How I chose a specialty: A personal story and recommendations
Written by Kaylee Zukowski
When I went into nursing, I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do. I didn’t choose nursing until maybe a week before my high school asked us to start applying to colleges for whatever we wanted to do as a career. While I had been taking care of family and friends before, It didn’t click immediately that I should be a nurse. I didn’t know why I went into nursing for a while; I was just flying through the semesters without thinking. However, once we got into the actual nursing courses, I started to enjoy myself. They were always asking us what specialty we wanted to go into, what we wanted to be as a nurse. So many of my classmates already had experience, whether that was from being an LPN or EMT. I thought I was naive for going into a field that I really didn’t know anything about. Maybe I was crazy, going head first into a major that required not only skill but knowledge. For a long time, I didn’t really have a reason why I was doing nursing or an idea of where I would be. I had an open mind, but I didn’t know specifically where I wanted to go. I figured that maybe being in clinical would allow me to gain experience and figure it out. Of course, I didn’t like my first rotation due to just being nervous and having a non-existent amount of confidence at the time.
More clinical rotations came and went, I didn’t really fancy any of them. I disliked maternity and pediatrics as children are not my forte. At this point, I started to panic. Where would I end up? Would I even find something I’m interested in? What if I never did? Then what? Thankfully, the next unit I was on was welcoming and I actually ended up enjoying my time on the cardiac/med surg floor. I loved the staff there and I loved the general hustle and bustle that the nurses were doing. While there wasn’t much sitting down, I was ok with this because I always felt guilty for sitting and not doing anything in the moment (if I got my charting done).This was the last semester of junior year that I finally found something that could motivate me, something that I could look forward to doing once I graduate. Now, as a senior, I work as a patient care tech on the floor I was on for clinical and I know the staff well. They welcomed me with open arms and the nurses are intelligent in their specialty.
For those who are lost in the seemingly never-ending spiral of figuring where you want to go, I suggest taking a moment to reflect. Think about what you want in your workplace. Do you want more hours? More money? Possibly a good environment? Assess the unit you are on as a whole, how does it run? Are the staff knowledgeable? Is this something you can see yourself being passionate for? Is this something you could do for the next 10 years? Keep an open mind, you will find something that you enjoy. If it isn’t clinical, there are so many more resources out there and many different nursing positions to try out. Be outgoing, almost everyone is looking for nurses due to the shortage. You’ll get there, take your time.
Featured image by Kaylee Zukowski
