2nd semester student, new to forum

[Amy0079]

I'm new to the forum, and really new to everything regarding nursing. I have a BA in English and decided at the beginning of the year to give nursing a try. I'm currently in my second semester in an ADN program. I'm curious about a few things. Do "specialties" in nursing mostly evolve from experience? I'm not sure what area I want to work in yet, but I know there are certain areas (at least around here) that won't hire new graduates (such as ER). What would one do (or what area could would work) to prepare for work there? Or anywhere else in which you need experience?

Thanks for any feedback.
AMY

[cassioo]

I think it's good to get general med surg experience before you go into a speciality. It really depends on the area and the hospital you go to what they will hire. Right now the hospital I work out does hire new grads into speciality areas because they need help. I think it's harder to start in a speciality until you get that base down. You could check at your hospitals and see if they have student intern/extern programs that will pay you and you can experience different areas first. Depending on the state and the hospital probably depends on how much they will let a student do. When I was in my last semester in Indiana I took a small patient load and did everything except hang blood but at the hospital in KY the students basically function as NA's. And theirs nothing wrong with functioning as an NA either to learn to prioritize work with a large load. When I was a student I said I'd never be like the nurse that walked out of a room and said will you put her (pointing to the room she just came out of) on a bedpan?

[Anonymous]

I'm from the old school. I believe a new nurse should have a good foundation, just like a house, Med/Surg.

You learn so much there besides nursing, organization, priority setting, how the body works in unison, interacting with various areas of the hospital and other staff i.e. social workers, dietary, learning how to read docs orders lol, so much to long to list. etc. JMHO

I,also, see the logic in having a new grad start in a speciality. They don't have to unlearn habits. But I also don't think a nurse gets bad habits from M/S.

Check with the hospital you plan on working in..Many nursing programs have capstone programs where the student can work one-on-one in a speciality area with another RN for credit. That way you have an in and you get to see if you would like that area.

Does your program have a summer program were you can work as a CNA in a certain area.

Doesn't hurt to ask about these..

Good luck

WR,,, three commas for Becca

[nursinghumor]

Hello Amy,

Nursing schools prepare you for a general career in Nursing, the specialization begins on the job. I agree that it's better to start off in Medical Surgical where you'll get a broad range of experience, learn time management and have an opportunity to develop/perfect your assessment skills and expand your knowledge base.

Other nurses choose to go straight into a specialty like ER or ICU. The way the nursing shortage is going, you will be able to get hired straight into specialties as the shortage gets worse and they need the bodies.

Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless they had an extensive (like six months or more) orientation program that taught you ACLS, Basic Arrhythmias and skills you'll need to function.

You can find some interesting views on the Nursing Profession here, http://www.nursefriendly.com/views/

You can read more about specialty nursing at http://www.discovernursing.com

Wish you luck!

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursingstudents.com

[JeannieTaylor]

I'm a Nursing student and have relatives who are constantly at the local hospital. I have taken the time to ask the seasoned RN's attending to family members what the outlook is when I graduate. They said the local hospital (the only one in our town and with 45 minutes) is so understaffed that some of the RN's who wanted to retire are not because they are trying to be of some help to the hospital. Our hospital keeps the staff nurse ratio 1:4. However, this means that the new nurses get into a specialty IMMEDIATELY after graduation and aren't learning under an experienced RN. I was told by many that if I am lucky, I will be under an RN who has a year or two under her/his belt.
I want what is best for the patient so perhaps I will try to 'volunteer' at the hospital during my last semester or the summer before working to get myself familiar with the specialty of interest.
What do you all think as professionals?

[nursinghumor]

I think the best you could do is work as a Nursing Assistant in the hospital in question as you are going through your nursing program. Working as a Unit Secretary is an option also.

It will give you an inside look at how the new nurses are trained/treated by the older nurses and what kind of orientation they get.

If you are made nervous by what you see, you can always go to work somewhere else after you graduate.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com