The type of Nurse I want to be

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Hello everyone,

I am a new grad and I have an interview scheduled with the hospital that I've worked for as a nurse extern,for their new Grad program, but I am having a little difficulty with this question when it was asked to me while scheduling the interview, the recruiter asked me, What kind of Nurse do I want to be? even though I told her I want to remain on the floor that I am currently working because I really couldn't really give her an answer, but to tell you the truth I really don't know exactly what area I like more just as of yet, is this normal? don't get me wrong I love everything about nursing. Can someone tell me if they had the same problems but still find their way to exactly the type of nurse they wanted to be. please advise

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Emergency, CEN.

Are they asking what specialty you want or what kind of personality traits you want to have?

If someone asked me that I'd shoot for "unflappable, knowledgeable, and practical".

I look around at the 20+ year emergency vets who seem to breeze through code after code (sometimes juggling 2 at once with assistance). At the end of it they haven't broken a sweat and have comforted patients and their families. They're able to continue to the stable, drug addicted hallway patient with a calm "this is how it's going to be" and still be able to find time to get some cookies and a hug for the scared pediatric patient who needs stitches.

That's the kind of nurse I want to be!

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I was always the one who wanted to know everything, so I gravitated to critical care where I could know as much as possible about one or two patients at a time.

Now I am a nurse in business, but I still want to know everything possible about my clients who need health care or nursing advice.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

You can use my answer to that question for a small fee. "I want be the kind of nurse that I would want to take care of myself or one of my loved ones." Thank you, and when can I start?

If they are asking you what area of nursing you want to go into you'll have to find that out for yourself.

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I didn't say I wasn't going to find it, I was just asking if any experienced nurses had an issue with picking a specific unit ,example:Tele, icu, or did you guys know exactly the type of nurse you wanted to be while or right out of school

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I did not know what type of nurse I wanted to be. I was a ER tech and a Tech on a Tele floor pre nursing, and PN school (total five years).

I do know I wanted to be able to specialize in two areas as a nurse-my first job out of nursing school was pediatric private duty and Rehab...it's been my mainstay for a bulk of my years, and was able to do pediatric nursing an care for pt's with vents, SCI and TBI, amputees, etc.

I find myself more in Step-Down and Critical Care currently as a RN.

I have treated my nursing career as a journey...I love having a "Mary Poppins"-type attitude towards my nursing career...saves me from burnout. :yes:

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Hello everyone,

I am a new grad and I have an interview scheduled with the hospital that I've worked for as a nurse extern,for their new Grad program, but I am having a little difficulty with this question when it was asked to me while scheduling the interview, the recruiter asked me, What kind of Nurse do I want to be? even though I told her I want to remain on the floor that I am currently working because I really couldn't really give her an answer, but to tell you the truth I really don't know exactly what area I like more just as of yet, is this normal? don't get me wrong I love everything about nursing. Can someone tell me if they had the same problems but still find their way to exactly the type of nurse they wanted to be. please advise

I can tell you as a new nurse, so many years ago, I did not know what type of nurse I wanted to be either. You are not the only one. I remember one of my teachers, while in nursing school, staring that there are so many options that just getting the basics of nursing is the best way to go. So, I took her advice. I worked on med/ surg for a year and got my basics down applying what I learned in school. I realized I did not want to work med/surg. I liked all the cardiac patients that would come in, so I went to PCU. I learned as much as I could. I realized that it was not enough for me. So, I went to ICU. Worked there for a year. I loved it, but it was always the same patients I would care for every time I would work. The only excitement I seemed to have was with the more intense patients that kept me on my toes because I never knew what might happen. A friend of mine who worked in the ED said that I should shadow her for a shift and see if I would like it. I did shadow her and ended up cross training for the ER while still working in the ICU. I finally found the type of nurse I wanted to be. I have now been an ER nurse for over 8 years and I love it. I would never change the route I went and grateful I took my teacher's advice so long ago. I hope this helps you and I wish you the best in finding your place and passion in the nursing world.

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Thanks, Patriciarn

That's exactly what I was hoping to read.

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