When did you figure out your specialty?

Just out of curiosity, how long did you guys take until you found your specialty? And what was your specialty you chose.

I want to be a NP someday and I was thinking about how long I should work as an RN before I began to apply for grad school.
Specialty is Med/Surg. I have always liked the caliber of these pt's. I have left the dept to float, only to miss it.

My specialty is Pediatrics. I knew before I went to nursing school that is where I wanted to be. You could not even pay me enough to work with adults!

My specialty is progressive care. I love it. I actually started here as a new grad. I think I eventually want to branch out into ICU.

What is progressive care? For me I loved working in emergency situations so I probably switch between ER and something else to keep me from burning out.

I work on an ICU floor at an LTACH. I've only been there for a couple months as a new grad. I must say that I've learned tons of things, but I'm not really feeling it too much. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.So, when I get at least 6-8 months of experience I want to try ER and see how that goes.

Quote from KarenfRNMy specialty is Pediatrics. I knew before I went to nursing school that is where I wanted to be. You could not even pay me enough to work with adults!

My specialty is Maternal Child. I knew in nursing school. I thought prior to nursing school that I would like Peds best, but figured out that Maternal Child (L&D specifically) was my area. I hated med/surg. In fact, we were strongly encouraged to precept in med/surg (required to if our grades weren't very good) and I told the associate dean I'd quit nursing school if I had to do one more day of med/surg. I have 15 years of hospital experience under my belt, and am now doing public health home visits with pregnant women and first time moms. I really miss the hands on stuff, but I enjoy my new job, too.

My first job was in Mother Baby which at the time was exactly what I wanted. I realized if I did want to go back to school for my NP degree, I'd want to work somewhere more challenging for me. I transferred to the NICU, and I love it!

Med/surg IS my specialty, though people don't always think of it that way. I'm always being asked, "When are you going to specialize?" The answer is, I'm sticking with med/surg!

Quote from tortor09What is progressive care? For me I loved working in emergency situations so I probably switch between ER and something else to keep me from burning out.

I spent the first two years in med-surg and float pool. I thought each floor had interesting aspects but I hated the ratios and poor working environment. I recently left my job and took a new job in the ED; I love it and finally feel that I can put my skills to use and get things done without as many of the hindrances of the floor.

Public Health Nursing: I'm more of a systems thinker; I grasp the big picture more easily than the details. Epidemiological investigations bring me joy. I'm also a huge proponent of preventive services. Thus, public health nursing is a natural fit. I was fortunate enough to pick up on this in nursing school. As a side note, I'm not an auditory or kinesthetic learner, so learning in the acute care setting came slowly to me; it made me shy away from it.