Why did you choose your specialty?

SarHat17, ASN, RN · Apr 5, 2020

I started out in Neurology (acute care, in a large hospital) because the hospital had a well-developed Nurse Residency program offering. I did that for 2 years, but never felt like that was my niche. I took an opportunity in a closer location (same health system) that was for more of a short-stay type unit, and then it was transitioned into the neighboring CVRU. I really enjoy cardiac nursing; the "heart" seemed very intimidating before I really experienced nursing with a focus on it. I love it.

6 minutes ago, Mywords1 said:
My expertise was in ethics which I got from a faculty offer, and discovered that nurses were uninterested.

Uninterested how? I found my ethics classes I took in college (both in nursing and as pre-req) very interesting/intriguing.

brownbook · Apr 5, 2020

Your question is confusing to me. Does having an interest, or disinterest, in an ethics course have something to do with why a nurse chose what area of nursing to work in?

StrwbryblndRN · Apr 6, 2020

Started out med-surg and loved it. Since med-surg gets a large variety of patients, I discovered I love end of life/hospice care. Attempted Critical care but it was not me. So off to Hospice I go. I guess I needed to try cc to concrete what I already knew.

We will all meet our end someday. I am honored that I will be a nurse to help make the transition as dignified and painless as possible.

MarkMyWords · Apr 7, 2020

The question about your specialty is meant to be separate from nursing ethics and students.

Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, is usually deep, challenging reading for everyone. When the course is taught as a Bachelor's degree requirement apart from the nursing courses, it can be very theoretical, and not so useful. This is the way my university wanted it taught. The best way is mostly practical with some applied theory

brownbook · Apr 7, 2020

52 minutes ago, Mywords1 said:
The question about your specialty is meant to be separate from nursing ethics and students.
Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, is usually deep, challenging reading for everyone. When the course is taught as a Bachelor's degree requirement apart from the nursing courses, it can be very theoretical, and not so useful. This is the way my university wanted it taught. The best way is mostly practical with some applied theory

Thanks for the clarification.

I "fell" into nursing with little insight or forethought. I fell into med/surg and float pool because the first place that hired me was two shifts med/surg, two shifts float pool. I continued to love the float pool for various reasons. I fell into ICU because I had floated there several times and they desperately needed a regular ICU nurse. I fell into being the night shift supervisor because they desperately needed to replace a supervisor who was indefinitely out on sick leave. I fell into out patient surgery because after 17 years of nights, every other weekend, holiday's etc., the idea of normal hours sounded nice.

Never took an ethics course. I think a sign of intelligence is having an open mind, willing to learn about all ideas and subjects, even ethics ?.

casa_bella, NP · Apr 7, 2020

Labor & Delivery. I chose it because it was the only specialty that responded to my new-graduate application.

Been there 5 years. It's OK. I would love to do ER but I find once you're in a specialty you often get pigeon-holed.

MarkMyWords · Apr 20, 2020

So would you say your specialty is a calling, or did you get into it for practical reasons: knew someone there, money, easily available, influenced by someone, greatest need, or as one nurse told me, she happened to land there after nursing school. Or?

llg, PhD, RN · Apr 20, 2020

As a new grad, I chose the specialty that I found most attractive -- interested in the patients (premature babies), drawn to helping them -- but I certainly wouldn't use the word "calling." Nobody "called" me. I just felt that NICU was well-matched with my personal preferences.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2020

I was all over the place, started out in Med/Surg, got overwhelmed (was only 22 and immature!), went to a clinic and grew up, back to Med/Surg and did better this time. Then I wanted a position on my Med/Surg floor where I was per diem because I needed benefits. No positions available so I put my name on the list to be interviewed by any unit with an open position. Ended up in ICU Stepdown.

It's not my "calling", I mostly stay because I love my coworkers and most of my patients. But step-down is stressful some days... basically no job is perfect but having a great team makes a big difference. I envy nurses who feel they are in their dream specialty but I am OK with enjoying the parts of my job that I do and getting through the parts I don't.

On 4/7/2020 at 8:44 AM, brownbook said:
Thanks for the clarification.
I "fell" into nursing with little insight or forethought. I fell into med/surg and float pool because the first place that hired me was two shifts med/surg, two shifts float pool. I continued to love the float pool for various reasons. I fell into ICU because I had floated there several times and they desperately needed a regular ICU nurse. I fell into being the night shift supervisor because they desperately needed to replace a supervisor who was indefinitely out on sick leave. I fell into out patient surgery because after 17 years of nights, every other weekend, holiday's etc., the idea of normal hours sounded nice.
Never took an ethics course. I think a sign of intelligence is having an open mind, willing to learn about all ideas and subjects, even ethics ?.

Basically we're on the same page about "falling" into jobs! LOL