Determine Your Area of Healthcare (Nursing)

00:01 Parth was thrilled to become a nurse.

00:03 He loved to serve others and believed that he could make a powerful impact in the lives of people through excellent patient care.

00:13 Now, Parth was preparing for his boards, and the time had come for him to determine his area of health care in which he would serve.

00:24 When you are determining your area of health care for your career, consider these factors.

00:31 First, you should determine the area of medicine that is the most compelling for you.

00:38 This is a tough question, and there is not a specific formula for discovering your passion.

00:45 What I would recommend is to try out different units and pay attention to what excites you.

00:53 What exhausts you? What do you find rewarding? What do you find challenging? Pay attention to your responses to different areas of care, as you are trying out different units in your career preparation.

01:09 Do you like the fast pace of the ER or ICU? The variety of Med surg, the patient demographic of LND, pediatrics, or geriatrics? What are your preferred areas of care? And why? Next, I want you to determine your preferred pace of care.

01:32 Perhaps you love cardiac, but you have some concerns about the patient load.

01:38 Ask questions and be mindful of the amount of beds on the unit.

01:44 The patient ratio and the turnover on the unit.

01:48 Perhaps the unit has a lower patient to nurse preferred ratio, but they are constantly understaffed.

01:57 Consider the experience of the other people on the unit and ask about mentorship and guidance from more seasoned nurses.

02:08 You could also consider night shift when starting your career for a generally slower pace.

02:15 Either way, when starting your career, you should consider the pace of care.

02:22 Also, you should consider the acuity of care.

02:25 A higher acuity unit may require deeper attention and know how with possible specializations, or additional certifications.

02:36 This may have a longer onboarding, and more intensive orientation.

02:42 The continuous learning requirements in these units may be more extensive.

02:48 You can also consider a step down unit for more intermediate care between the intensive unit and the general ward.

02:56 My point is this.

02:59 There are a lot of options for you to choose your desired level of care.

03:04 And the decision does not end with a unit of health care.

03:09 You should also consider the area of health care, pace of care, the acuity of care when determining where you would best like to serve others through health care.