How to Choose the Best Nursing Specialty for YOU! (and Get the Nursing Job You Want!)

In this video I talk about how to choose the best nursing specialty for you and get the nursing job you want. There are so many different type of nursing specialties that it can be tricky to figure out which type of nursing may suit you best. I discuss tips and advice to making the job of choosing a nursing specialty easier. If you are a nursing student trying to decide on a nursing specialty to pursue, new grad nurse, or a seasoned registered nurse just looking for a career change then this video is for you! Getting a nursing job, especially your first one, can be intimidating but I share my advice and encouragement to pushing through with your goals and getting the nursing job you want in the nursing specialty of your dreams. This video is full of helpful advice to help you reflect on your own life and what type of nursing specialty may work best for your lifestyle. Your first job as a registered nurse is going to be the foundation of your entire nursing career, so make it a good one! :)

I worked many years as a registered nurse (RN) in the emergency room, then continued working in the emergency room after becoming a nurse practitioner (NP). Being an ER nurse is exciting and no two days are the same. I also did travel nursing as an ER nurse. Check out my travel nursing videos to learn more about my life as a travel nurse in California.

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[jamaldinosaur]

Hi! :) Love your videos. Can you do an in-depth video about the different nursing specialties?

[allisonnelson]

If i could like this video 1000 times i would, so informative .

[melanierose]

Great video. I still feel like I can go either FNP or PMHNP. I have more experience towards FNP and would love to work in urgent care. But Psychiatry would be more of a passion. Still hard to decide, either way I would have a great career

[thlp]

Great video!!! Feeling blessed to have found your channel 💜.

[carlyrich]

Really great video and some solid advice (I found this video because I'm trying to transition out of Med/Tele). Just to give you an idea of how not everyone's experience was like yours though, let me tell you why I did not in any way feel prepared when I started on the floor as a nurse (and still have my moments 9 1/2 months into acute care experience). I went to a great school, but because of the emphasis on leadership for BSN RN's we had less clinical hours than most other schools in the area, and I never felt very confident in my nursing skills. However everyone said 'you'll learn on the job' so I didn't panic. Competition was extremely fierce when I graduated (I missed a 4.0 in nursing school by 1 A-, and I had excellent recommendations from all my professors and precepted in a major hospital in the NICU), and I applied to every new grad program I could find. After not getting into any new grad programs in the area due to the insane competition (and because I didn't know anyone, and some hospitals froze hiring because of Covid), I ended up taking a job as the pm shift RN supervisor at a skilled nursing facility where I was in charge of 128 patients, 7 lvns, and about 16 CNA's, and the highest licensed healthcare worker in the facility after about 5 pm until 1130 pm (yikes lol). They gave me about 3 weeks of training mostly on administrative things like writing orders and their admit process and admin/staffing duties (very light on nursing skills). Overall not a terrible experience but it didn't teach me many skills for acute care. After working there 6 months I finally got my first interview in a hospital because my mom happened to know the hiring manager (keep in mind I had submitted hundreds of applications to every floor/specialty/hospital I could find in an hour and a half radius). The manager agreed to hire me as long as I came on as an 'experienced' nurse since she didn't have the budget for any more new grads. I accepted as it was the first opportunity I had gotten and I couldn't say no. I started working on a Med/Tele floor in a small rural hospital, and because I was 'not a new grad' I got 10 days of orientation. Most people I knew who got into new grad programs got 6 months to 1 year. I obviously survived, but I had panic attacks daily for the first few months and had no idea how I would get through feeling like an imposter. I'm always one to ask questions so I did and learned a lot, but had a few experienced nurses that treated me like an idiot because I asked a lot of questions so they thought I didn't know anything (I get it they have to deal with all the new grads and I'm sure that gets old). 9 1/2 months in I feel much more confident and I know I am a good nurse because I care so deeply about my patients, and I have amazing nights like last night where I got done early and helped all the other nurses on the unit out with their med passes and still left on time. However I still feel like I am not as good as other RN's, especially ones who went through new grad programs. I even asked if I could retroactively join the next new grad program to fill in the gaps of what I had missed but was told that wasn't possible. I'm sure I would have felt prepared if I had a little more training before being thrown out to sink or swim, but part of me just feels like I was never worth the investment. It's made me scared to go back to the NICU which I really did love, because I'm so worried I won't be good enough and I might hurt one of my patients, especially because I don't know how much training I might actually get. Hopefully this doesn't sound too debbie downerish, I'm lucky to be where I am with the experience and opportunities I've had, and I know I will have more and more options available in the future. I just thought that I would have had a bit more support at the beginning.

[marilynsartadventures]

Very informative and interesting video!

[JJ-gwvs]

I think I needed to hear this....I'm not an insecure worker, I'm very independent once I'm in my comfort zone but Nursing school has made me insecure because all you ever hear is "if you do this you'll kill the patient". No one wants to be that nurse, certainly not me.

[Thinkslikemakeup]

I feel lost bc I haven’t had a lot of in person clinical experience especially for specialties. I did do a med surg for 2 semesters and it was very chaotic and I didn’t really enjoy it. I’m a very organized person, I like structure and I guess you can say I have type A personality…. But idk where my personality would truly thrive in.

[daphniefarkas]

We didn't get a choice of clinical rotation or location. I was stuck on med surge for 2 years. Now I'm about to graduate and I don't know what i like, i just know that i hate med surge. 😢

[ShondaD_]

Before deciding to become a Nurse, I had no idea there are sooo many options and specialties for Nurses. I just thought they work 12 hrs at a hospital.

[eli]

Hi,
Thanks for all your advice! I’m an older nursing student and I really want to go into the OR but all the nurses I work with tell me I should start in med surge. I honestly don’t have the time to spend doing something I don’t want to do. Is there another specialty I should consider working in that will help me gain the experience I need to land an OR job if I don’t get the job I want right after graduation?