How did you pick a nursing specialty?

Hi Elissa-   Great question!   I have been a nurse for more than 30 years and have been in a position to interview nurses for the NICU for more than 10 years.   I have found that many nurses never considered a specialty when going thru school--   they often were told that they should do some general "med surg" before deciding.   I think every nurse is different in this regards-  Many of the people who interview for the NICU had some experience with it before (a family member or friend with a NICU baby).   Some nurses told me that they were in a nursing clinical day when they realized that they wanted to be a "peds" nurse or a "labor and delivery" nurse.   I have also noticed that some nurses have worked in some area for many years but have decided to "reinvent" themselves and go down a specialty path.  

The one thing I personally believe from my experience is that it's never too late or too early to choose a nursing field.  I believe that nurses do a better job and are more fulfilled when they are working where they feel their passion.   Your path may be direct to a specialty, or it may be a winding road leading you from one area to another--   Just be sensitive to opportunities and you can make a difference in the lives of the patients you care for as well as feel satisfied with your position.

Best of luck!

Teresa

When I first started as a nurse, I had no idea what I wanted to specialize in but knew that I eventually wanted to work in ICU. Once I began working in ICU, I remember during a skills fair (where nurses review clinical skills), this one nurse was able to diagnose what side of the heart a patient was having a myocardial infarction (heart attack) just by looking at heart pressure measurements. I was impressed and amazed. After that, I became fascinated with the heart and decided to learn everything I could about cardiology. I then worked in a cardiac catheterization lab because I wanted to learn in depth about cardiac interventions. In the past few years, I worked in a cardiology office and learned about electrophysiology (the electrical system of the heart). To this day, I still love learning about the heart.