[Goshenc]

Hey, my name is Christa and I'm a junior in nursing school. As the realization that college is near its end, I'm beginning to think more and more about which dimension of nursing I want to enter. My top three choices (so far) are in no particular order, ER, ICU, and Maternity. I was wondering if anyone in these fields would share some insight. I'm looking for advice, pros/cons, tips, anything to help a student out. :39:

[NavyJim58]

Originally Posted by Goshenc

Hey, my name is Christa and I'm a junior in nursing school. As the realization that college is near its end, I'm beginning to think more and more about which dimension of nursing I want to enter. My top three choices (so far) are in no particular order, ER, ICU, and Maternity. I was wondering if anyone in these fields would share some insight. I'm looking for advice, pros/cons, tips, anything to help a student out. :39:

Sure, i'll be glad to give you my two pennies worth. In the old days a new nurse was expected to start in Med/Surg and after a few years she/he could advance to a specialty if they were lucky. Now we take a few selected new grads directly into an internship in the ER, OR and ICU. Rarely but sometimes in the Women's Center. Surely you have gotten some idea from doing clinical in different areas concerning what they are like? No matter what area you choose or chooses you, it will take a good 5-7 years for you to become a "journeyman" nurse. I scoffed at that back during the time Elvis was shaking it in Blue Hawaii but sure enough it took a good 5 years before I was totally comfortable and confident as a nurse in the ER.

All three of your choices are very different from each other. I have never liked the ICU and being tied down to one or two patients. I have never cared for L&D or postpartum and I don't think the women liked it much when I was there either. My fit was the ER and Psych and I pretty much stayed the course in those areas until I had to make a choice between Psych and ER and chose ER. Good Luck.

[Goshenc]

Thanks NavyJim. Because of the transfer I had to take a semester off from clinicals, so I only have the 1st clinical under my belt. In the spring I should be back in the rotation again. This fall I'm doing skills etc. Personally, I am leaning more towards ER. I love to be around people and work in a team setting. I need to make a difference in people's lives in order to be fully satisfied. Only problem is I get bored very easily, and I don't want to see the "same case" everyday-though I know there is no such thing as a same case. That's they I believe the ER would be a good fit. I'll never know what will walk through the doors and into my care. Though I haven't done an ER rotation, I've been in it-several times for other people and once for myself. It seems like it's organized chaos which suits my personality.

[NavyJim58]

Originally Posted by Goshenc

Thanks NavyJim. Because of the transfer I had to take a semester off from clinicals, so I only have the 1st clinical under my belt. In the spring I should be back in the rotation again. This fall I'm doing skills etc. Personally, I am leaning more towards ER. I love to be around people and work in a team setting. I need to make a difference in people's lives in order to be fully satisfied. Only problem is I get bored very easily, and I don't want to see the "same case" everyday-though I know there is no such thing as a same case. That's they I believe the ER would be a good fit. I'll never know what will walk through the doors and into my care. Though I haven't done an ER rotation, I've been in it-several times for other people and once for myself. It seems like it's organized chaos which suits my personality.

I think you would like the ER if you want variety.......like you say, you never know what will come through the door next although after you have done the job for a few years you will be finding yourself identifying when the patient flow will be light and when it will pick up......times of day and year....holidays......events in town.......you will begin judging people by their demeanor and dress and what their complaints are.........sometimes you will be wrong......an ER nurse has to be fast, efficient and able to think and act quickly......this isn't hold your hand and spend an hour on patient history nursing.......but I like it and when you have your BLS, ACLS, TNCC, ENPC, PALS and CEN you will be highly sought after by all ER's......:luck:

[Goshenc]

Haha I know what about 3/4 of those abbreviations at the end stand for. But yeah, at first I'm probably going to go to a calmer ward, get experience and more confidence, practice skills etc. Then when I feel comfortable enough I want to move to one of the 3 mentioned wards. Thanks so much for all of your help.

[Jocklene]

I have graduated from nursing school, passed the boards, gone on numerous interviews and I STILL can't decide where I want to work! I would ultimately like the ER, but the only position offered was in Mental Health ER (basically a holding tank for pts waiting for a bed in a long term facility or a temporary cell for the drunks...) I don't know if I should just go into med-surg or accept a position in ICU. ICU intimidates me... YIKES. HELP!

[LPN RN Online]

I like being an ER nurse. A LOT. I think the experience you gain in ER is invaluable. From ER, I think you can do just about anything. You see so many different cases. If you are still deciding, ER can give you insight into every aspect of nursing. From there you can decide further.

Good luck to you.

[singer7]

Hello,
I have been an OB nurse for 28 years. I love it! It might seem as if it's the same every day, but every patient has different expectations and deals with the experience differently. And, it's a little like ER. You never know what or how many might walk through the door. You also usually have a lot of autonomy and responsibility because a doctor is not always there to make a quick judgement call. (In the smaller hospitals, that is.) Also, in travel nursing, they pay a lot more for a nurse with specialized skills. Good luck in whatever you choose!

[cassioo]

I agree with singer7 I'll stick with L&D now my hospital unit we split our time between L&D and postpartum/GYN so the patients range from 14 to 80+ (and the babies) we get anyone who thinks they are pregnant, got pregnant last night ready to delivery or last delivered 60 years ago as long has they have an OB/GYN doc then we get some overflow also...the only thing we don't take are males.

[cassioo]

oops correction...we still have FOB's (father of babies aka baby daddy) and other male relatives of patients who we have to deal with some of whom pass out on the floor and then their heads sound like watermelons as they hit the floor....or get the play ref when you have 2 maybe baby daddys as we say momma's baby daddy's maybe