specialties in nursing

bubble · Jul 25, 2003

This reminds me what my Head Nursing instructor told the class. When all of you graduate you will know enought to be dangerous.In class you learn how it is suppose to be done but out there you will learn to improvise.--end of quote. I was hurt by this statement then but now I understand-------the real world is different --another quote of hers. I said all of that to tell you to not be dismayed or overwhemed with it all. You will find your hearts calling during the courseof the studies.I am in Med-surg. I am Superv. in LTC have one skilled unit with close to 200 residents.Iworked the skilled unit for several years Then was put in present postion.Iwas burnt out when I was told to take Supv. cause that person suddendly quit.I did not want to give up IVs,PEG Tubes ,NASALCannules,Foleys and besides Iwas scared to thinkI would be over the whole place. There is time for you to contiune to think which way to go.Pray for guidence and God Bless you

ainz · Jul 26, 2003

I have been in healthcare for 24 years. Worked ER, critical care, dialysis, psych, med/surg, management, administration.

I recommend that any nurse spend at least a year on a general med/surg floor. You will experience things, learn things, and develop skills in that setting that you just don't find anywhere else. You can take what you learn there into any other setting and it will help you.

Personally, I liked ER and psych the most. I am not one that likes routine, I like a constantly changing environment. I preferred to have different patients every day rather than the same patients day after day. ER provided that. However, psych was the same patients day after day but it was totally different. Psych requires as much skill and knowledge as any other area of nursing, just a different skill set, different "tools" are used by the nurse.

It is tough to decide. Now I am in administration. I really like it for many reasons but some nurses now look at me as one of those evil and greedy administrators that is trying to screw over nurses.

One really good thing about nursing is there are so many areas to choose from. You could work for a year or so in several areas and build a really good, broad knowledge base. Then decide which area and become expert in it.

herrera2 · Aug 14, 2003

Im like you, I am trying to decide which area I want. I had a daycare for the last 6 years and I keep saying that I want to work with children still when I get out of school. Everyone keeps saying that I dont know what I am talking about and when I see a child pass on I am not going to be able to take it emotionally. I still have a love for children and think that it is the best field for me!

Yankee in TX · Aug 16, 2003

I agree with Ainz that you should get atleast a year of Med -Surg experience. I have been an RN since 1987 & the best thing I feel I ever did was go to a Med Surg Tele unit. I wanted to be a " baby" nurse when I was in school & have never actually done that! But I have worked Tele, ICU , IMCU & the OR. Several of the OR RN's have said they wished they had done the floor instead of specializing right off because it would have offered them more options. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

rainrn · Aug 16, 2003

I agree with others. I worked med/surg for first year or so after graduating school, then went into a float pool at a local hospital, which gave me great exposure to other area's in the hospital. I wanted to work ER right out of school. Now 5 years later, I work a neuro floor, which I like very much, never have worked ER yet. Impossible to know until you work these area's if it's for you or not. Good luck, the search is half the fun.

epg_pei · Aug 17, 2003

...but are all med/surg floors supposed to look like nursing homes? I know that's blunt, but that was my experience last year in clinicals.

(Not flame bait either, I really want to know if they're all like that?)

nowplayingEDRN · Aug 18, 2003

epg,

what you are seeing is the trend of the sicker, more acutely ill elderly in the general population so you will see more of them on the med/surg ward. This is all due to advances in medicine combined with the return of the extended family. These patients provide a wide exposure to a wide variety of health problems.....it can be frustrating, yes.......but it can be a rewarding one as well. I started out on step down w/tele.....the medical floor....and we were the dumping grounds for all the patients that the other wards did not want. It looked like an extension of a nursing home but I learned a lot....honed my skills and learned to stand on my own 2 feet and fly by the seat of my pants. I moved on to ICU/CCU nursing and then to PACU and the ER. I currently work both PACU and ICU and I love every minute of it (I also float into the ER) I guess I am cursed to be an adrenaline junkie for the rest of my nursing career.......lol