is my second degree, so I don't want to choose something else now. I worked so hard to get in. Thank you for your encouragement! @Froggybelly Thank you so much for providing that list! I think I have one clinical that will allow me to observe community nursing (if this is the same thing as clinic nursing). My instructors have told me that our school trains us to be in the hospital, and she wishes they would show us more than the hospital. What made you choose the OR if you really liked your psych rotation? Another question I have for you is if I prefer not to work nights, should I stay away from hospital OR, due to call, and look at a surgery center instead? Additionally, this may be a dumb question, but have you seen shy/timid nurses succeed in the OR/surgery center? As in, do they eventually grow a tough skin and learn how to have a stronger personality? I ask because I really want to succeed in this area; I think surgeries are so interesting but I am more soft spoken. I once had a co worker who was very abrasive, and I was terrified of speaking up to her. I just avoided her as much as possible. I could still work with her but only interacted with her when necessary.

@peachtreednurse thank you so much for your kind words! I truly do value experience nurses giving me advice and telling me that my personality/interests align with my current intended career goal. Additionally, thank you for saying it seems like I have a sense of self because after reading one of the responder's response (I'm sure you can guess which one), I was doubting myself thinking if I was too spoiled to have such a long list of preferences. I haven't thought about psych/behavioral nursing! I do have one whole semester, not just one day :), of psych clinical. The only thing I've heard about it from previous cohorts is that the class itself is difficult, but the clinical is boring. Someone told me most of the students just sat around and played cards because it was too dangerous for the students to interact with the patients. Of course, I'm not going to take this knowledge with me to the floor because I want to go in with an open mind. As to all of you who asked me to keep you posted, I sure will try to! As a small update, I really enjoyed my clinical today. I had a nurse who didn't have too many high acuity patients and the one assigned to me was such a sweet man. He was healing and soon to be discharged. We had such a great conversation. I was smiling the entire time. I know not everyday will be like this, but it's a nice and positive change to what I was used to which mostly consisted of patients who were at end of life or needed further treatment. Obviously, since I'm only there once a week, I never got to see what happened to most of these patients, so I felt like all I saw was sadness with no closure. Today, was different and it gave me confidence that I can do this :). If anyone else reads this post, please feel free to add your thoughts because I always love to read motivational words/advice even if you think I already read something like it!

Wow thank you for all of you who responded! I really appreciate your motivational words. @thenurseteacher Thank you so much for your kinds words! I think I'm just a very type A person who overthinks a lot. It's completely unhealthy, but it's how I've always been. I actually am in the process of applying for PCT positions right now. I'm currently in an accelerated program, so I don't have much time to maximize my learning experience, so I'm trying to do as much as I can with the time I do have. Currently, I just applied for a position in the OR. I know it's less patient interaction but I figure it'll give me practice with interprofessional teamwork and communication. Also, it'll expose me to a side of nursing that isn't inpatient and something my nursing curriculum only covers for a day. Plus I always thought surgeries were fascinating. @Mavrick I think I do have the temperament to be in the field. I know I can't be picky especially as a new nurse, but I'd like to believe that once I have experience, there would be some field of nursing that I would like based on the list I provided. I wasn't asking where I should start. I think I should've made it clear that I was looking for a goal that I would work my butt off for due to what I like. I sure hope most nurses find their jobs enjoyable. But you are right in that if I decide I don't like it, I need to get out before I'm in even more debt. Thankfully, I'm covered under scholarships for this summer session so I won't be losing too much money, just my time. @rnhopeful82 nope! We get placed on random floors based on where our instructors work. Some of my classmates are on more specialized floors like trauma. I think we have the opportunity to experience a nursing home once we get into adults. And yes I agree! Thank you for providing your friends' experiences. I think people tend to focus more on the positives of peds/neonatals so that's all I really know. I have a women and children's clinical coming up, so I guess I'll find out then if I can handle it. @kgoesbacktocollege hahaha you do sound like me! I have researched those career options but was wondering if those who are in those fields can provide insight on whether or not I would like it based on my personality/likes. I'm currently in the accelerated program right now, and it sure is tough. I think nursing schools should make it a requirement that people should have some hospital experience before applying. I know most people who don't still enjoy it, but it'll make people like me who had no experience and is highly anxious, more confident in our decision. @Lipoma thank you so much! Wow I really appreciate your response. I'm exactly like how you were right now. I go in and do what I need to do and walk out to follow my nurse some more. Every clinical week, I try to set a goal for myself that I would do something that I've never done before. So far, I've been hitting that goal. Now, I only wish I had more time on the floor so that I can practice and actually remember what I learned from my nurse! When did you finally feel more confident in your skills? Also, do you think starting out in outpatient would hinder you in the long run? I see both sides to this because I think to myself what if I really don't care if I'm ever in the hospital? I can spend the rest of my life outpatient if I'm happy there. I do hear that it gets monotonous, but I don't think I would mind that because outpatient settings are usually so fast pace that I wouldn't even have time to dwell on it!

