Why Can Pre-Med Students Know Their Choice But Nursing Students "Can't"?

[Shookclays]

This is a question that has been nagging me for quite some time.

Why is it so horrible for us to plan out our route? I want to become a NNP and as stated in a previous thread, infants are the only reason I chose nursing instead of completing a tech degree. From what I have seen on this board and a couple of others say, nursing students shouldn't choose their route before clinicals. But many pre-med programs allow students to choose their route beforehand. I even have a close friend who is a pre-med major and they are writing research papers about their route.

Why can't we know ours?

[Shookclays, ASN, BSN, CNA, RN]

And who exactly is it that is "shaming" you?

No one is shaming me I am speaking in general.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

The point of those comments are not to discourage you from your dream/goal, but to add a little bit of reality into the picture. Many pre nursing students have a dream job in mind, for some it is ER. They watch TV shows showing traumas and the adrenaline, exciting shift, but when they have an ER rotation in nursing school, they realize that it doesn't match up to the TV shows. Other students have adult ICU as their goal until they have a 1 day rotation in a NICU and it changed their focus. I am the second example. I became very focused on the goal of getting a NICU job as a new grad. Although the PP all make good points, but there are the miracles that contradict NurseGirl525's point that "You don't just go to school and bam, that golden nicu job lands in your lap."

I am willing to do everything in my power to have placement in a Level III nicu even if that means I have to relocate or even get placement in a nursing residency program for NICU to gain experience. Which is what I might do seeing as though we don't have a clinical in a NICU at our school.

This is exactly what I did. I got a Capstone placement (preceptorship) at a Level IV NICU 80 miles away in my final semester, applied to 50-100 NICU positions all over the country, and finally was hired into a Level IV NICU 3 hrs away.

My point is to keep an open mind while in nursing school. If your goal is still NICU, then apply to every NICU or Special Care Nursery position that you qualify for. There are many "New grad residency- NICU" out there, two that I applied for were Vanderbilt (Nashville) and Vidant (Greenvile, NC). I ended up getting hired at another children's hospital that had a 12 week orientation (classroom and preceptorship).

[NuGuyNurse2b]

the simple answer is $. Med school is expensive, and they are willing to invest in their students. Nursing schools (most) aren't that expensive. You get your 2 or 4 years and our clinicals are nothing like med school rotations, where only 1-2 med students are paired with a faculty member and they are given a lot more exposure than we as nursing students could ever even try on our best day during clinical. They're two completely different paths with different ways of doing things. And that is why someone graduating med school is probably more certain about which field they'd be in than someone graduating from nursing school. Also, the outlook for NP's in the next 10 years isn't looking too hot. Hospitals are now leaning towards PA's to help cover MD's, cause the PA's follow the medical model of care, not the nursing model. These are things to consider.

[Shookclays, ASN, BSN, CNA, RN]

the simple answer is $. Med school is expensive, and they are willing to invest in their students. Nursing schools (most) aren't that expensive. You get your 2 or 4 years and our clinicals are nothing like med school rotations, where only 1-2 med students are paired with a faculty member and they are given a lot more exposure than we as nursing students could ever even try on our best day during clinical. They're two completely different paths with different ways of doing things. And that is why someone graduating med school is probably more certain about which field they'd be in than someone graduating from nursing school. Also, the outlook for NP's in the next 10 years isn't looking too hot. Hospitals are now leaning towards PA's to help cover MD's, cause the PA's follow the medical model of care, not the nursing model. These are things to consider.

Who says the outlook for NPs in hospitals aren't looking good?

[Shookclays, ASN, BSN, CNA, RN]

The point of those comments are not to discourage you from your dream/goal, but to add a little bit of reality into the picture. Many pre nursing students have a dream job in mind, for some it is ER. They watch TV shows showing traumas and the adrenaline, exciting shift, but when they have an ER rotation in nursing school, they realize that it doesn't match up to the TV shows. Other students have adult ICU as their goal until they have a 1 day rotation in a NICU and it changed their focus. I am the second example. I became very focused on the goal of getting a NICU job as a new grad. Although the PP all make good points, but there are the miracles that contradict NurseGirl525's point that "You don't just go to school and bam, that golden nicu job lands in your lap."

