Trying to decide on a specialty

[ijuanabhappy, ASN, RN]

I graduate in May and this January I will be applying for internships that begin in June. The only problem I am having is trying to decide what specialty I would like to go into.

In clinical I have really only been exposed to Med/Surg. I did have one day in the ER and one day in Labor/Delivery, but our labor delivery day was absolutely boring. We saw nothing and did nothing. I have heard that the most competitive spots are in areas like NICU and the ER. I am considering Perioperative since I was a surgery scheduler for five years and know a bit about it. I would like to hear from people who could tell me about their specialty and what they like or dislike about it. Some of the choices I have in this internship program are: All Med/surg areas... critical care, pediatrics, ER, NICU, perioperative, behavioral health, women's health..... If anyone could provide info, I would really appreciate it.. Thanks!

[Nursey103, ADN, RN]

Well since you're undecided (as am I), maybe do general med-surg to get experience. Then you can transfer to another unit & have some general nursing experience under your belt.

Is there anything that you really gravitate to (subjects that were fun in school)? Cardiac, neuro, ICU, etc.?

How about strengths......good with critical thinking, time management, etc.?

[Lacie, BSN, RN]

I started an externship in my junior year up through graduation in the CCU/ICU. Upon graduation I elected to stay in this unit for my first year and loved it. It made me a better nurse in the long run. After that first year then I started coming to decisions of what direction I wanted my career to move forward in. From the first year I went to House Supervisor in a rural hospital leaving the larger teaching facility. Learned alot in that little appalachian mountain hospital in Kentucky then anywhere I worked. After that I went to Burn ICU for awhile at UK. My niche turned out to be Critical Care Nursing. No matter what I do or where I end up whether it be home health, case management, dialysis, etc I will still be a critical care nurse always. I'm trying to stay out of it as it's less physical for me now but my heart strings keep tugging and whispering "go back, go back " in this spooky little girls voice lol. You have your entire career to find your niche and you will. do several different areas to determine where you really belong. You'll know it when you get there and not before than - trust me on this one.

[1EmergencyRN]

It's tough when you aren't sure! I knew I was bound for either ER or ICU, leaned towards ER the whole time, and because of that I completed my senior practicum in an ICU. I wanted to get that exposure to be sure, and it did confirm that I'm an ER girl at heart. Kudos for putting the question out there and searching for your answer. I believe that not only looking in yourself but also, finding as much as you can about different specialties will help, and you may just get to what you love through time and experience. For now, I can at least help you by telling you my view on ER nursing. I love that it is fast paced. If you love adrenaline and thrive on a challenge, it fits that mold! The draw back to me is the lack of time you have to spend with patients. I'm running way too often to have much "social" chatter with them. But also, that can be a pro when dealing with difficult patients. You have your patients who complain a lot, but you have that anywhere you go I'm sure. I love blood and guts, and am exposed to contagiens of all sorts, but that just adds to the excitement of the job. I love the details of how the body works, and miss that with not taking an ICU job, but our ER houses ICU patients frequently, so I do get to dabble in that from time to time. If you can pay great attention to detail, think quick on your feet, and have a lot of self confidence, you might just love emergency nursing.... hope this helps a little. Hope you hear a lot about other specialties too so that you can have a broader view. Good luck in your journey and in your nursing career!

[LovelyGraduatedNurse]

check out: http://www.discovernursing.com/nursing-careers. it has explanation and some biographys of nurses in each field. (who knew there were so many?!)

advanced practice nursing

ambulatory care nursing

business in nursing

camp nursing

cardiac care nursing

cardiac cath lab nursing

case management nursing

clinical nurse leader

clinical nurse specialist

community health nursing

complementary health nursing

correctional facility nursing

critical care nursing

dermatology nursing

developmental disability nursing

diabetes nursing

domestic violence nursing

emergency nursing

ethics in nursing

family nurse practitioner

flight/transport nursing

forensic nursing

gastroenterology nursing

genetics nursing

geriatric/gerontological nursing

gerontological nurse practitioner

gynecology/obstetric nursing

health policy nursing

hematology nursing

hiv/aids nursing

holistic nursing

home health care nursing

hospice/palliative nursing

independent nurse contracting

infection control nursing

informatics nursing

infusion nursing

international nursing

labor & delivery nursing

lactation consultation

legal nurse consulting

licensed practical nursing (lpn)

long-term care nursing

managed care nursing

medical-surgical nursing

military and uniformed service nursing

missionary nursing

neonatal intensive care nursing

nephrology nursing

neuroscience nursing

nurse anesthetist

nurse attorney

nurse educator

nurse legislator

nurse life care planning

nurse midwifery

nurse practitioner

nurse researcher

nursing advocacy

nursing entrepreneur

nursing executive and nursing ceo

nursing manager and nursing administration

nursing quality improvement

nursing writer, author, or historian

occupational health nursing

oncology nursing (cancer nursing)

operating room nursing (perioperative nursing)

ophthalmic nursing

orthopaedic nursing

otorhinolaryngology nursing (head and neck nursing)

overseas, development, volunteer, missionary or refugee nursing

pain management nursing

parish nursing

pediatric endocrinology nursing

pediatric nurse practitioner

pediatric nursing

perianesthesia nursing (recovery room nursing)

perinatal nursing

plastic surgery nursing

poison information specialist

psychiatric nurse practitioner

psychiatric nursing

public health nursing

pulmonary care nursing (respiratory nursing)

radiology nursing

rehabilitation nursing

reproductive nursing

rheumatology nursing

school nursing

sub-acute nursing

substance abuse nursing

supplemental/agency nursing

surgical nursing

telemetry nursing

telephone triage nursing

toxicology nursing

transcultural nursing

transplant nursing

trauma nursing

travel nursing

triage nursing

urologic nursing

wound & ostomy nursing

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

I started in cardiac, and it was a great experience. You can really build on cardiac experience, and go almost anywhere from there.

[GoldenLove]

There are so many choices, it's such a personal decision. Not every specialty is right for everyone. I started out in critical care/trauma...and ended up in Pediatrics. Sometimes, you have to just try them out and see how you like it. I noticed over the years, there are huge turnovers in Peds...it's just not for a lot of people. Good luck in whatever direction you go!

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Funny, because I had no interest in peds during nursing school, and went right into an area where there were no kids. Most of my patients were 50 and up. Now I'm finding I like working with the kiddos. Not enough to specialized, but enough that I'm getting less afraid of them as time goes by.