hellokidney

As much as I love anonymous strangers telling me how to do my job AND how to live my life all in one public forum, I'm not currently concerned about those matters. I would actually just like to know what kinds of nursing specialties are out there that may possibly be in the realm of my interests, as clearly stated in my original post. The other day someone told me she worked as a telephone nurse from her own home... I had no idea that was a thing! It made me realize I've seen only a small percentage of what's out there in the world of nursing. That is why I came here. Not to be told I don't know how to do my job or live my life.

Yes! I definitely don't want to meticulously plan anything, and I'm very open to many different options. In fact my goal with this post is to see what options are even out there. I don't want to limit myself, but I am hoping to specialize in something. While I've learned a lot in 6 months of med-surg, being a jack-of-all trades and master of none isn't my style.

Hey guys! I am a new nurse who has been working on a med/surg floor for 6 months. I don't hate it... but I know it is not the career I want to be in forever. I'm trying to think about my future and where I want to specialize after a year or so of med/surg nursing. Hoping to brainstorm with some fellow nurses! Things I like: focusing on one patient at a time. Right now I juggle 5 patients at once, usually without a CNA on the floor. I just hate feeling like I have to apologize to my patients because I'm not giving them the level of attention I want to be giving them. working nights. I'm a night owl and always have been. My husband works nights as well. I wouldn't mind doing day shift if I was passionate about it though. charting. I honestly wouldn't mind a job that is a lot of paperwork! It can get exhausting trying to people-please for 40+ hours a week. adults/teens. I don't do well seeing acutely sick people between the ages of 0-12! God bless every peds nurse. I have considered: IV therapy (I love doing IVs and love the idea of going down a list and seeing one patient at a time). Wound care nurse (same reasons as IV therapy except w/ wounds). PACU (although I hear you have to have ICU experience before doing PACU, I enjoyed this rotation in nursing school). OR (again, one patient at a time I would love it!). Hospice (I love easing patients/families during end of life, and the spiritual aspect of it all is great). School nursing (also enjoyed my school nurse rotation in nursing school, loved the amount of paperwork/planning involved!). If you can add to my list, it would be much appreciated! Even if its a long shot, just trying to consider my options. Thank you!

This depends on SO MANY factors. Your particular school, the semester you are in, where you work, which shift you work, your support system, etc... The list goes on! I definitely attempted to maintain 24 hours a week as a CNA (two day shifts on the weekend and two 4 hour shifts on Thurs-Fri), but almost lost my mind. I decided to prioritize nursing school and quit after the first month of nursing school. Probably could have been possible if I had been doing a job where I could have studied for at least part of my shift. Half way through nursing school, I was able to start back up again because my last half of nursing school was much easier than the first! Know your limits and don't try to push them!

I personally felt like Kaplan was the most similar to the actual NCLEX. Saunders was great for content, but Kaplan was better to develop those critical thinking skills. If you are looking for an app on your phone, I personally liked NCLEX mastery because it has graphs that break down your weak areas. For a visual learner like me, that was helpful! And I would just do questions on it whenever I had a couple minutes of down time, like before a movie or during bathroom breaks.