When Do I Choose My Nursing Specialty?
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Question:
I’m entering an ADN program in September and I’m excited about becoming a nurse. I believe I’ll be moving on and getting my bachelor’s at some point too, maybe through an online nursing program. My question is about specialties. When in nursing school do you have to decide what specialty you’ll work in, like ICU, labor and delivery, or what? Thanks for the good information you provide. Darlene
Answer:
Hi Darlene. Congratulations on starting nursing school in the fall. It’s nice to see new people coming in and being excited about the prospect of becoming a nurse.
Specializing in nursing isn’t like specializing in medical school, where you have to decide what types of residency you want to do. All registered nurses who come out with an ADN have the same type of education and pass the same NCLEX – the licensing exam for nurses.
While you are studying and doing your clinical work, you may find that a particular type of nursing is more interesting to you. If this is the case, you may want to read up more on the field, speak to nurses in the field, and become as comfortable as you can. This way, when you graduate, you can apply to work in that specialty, if it doesn’t require special certification.
You may also want to check out the hospitals and facilities you are interested in. They may have special programs for graduate nurses who want to work in one of the special units.
If the specialty you do like does require certification, then you may choose to do courses towards this or you can look into this more when you return to school for your bachelor’s in nursing, your BSN.
Good luck!
Tags: ADN to RN, associates degree in nursing, bachelor's in nursing, BSN, nursing school, nursing specialites
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