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Josh
Student
Anchorage, Alaska
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How do i Know what kind of Nurse i want to be ?
Hi I'm a senior in high school, and ever since i remember, I wanted to be a nurse. I'm currently in the PLTW BCA program (Biomedical Medical Career).
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Danielle Gaby Rodriguez
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Danielle’s Answer
Hi Josh and that is such a great question! :) Nursing is a great field for there are varies areas one can go into. You can be a nurse at a hospital, assisted living homes, skilled rehab, school nurse, nursing informatics, and so much more. There is also the aspect of what type of people population you would like to take care for that can be taking care of our elderly population to being newborns.
When you are accepted into a nursing school, the school should be designed to cover all areas of nursing from geriatrics, medsrug, labor and delivery, pediatrics, maternity, psych, fundamentals, skills, and much more. By going thru each nursing semester and clinical rotation, you get to experience a little bit of each area so that you can get a feel of what you might be interested in.
And its okay if you change your mind along the way, it not set in stone of the choice you make as a nurse for there are so many options. My example is myself: I thought I wanted to take care of kids doing chemo (pediatrics oncolgoy) but when I did my clinical rotation, I found out that I was not fit to work in that area of nursing. When I did my rotation at a hospital for med surg with the elderly is where I found my true passion of what kind of nurse I wanted to be in that area. I enjoyed caring for the elderly population, which in turn lead me to be hired at my 1st nursing job at a hospital and then working in a skilled rehab in a long term care unit for the elderly.
It's great that you are thinking about it now and maybe you can ask for human resources at places of interest to see if they have any shadowing programs to see different nurses in their expertise. Best of luck to you ! :)
When you are accepted into a nursing school, the school should be designed to cover all areas of nursing from geriatrics, medsrug, labor and delivery, pediatrics, maternity, psych, fundamentals, skills, and much more. By going thru each nursing semester and clinical rotation, you get to experience a little bit of each area so that you can get a feel of what you might be interested in.
And its okay if you change your mind along the way, it not set in stone of the choice you make as a nurse for there are so many options. My example is myself: I thought I wanted to take care of kids doing chemo (pediatrics oncolgoy) but when I did my clinical rotation, I found out that I was not fit to work in that area of nursing. When I did my rotation at a hospital for med surg with the elderly is where I found my true passion of what kind of nurse I wanted to be in that area. I enjoyed caring for the elderly population, which in turn lead me to be hired at my 1st nursing job at a hospital and then working in a skilled rehab in a long term care unit for the elderly.
It's great that you are thinking about it now and maybe you can ask for human resources at places of interest to see if they have any shadowing programs to see different nurses in their expertise. Best of luck to you ! :)
Michelle M.
Actress
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Josh !
It's awesome that you are in the Project Lead the Way program at your high school ! That will give you good foundational knowledge and skills before college.
The way you will discover which type of Nurse you'll want to be is when you go through the path of being a Nursing student in Nursing school. It's normal to not know yet and don't worry about it just yet. Your experience in the Nursing Program will help you make that decision.
Start looking at colleges with nursing programs so you'll know which ones to apply to when the time comes. The nursing programs in Alaska teach human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and health assessments. Programs emphasize evidence based practice, clinical judgment, and the integration of traditional and academic knowledge to serve indigenous and underserved populations. You'd have all populations of patients.
You may find out what type of nursing you like while you're in the academic program, but you'll really be able to choose once you start your clinical experience by doing rotations. You will be getting experience at a variety of venues such as in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and rural health centers. This is not only a good way to get nursing experience but also to become familiar with the different types of nursing, so it's okay to wait until you're in nursing school to choose a special type of nursing. You may even decide to be a general nurse and not have a specialty.
So it's normal to not know which kind of nursing you'd want to do before you start Nursing School. Take your time exploring and you will eventually be inspired.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
It's awesome that you are in the Project Lead the Way program at your high school ! That will give you good foundational knowledge and skills before college.
The way you will discover which type of Nurse you'll want to be is when you go through the path of being a Nursing student in Nursing school. It's normal to not know yet and don't worry about it just yet. Your experience in the Nursing Program will help you make that decision.
Start looking at colleges with nursing programs so you'll know which ones to apply to when the time comes. The nursing programs in Alaska teach human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and health assessments. Programs emphasize evidence based practice, clinical judgment, and the integration of traditional and academic knowledge to serve indigenous and underserved populations. You'd have all populations of patients.
You may find out what type of nursing you like while you're in the academic program, but you'll really be able to choose once you start your clinical experience by doing rotations. You will be getting experience at a variety of venues such as in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and rural health centers. This is not only a good way to get nursing experience but also to become familiar with the different types of nursing, so it's okay to wait until you're in nursing school to choose a special type of nursing. You may even decide to be a general nurse and not have a specialty.
So it's normal to not know which kind of nursing you'd want to do before you start Nursing School. Take your time exploring and you will eventually be inspired.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
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Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
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Karin’s Answer
Hi Josh,
It's great that you have a passion for becoming a nurse! Being in the PLTW BCA program puts you on the right track.
Since you are still in high-school, there is no need to decide now on your nursing specialty. For now, focus on getting into nursing school. You will get a general nursing education that qualifies you to start working in all departments. During your training, especially during clinical rotations, you'll find out which nursing specialties you find most interesting and compatible with your personality and life plans. When you graduate, you can aim for positions in those specialties, gain experience and earn additional certifications.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
https://www.pltw.org/
It's great that you have a passion for becoming a nurse! Being in the PLTW BCA program puts you on the right track.
Since you are still in high-school, there is no need to decide now on your nursing specialty. For now, focus on getting into nursing school. You will get a general nursing education that qualifies you to start working in all departments. During your training, especially during clinical rotations, you'll find out which nursing specialties you find most interesting and compatible with your personality and life plans. When you graduate, you can aim for positions in those specialties, gain experience and earn additional certifications.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
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