Thinking about becoming an RN, need advice.

[jlove86]

I'm fairly new to the boards, and I've been posting stupid questions here and there because I don't know much about the medical field or nursing yet. I have been thinking about entering a nursing program at my local community college to become a registered nurse. However, this is my dilemma:

I'm interested in one day potentially becoming a nurse-midwife, or a nurse anesthetist, or even a lab tech or sonographer or something else in the medical field. Nursing itself doesn't initially stike me as something I might enjoy, because I automatically think of medical-surgical nurses that are constantly exposed to sick people (I have a pretty lame immune system) and take all the blame in a hospital and seem to have so much on their plates on a constant basis.. However, I like the idea of nursing solely in labor & delivery, maternity, or even NICU. Ideally, I think I'd like to be a nurse in an OB/GYN office, if RNs even work in that sort of facility... I'm not sure if that's even possible.

So my question, in summary, is this: Would you advise against someone becoming an RN if they don't really want to work in med-surg or ER? I'm not sure how difficult it is to be a little picky with what department you work in, and I'm afraid of ending up stuck somewhere I hate or maybe am not capable of doing a good job at. I see nursing, for me, as a possible career, but also perhaps a stepping stone or a foot in the door to see if there are any other medical positions I would like to learn about and do. What do you think?

[JStyles1]

you can be as picky you want to be in the department you work in. if you don't want to work med/surg, don't apply for med/surg jobs. if you want to work ob/gyn, apply for ob/gyn jobs. no one is going to tell you that you HAVE to work in a certain department. however, it is common sense that just because you apply to a certain department doesn't mean you are going to get the job in that department. there are plenty of people that went into school knowing they wanted to do nothing but ob/gyn

[jlove86]

I probably should have clarified a bit... I'm concerned about how difficult it is to be picky, meaning I see a lot of job postings for med-surg and general pools, and I'm wondering if I might end up having no choice but to apply for something like that because the specialized areas are more difficult to get into (since they employ a smaller amount of people). I guess I'm asking if many people have a hard time finding a job, being that specific. Does that make sense?

[Crux1024]

It does make sense. IF you were graduating now, Im sure the general consensus would be "Take what you can get!!" but maybe when youre through, Jobs will be plentiful. I know of a few classmates that were able to get into OB, but a majority did not and ended up "settling" for Med-Surg to get their time management skills and etc up to par. They still have their hearts set on OB, but were realistic about holding out for that specific type of job.

That being said. If u can afford to be without a job for a while after graduating, only apply to OB jobs or whatever else piques your interest.

Just be aware that through nursing school though, your immune system WILL be put through the test with the med-surg and the peds (RSV for the win..lol). And if you can make it through those 2 (or more) years, you can probably hang on a med surg floor. Just my

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

i probably should have clarified a bit... i'm concerned about how difficult it is to be picky, meaning i see a lot of job postings for med-surg and general pools, and i'm wondering if i might end up having no choice but to apply for something like that because the specialized areas are more difficult to get into (since they employ a smaller amount of people). i guess i'm asking if many people have a hard time finding a job, being that specific. does that make sense?

yes, at this time it is difficult to be picky. i wanted er right out of school. i did not land an er job. i ended up on a med surg floor because that was all that was available after i oriented on a different floor (just to let you know hospitals can move you around even if you land a specialty job)! however, do not be concerned..!!

go to nursing school with your dream in hand so *if* you do not land ob you will someday. the key to success is to never quit or give up. for instance, i know of many nurses who work med surg and wanted to be a different type of nurse. they are still in med surg many years later because they quit their original dreams. some have created new ones (this is ok) while others have given up entirely and work as a nurse because it is just another job. in stark contrast, i accepted the med surg position but refused to think that was the end of my road.

i wanted the er so i kept applying to the er. i finally found a job outside of my original hospital and will be starting shortly. every nurse on my floor (and practically in my hospital) is shocked because in this economy jobs are hard to come by and because i have enough guts to leave my comfort zone (a hospital i worked at for many years). thus, what you need to do is hang-on to your dream and keep trying. starting in a nursing environment outside of ob will not prevent you from becoming an ob nurse, that is your choice.