What specialty would a nurse recommend for a new grad?

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Specializes in Medical Surgical RN.

I was wondering what specialty would a nurse recommend for a new grad? I am really interested in psychiatric nursing and surgical OR nursing. I also enjoy the fast paced, think quick on your feet environment such as working in ED or maybe even med/surg. I have seen a lot of posts about how some nurses who work in psychiatric or surgical OR nursing may lose their skills.” I wanted to see from an experienced nurses point of view, what would you recommend for a new grad as far as where to start as a new nurse?

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Start wherever you are lucky enough to get a job in acute care. Demonstrate that you are a reliable competent nurse. Get a job in the float pool or (if there is no official float pool), let managers know you're willing to float. You will be exposed to different areas of nursing and find what you like.

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Specializes in CVICU, CCRN.

Start telemetry if you can. You use critical thinking, are forced to quickly learn. You're able at that point to jump anywhere - ER, ICU, OR, private clinics, even speciality areas like maternity and psych might take a peek. Either way you make yourself "sellable" and your options are open! A lot of people who start off in OR and psych (speciality areas) have a hard time down the road if for example they want to switch out of their speciality area to a more acute area as a ER, even if they have lets say 10 years of OB experience!

Just my two cents!

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Specializes in Medical Surgical RN.

That is a great idea! Thank you

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Specializes in Medical Surgical RN.

Makes sense, thank you for the feedback!

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