A little help for a soon to be student...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MALENURSE83

I am about to start school to become a RN(BSN) and I was wondering How does an RN obtain their specialty? I have been looking around at jobs and the show RN jobs with designators like ER, PACU, PICU, NICU etc... How does an RN obtain these designators or specialties? I know what they stand for and NICU seems to be what I would most enjoy doing. I was needing to know do I take classes in college directed towards where I want to work in a hospital or is it an additional schooling I need to take? Any help would be much appreciated...
:dance:

Hi Malenurse,

Nurses usually get an idea of what their specialty area may be during their clinical rotations. Most of the time, the new nurse starts in a general or med-surg area to get solid patient care experience and from there, gravitate in the direction of preference if it isn't med-surg, that is. Once established, that nurse would be encouraged to attain certification in the specialty field and there are usually fast-track courses to take and then a certification exam.

Hope this helps,

R