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?