Reply With QuoteA lot of people don't know what specialty they want until they are almost out of nursing school. In fact, some don't decide until they have been working for a few years. Don't fret and don't rush yourself. It will come with time.
I have a lot of questions. Even since I was a kid, I wanted to become a doctor. I used to read my Mom's old medical books and everything, when I was six, for fun. I realized once I got older, that I didn't have the grades or patience for all the school to become a doctor, plus people thought I'd make a better nurse. So I've been set on nursing since... maybe my freshman year of high school. My whole family is in the medical field. No one has been a nurse or doctor before though. They are either billers or secretaries. So now that it's close, I'm starting to get nervous. I'm going to start college this fall, to take my core courses. I am going to a community college, starting in the fall, then transferring to RUSH University or Northwestern (Chicago) if they get a nursing school there after two or three years (however long it takes to get my classes over with, which is hard, because the Biology and Chemistry classes fill up very quickly.) The going to RUSH or Northwestern was my Mom's idea, because she's helping me out here and giving me ideas. Lol. So at first, my Mom said she thinks I would make a good Emergency Room nurse, but now, I don't think it's for me, because it would be far too stressful and I am too afraid of making a mistake. She then said the same. So I don't know what kind of nurse I should be, but my Mom said maybe I would make a good Recovery Room nurse. Does anyone have any information on what their duties are? The thing is too though, I am very afraid of hurting someone or killing someone. Is this common? Or should I consider another profession because of it? I can handle SOME stress, but not all at once, or I'll go nuts. I am pretty sure I do want to be a nurse, but I am very scared at the same time. Please help me.
A lot of people don't know what specialty they want until they are almost out of nursing school. In fact, some don't decide until they have been working for a few years. Don't fret and don't rush yourself. It will come with time.
Hi Chris!
Take a deep breath. I don't have many classmates that DO know what type of nurse they want to be yet. That's one of the reasons that we are exposed to different settings in nursing school. Of course, the main reason is to learn all of the areas, but I don't plan on making a final decision until I am done with everything. At this point, I want to do trauma, but who knows? I may change my mind. You have plenty of time to decide. Nursing school is nursing school, you don't specialize. If you are really that worried about all of this, you should volunteer at a local hospital. Or call your local EMS and see what you can do about riding with them one day. Some places let you sign a release from liability statement and allow you to ride along in the ambulance to observe...you don't interact with the patient at all, but you do get to see what it's like. That should give you a good idea about ER nursing. Have fun, don't stress too much and good luck!
Kristy (another RN student)
I have been a nurse for 13 years. Worked ER, CVICU, CCU, SICU, some cath lab. Out Patient care. I still do not know what I want to do. few more years it will be RETIREMENT!!!!!!!!!
After you complete your core courses and enter a nursing school you will be able to rotate through all of the different areas of nursing, med-surg, OB, peds, ortho, OR, etc. then you will be able to make an informed decision. IN the meantime you might want to try to get some work or do some volunteering in a hospital to see if it is for you.