Wow thanks Neo Soldier! Your experience sounds very similar to mine right now. This gives me a lot of hope that I will find something I'll like. If you don't mind me asking, what specialty are you working now and do you like it?

Hi everyone,I'm currently a nursing student in her first semester. Right now, I'm thinking I hate nursing because I didn't know what I got myself into/what nurses really did until I started clinical. I'm on a med/surg floor and even though I know I'm only a student there to learn, I am constantly overwhelmed and can't help it. I've spoken to my instructors and classmates for tips but once I get home, I just want to forget about clinical. To further explain what I don't like, I really don't like how sad it makes me being on the floor. I've never had anyone close to me die before, so I'm terrified of death and seeing patients so sick. I guess it doesn't help that my instructor assigns us the sickest patients so that's all I really see. I'm afraid to try simple things like giving baths and ambulating patients because I'm afraid I'll hurt them or I don't know how even though I was already taught. I seem to forget or don't understand a lot of the simple skills until I try it hands on multiple times. Is there anyone like me who just takes a really long time to get used to/learn things? It seems like my classmates can pick things up quickly whereas I learn by continuous repetition. This doesn't help because nursing school is such a fast environment with not a lot of time to practice with my instructors, so you can imagine how overwhelmed/stupid I constantly feel. Before I decide to throw in the towel because I don't want to waste any more money on tuition, I just wanted to ask for reassurance from nurses with experience that this is normal. Also, I was wondering if you all have ideas of a nursing speciality I may have an interest in so that I have motivation to keep going with my program. Some things about me: I was a resident assistant to about 60 students during college so I thought I could handle the high patient stress. I don't think this anymore because of the severity and multiple tasks that are due at a certain time. I enjoyed my job a lot because I got to know so many freshmen who were constantly in awe of the new college environment. I also enjoyed running into the "fun stuff" that happens during the weekends because I felt like I was contributing to their safety. I enjoy routine and predictability which also doesn't help on med/surg. I don't mind boring jobs. A lot of my classmates talk about how they would love the ER because of the unpredictability whereas that terrifies me. I like following procedures and am by the book. I'm a little socially awkward and shy. I can't seem to form conversations with patients or with my instructors. However, whenever I'm the patient I'm super talkative because the nurses/doctors start the conversation. One of my doctors actually assumed I was an extrovert. I guess this gives me hope that I can improve on my communication with practice. I have a strong interest in patient wellness before they are hospitalized. As a result, I think I would want to work in area with fewer patient deaths. I always thought I would want to work with children/babies but a lot of people say this, so maybe I'm just joining in on that. I have no prior experience working with peds/neonatal, so I'm not even sure. I just enjoy the thought of being around a more fun population and being allowed to act silly. I enjoy working in a team but can work independently as long as I feel competent enough to do the task (going back to predictability here). I would prefer to work only day/evening shift as I've had prior experience with insomnia and my therapist recommends I do what I can to avoid putting myself in a situation where that might occur again. Although, I wouldn't mind working weekends to pay my dues because I know new nurses tend to get the non desirable shifts. I'm an ISFJ if this helps more than what I'm trying to say. Also another thing I've thought about is going outpatient right out of school. I don't want this to be something I regret because I never had hospital experience. However, have any of you started in outpatient and never felt like you missed out on anything? I also thought about school nursing (once I pay off my student loans of course :)). Thanks so much for taking the time reading this and helping me out!