As a new nurse you’re not typically going to have the luxury to choose which nursing specialty you would like to pursue at the beginning of your career. You’re most likely going to be forced to take whichever job opening you are given. Considering the uncertainty of the economy, you’re best route is to apply everywhere where they will take new graduate nurses. It’s also possible that before you started nursing, you might of already had an idea of what kind of department you would like to work but after you finished, you now have a change of opinion. However if you were able to make it pass the rigorous courses of nursing school and pass the sleep depriving, anxiety filled NCLEX test and you still have a burning desire to work in ICU or Labor and Delivery, here is my advice to you.
Honestly speaking, most hospitals on specialty floors typically shy away from hiring brand new nurses. It’s nothing personal but there are specific skills that nursing school can’t teach you, that only experience can. Home health nursing is probably one of the few specialties that will hire new nurses right away if you’re not interested in the hospital scene. If you are able to find your specialty that will train new graduate nurses, then by all means, jump right into it. For those of the many who can’t my recommendation is to get started on a Medical Surgical floor. I know that’s probably not the answer some of you were looking for but then again maybe for some of you, you absolutely love surgical and chronic disease patients. Maybe that’s the whole reason why you went into nursing in the first place.
The reason why this is typically the BEST floor for you to start on as a new nurse is because you get to see a little bit of everything that could lead you to the specialty of your dreams. When taking care of these patients you can get a great idea of what you like and what you dislike. For example, you may like that you get to do patient education but maybe you don’t like having to do it in a rush so instead you pursue public health. Or maybe you like managing your acute care patient’s health problems but you can’t stand how often they push the call lights so you switch to ICU. Or maybe you enjoy the fast pace, you love starting IVs, but you’re really getting tired of seeing Mr. Smith for the past 5 shifts so you switch to ER. As long as you’re paying attention to what you like and dislike, it can eventually lead you to choosing the right specialty of your desire. Typically it’s best you stay on this floor for a minimum of one year, once you’ve reached that experience level then you can be free to start looking at other specialties. You may get the specialty of your dreams the first time, you may not. If not, just keep trying!
Good luck!
