researching nursing speciaties - need help

[Nurse Man-ingitis]

Hi everyone.

I am just beginning the accelerated BSN program and am looking toward the future to identify in which area of medicine I want to specialize. I am very interested in the overall umbrella of cardiology, but don't know where to go from there.

The underlying issue causing me to ask this question is that I don't want to specialize my way into a corner, but at the same time develop expertise in an area and requisite skills that will enhance my worth in the profession.

I need assistance from all of you experts in cardiology. Is there a "hierarchy" within cardiology? In other words, is there a natural pathway in which one begins in one area of cardiology and moves on toward a more advanced area? Is there one particular area of cardiology that is used as a steping stone to other areas? In what area(s) do nurses have the highest skill set in terms of the scope of responsibilities he or she has? In what area(s) of cardiology do nurses see the most disperate situations? In what area(s) are there the greatest amount of opprotunities for advancement as charge nurse, assistant supervisor /supervisor, etc?

Thank all of you in advance:heartbeat

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

I would wait until you get some clinical experience - what you THINK you are interested often changes when you experience it. Eg. I always thought I'd do trauma/ER and ended up in CTICU.

[al7139, ASN, RN]

Hi there,

I have been a nurse for less than 2 years. I got my job before I graduated. I was hired on a telemetry/medicine unit that I did clinicals on and loved it.

With cardio, you will not in any way get cornered into one specialty. You can use that experience anywhere in nursing.

I like tele, because the patients are diverse, we see lots of things from MI, CHF, hypertensive crisis, diabetics, etc. plus anything else you can think of. I feel it is a well rounded unit that gives me the chance to experience lots of different medical conditions. If at some time, I want to try a more acute care setting such as stepdown, ICU or CCU, I already have a base to grow on. Cardio experience will take you almost anywhere.

Amy

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

here are some answers to your specific questions, from what i've seen:

i need assistance from all of you experts in cardiology. is there a "hierarchy" within cardiology? in other words, is there a natural pathway in which one begins in one area of cardiology and moves on toward a more advanced area?

i think starting in telemetry and then progressing to the icu or cvicu (cardiovascular intensive care unit) would be a common, natural progression. as you do your clinical rotations, you will see what different areas of specialty your local hospitals offer. for example, a smaller hospital may not have a cvicu, but there will be cardio patients in the icu.

is there one particular area of cardiology that is used as a steping stone to other areas?

again, telemetry is a major stepping stone for nurses who do not go into critical care right out of school. you will also find many med/surg patients have cardio problems, and that is a good stepping stone as well, but tele will be more cardio/respiratory specific.

in what area(s) do nurses have the highest skill set in terms of the scope of responsibilities he or she has?

all critical care areas such as icu, cvicu, and the er require nurses to be competent in complex skills and have excellent critical thinking. all rns are held to the same standards of scope of practice however, so we are never to accept an assignment if we are not competent to do so (for example, a tele nurse being floated to icu without proper orientation).

in what area(s) of cardiology do nurses see the most disperate situations?

all areas of nursing see people at their worse, but i think the icu nurses probably have it the toughest when there are ethical/end-of-life issues.

in what area(s) are there the greatest amount of opprotunities for advancement as charge nurse, assistant supervisor /supervisor, etc?

all nursing areas will give you an opportunity for being charge nurse, after gaining ample experience in your unit. that is when you are in charge for one shift. as far as being a unit supervisor or nursing supervisor (that is considered management), i can't really say, i think it depends on the hospital.

thank all of you in advance:heartbeat

[2soldiers44]

Hi Future nurse!!!

I did things sl similar to what others are saying. I started out as G.N. in ICU in a small town hospital. Lets just say that coming from a big city hospital nursing school I felt that the place was antiquated in the care. However, it was a good start to learn what real nursing was like. Then I went home to big city hospital to the medical / surgical ICU . Loved it and had broad base of pts. Now I currently work at a CT/ICU and a basic open heart unit. Long story short, even if you think you like just cardiology, I found that it can be sl boring at times, same proceedures. I think you are better off starting at a step down unit, then going to a med surg ICU because you will still get cardiac pts. there plus a lot of interesting learning experience. Then if you want to specialize in just cardiac pts you can choose CORONARY CARE ICU, or CT/ ICU. Then the sky is the limit. Good luck and let us know how you do!