The Challenge Of Choosing Your Practice Area As An Early Career Nurse
Submitted by Gessica Hulse, BScN., R.N.
Tags: career guidance healthcare education nursing education nursing experiences
There is power and opportunity in not knowing exactly where you want your career to go early on. When I started my education in nursing, I initially thought I would end up in the pharmaceutical realm, yet I ultimately ended up in my current niche of aesthetics, obtaining lots of diverse experience in between. Looking back on my own journey, this path makes a lot of sense as I have a family who worked in the beauty industry, and it has always been something that piqued my interest, especially the opportunity to work with and support women. Your personal journey will likely vary from classmates and colleagues around you, as no path is completely linear. Embrace this: being a nurse is extremely rewarding, but it can also quickly cause burnout as we work so closely with high volumes of patients experiencing their own pain, stress and emotions.
Finding the right specialty for you, where your work is challenging yet energizing, will be key to maintaining career satisfaction for years to come. Exploring Practice Areas as an Early Nurse Early in my career, I needed to really set my intentions on what energized me about the profession. Once I graduated as an RN, there were plenty of opportunities, and I took every chance to explore this. I consider my early nursing career to be a span of 15 years, where I really got my bearings, moving through different services within the hospital setting. I started in obstetrics (O.B.), guiding soon-to-be and new mothers through the process of childbirth and recovery. Witnessing new life is a gift, and O.B. is certainly a sought-after specialty. Some of the most valuable skills you can learn from servicing obstetrics are soft skills, such as empathetic communication, teaching, and a caring bedside manner. While caring for your patients' physical needs, you also guide and support them emotionally through a very pivotal time in their lives. From obstetrics, I eventually moved to the busy and intimidating medicine floor, which, looking back, was the most challenging service I had worked on, but it was also where I learned the most.
The fast-paced environment presents you with diverse and unique cases, challenging the breadth of your knowledge at all times. Working on patients of all ages with all types of ailments challenges your knowledge and requires you to be proactive in your care. This can be intimidating for a new nurse, but it is also the ultimate opportunity to rise to the challenge. There are many tasks in medicine that can become routine and allow you to really sharpen your skills, but you are also constantly presented with unique challenges to try a new skill. Adapting to the environment and approaching each case with care will keep you on the right learning trajectory to get the most out of your time in medicine. Similar to medicine, my experience on the surgery floor exposed me to many different patient needs. Post-operative care for patients enhances your bedside skills as you effectively help manage their pain, look out for signs of distress and ensure they are comfortable and on the path to a full recovery. After some time in the surgery wing, you will be able to find a routine and get your bearings, as some surgeries, such as bowel, hip and knee, are often repetitive. However, this does not discount the fact that each patient's needs remain unique, and you must collaborate effectively with your medical team to ensure the best care is given.
As my career progressed, I found my time specializing in cardiology to be very interesting. Here, I was able to really focus my attention on caring for one part of the body and deepen my understanding of how the cardiovascular system works as a whole. Nursing is a generalist profession, but during this experience, it felt very centralized. Yet, as much as the medical focus was specialized, you still have the opportunity to care for all types of patients, as heart problems can affect people of all ages. The intensity of the cardiology unit comes from the inherent condition that at one moment, a patient can be seemingly stable, and at the next, their vitals may plummet. It is essential to keep your skills just as sharp and agile as you would when working in general medicine to keep up with the needs of your patients. Nonetheless, the heart as an organ is fascinating, and the specialization also provides a unique opportunity for nurses to pursue focused research, should you find that to be a path that interests you.
The last area I really got to explore while working full-time in the hospital was being a dialysis nurse. Dialysis is a necessary service for many patients experiencing issues with different organs, from the liver to the heart. Having previous experience working directly with cardiology patients helped build my foundation for a holistic understanding of why treatments such as dialysis are necessary and so prevalent. While the practicality of being a dialysis nurse is much more routine work, when you bring to the specialty your previous experiences, you become more efficient, knowledgable and ultimately a more well-rounded professional.
Finding My Passion Currently, I co-own and operate my own aesthetic clinic while also working in women's health in the hospital. As forementioned, I have always had this underlying desire to work in the beauty industry as it gives me the opportunity to use my skills to uplift others. Many nurses are drawn to aesthetics when they have a passion for making patients look and feel their best through natural enhancement. If you have incredible attention to detail and a natural eye for facial harmony, you would likely find a career in aesthetics very rewarding. Every experience I had in my early career helped lead me to this position. In any specialty, you will not excel if you do not prioritize learning the basics. The hard part of this is putting in the time and effort of each position, knowing it is creating a foundation to propel you into other career goals. Be open to all positions within nursing that will allow you to enhance your experience and deepen your understanding, as this will inevitably lead you to your goals. Prioritize Learning as Much as You Can Once you enter the profession as a nurse, you have the option to explore different specialties and start looking into specific advanced certifications for niches that interest you the most. Depending on your location, different educational opportunities exist between provinces, and organizations, including the Canadian Nursing Association, offer specialty education programs of their own.
In advancing my career in aesthetics, I have found shorter, small-group training courses to be some of the most valuable, including a cadaveror course which offered hands-on learning in a controlled environment. The ability to work directly with human physiology, testing and perfecting new and existing techniques is necessary for staying on top of advancements in the industry and ensuring my own skills stay vigilant. Continuous training should not be thought of as a burden or another box to tick off on a to-do list but more of an investment in yourself and your career. A challenging part of nursing as a whole is maintaining and advancing our knowledge and skillsets to provide the best possible care to patients, regardless of what your niche is. Researching what is out there, and building your skill set through intervals of training can be extremely rewarding and ultimately help you better serve those who come into your care. The journey from graduating as a Registered Nurse to finding your unique path within the healthcare field is both challenging and immensely rewarding. The diversity of specialties available offers an opportunity for every nurse to find their niche where they can thrive and make a significant impact. While the prospect of specialization can seem daunting amidst the realities of burnout and the fast-paced nature of healthcare, it's crucial to remember that the right specialty not only enhances your career satisfaction but also significantly contributes to the quality of patient care.
Remember always to prioritize your interests and skills and lean into what energizes you to come to work each day. As nurses, each step towards specialization is a step towards enhancing our ability to serve our patients with the highest standard of care. New nurses are never the most experienced professionals in the room, but you can always be the most willing to learn. Approach each challenge with the mindset that it is an opportunity to grow, and you will find, through experience, the niche and specialty where you thrive. An experienced nurse is an efficient, effective and powerful nurse, so never back down from an opportunity to try something new. Remain open-minded, engaged, and never stop learning even as your experience grows.
About The Author: Gessica Hulse, BScN., R.N. Co-owner of BCI Clinic (https://bciclinic.ca/), Ottawa's premier medical aesthetics and skincare provider. Gessica has over 15 years of nursing experience in several settings that include Obstetrics, Medicine, Surgery, Cardiology, dialysis and women's health. She has taken many advanced training courses over the years, which have allowed her to become skilled and knowledgeable in the aesthetic field. Her biggest passion is working in aesthetic medicine and helping others fulfil their goals, desires and beauty needs. Gessica finds it rewarding when she is able to help her clients feel as good as they look.