This is exactly what I did. I got a Capstone placement (preceptorship) at a Level IV NICU 80 miles away in my final semester, applied to 50-100 NICU positions all over the country, and finally was hired into a Level IV NICU 3 hrs away.

My point is to keep an open mind while in nursing school. If your goal is still NICU, then apply to every NICU or Special Care Nursery position that you qualify for. There are many "New grad residency- NICU" out there, two that I applied for were Vanderbilt (Nashville) and Vidant (Greenvile, NC). I ended up getting hired at another children's hospital that had a 12 week orientation (classroom and preceptorship).

Wow! You're amazing! Vanderbilt is where I want to study for NNP. They are awesome! Was your experience in the residency program considered "experience" for job placement?

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

The known fact is, those medical students who "know their way" and just do what suites them along it are generally known to become worse residents and yet worse professionals when and if (and it is IF in capital letters) they actually got where they want. Eventually quite a few of them become psychiatrists who send healthy as a bull 14 y/o dude to surgery for "strange condition of external genitals" promptly happening every morning (real case, stopped last second by another doc who got interested in what those "conditions" might be) and internists breaking up their heads about sudden and unexplainable nausea, anemia, moodiness and exhaustion of 22 y/o (very much pregnant) lady.

You have all rights to plan your way and follow it as good as you can, but you need to understand also that life cannot be perfectly planned all along. If you hit the lucky button, good for you, but be prepared, physically, financially and mentally, for everything. EVERYTHING, that is.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

I am willing to do everything in my power to have placement in a Level III nicu even if that means I have to relocate or even get placement in a nursing residency program for NICU to gain experience. Which is what I might do seeing as though we don't have a clinical in a NICU at our school. The passion that I have for infants is incomparable.

With all due respect, if infants is the population you want to work with then NICU may not be the place for you. Unless you mean neonates/premies/and newborns, then of course it is. With that out of the way, I've never heard of many issues of nurses "choosing their field." I went into nursing school to do pediatrics only and would have never became a nurse if I had to work with adults. Sure there has to be some flexibility in nursing, but I think as cliché as it sounds that with hard work, determination, and planning then you should be able to achieve what you want. Just understand that it might not be a straight path like you envision it being, it might be a zig-zagged path but with the patience and determination you'll still end up in the same spot.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

You are missing the point completely. Pre-Med students in sure think they have their path planned out, but I'm sure many change their minds. Unless your whole Pre-Med student experience is your friend.

If you want to close your mind to others that have had experience and were once in your shoes, it's no skin off my back. I surely won't lose any sleep over it. I thought I knew what I wanted, until I got to see all the specialties there were. I also knew after some of my clinicals I wanted nothing to do with kids, which is what I first wanted to do.

If your mind is 100% made up and you don't want to hear us, why create a thread? To argue your point more? To argue with random people on the internet?

To each their own. I bow out of this.

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

The known fact is, those medical students who "know their way" and just do what suites them along it are generally known to become worse residents and yet worse professionals when and if (and it is IF in capital letters) they actually got where they want. Eventually quite a few of them become psychiatrists who send healthy as a bull 14 y/o dude to surgery for "strange condition of external genitals" promptly happening every morning (real case, stopped last second by another doc who got interested in what those "conditions" might be) and internists breaking up their heads about sudden and unexplainable nausea, anemia, moodiness and exhaustion of 22 y/o (very much pregnant) lady.

I feel passion behind your rant... to bad it is incoherent.

[BSN16]

I feel passion behind your rant... to bad it is incoherent.

This comment is a bit distasteful

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

This comment is a bit distasteful

More distasteful than implying doctors who had an attraction to a specialty early on wash out to become incompetent psychiatrists who send people for unnecessary surgeries?

That is about the only part of the rant that I got...

[RNperdiem, RN]

You have to be accepted into a residency after med school. There are supply and demand issues and not everybody gets to specialize in what they want. The students with the top grades, high scores and good recommendations probably get what they want, the ones in the middle hope for the best, and the weakest students take anything they can get.

Nursing deals with supply and demand too. The desirable jobs and specialties come with competition.