sopger22

Hi Nurses :) Im currently in my final year of a bachelor of Nursing degree in New Zealand (yay almost there!) Im now facing the dilema of choosing what areas to apply in next year....eek! For the past year I have been aiming for emergency nursing and was planning towards that, but recently I have been thinking about Intensive Care Nursing instead. I really enjoy working with more complex cases and i love the feeling of a unit environment rather than the wards. I love variety too and love a good challenge I was told recently by one of my nursing school tutors that she thought i would be very suited for intensive care rather than emergency. I have not had the change to try out Emergency or ICU yet unfortunately, and have to make decisions before I will get a chance to try them out later this year. I did however have a rotation in the PACU and thrived in complex and emergency situations. I know a lot of nurses suggest working in a med/surg ward for several years to gain experience, but I know this is not what will suit me, and I personally think i will 'learn' wherever I am, and why not start of where I want to be if I can?!!! In New Zealand we are lucky enough to be able to apply for new-graduate positions in all clinical areas, and we go through a year long transition program, so we aren't thrown in the deep end straight off the bat. These positions are really competitive though and Im not sure I will be appropriate anyway, because Im only 19years old (was put up a year in school, then went straight from high school to Bachelors degree). I have however recently had the honour to recieve the clinical excellence award for bachelor of nursing, so this may help me gain a position next year (Hopeful). I was just wondering if anyone has any advice or ideas, and if someone could shed some light on what these clinical areas are really like to work in.