Which nursing education provides the best career opportunities?

October 13, 2010 7:12 PM

Am I limiting my career options in nursing by choosing pediatrics as a specialty?

I’m in the process of applying to various graduate programs with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner (MS Nursing.) These are all accelerated programs for people who currently have degrees in areas other than nursing, and almost all of the programs I’m applying to require me to choose a specialty as part of the application process. I’ve been leaning towards pediatrics ever since I made the decision to pursue this as a career - and I’m almost certain that’s what I’ll choose - but in the interest of covering all bases, I’m wondering if any RN’s/NP’s out there (or anyone qualified to speak on the matter, really) could provide any thoughts/insight/advice?

Mainly, I’m curious if choosing that specialty would limit my career opportunities in the future. Would choosing something like adult health care, or family nurse practitioner provide me a more (I hate to use the term) balanced education, and open up more doors after school? If you work in pediatrics, would you still have chosen that path in school knowing what you know now? I’m inclined to believe that by choosing ANY path, I’m making a decision to focus on a certain area at the expense of others, and that’s just the nature of the beast (and as such, I should go with my gut.) However, if your experience has taught you differently (or confirmed this), I’d welcome your thoughts. Also, if you have any other tidbits about the profession you feel are important to know, feel free to share! Thanks in advance.

(Oh, and while I know switching specialty after starting school is technically possible, my understanding after speaking to the various programs is that it's difficult to do so, as often times they can't guarantee placement, and waiting list limbo may result.)

posted by Rewind to Education (8 answers total)

Best answer: Go with your gut. Pediatrics has no more or fewer opportunities than any other branch of nursing. Plus, you get to work in a really interesting area.

Speaking as a former peds nurse, it is easier to go from peds to adults than from adults to peds. Kids tend to scare nurses who have no experience with them. Adults don't scare the peds nurses and docs so much.

So you've got it all.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:59 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: You know, I think you're going to be fine. My mother was a pediatric nurse when she first got out of school; she then took some years off to raise kids, and then became a certified lactation consultant. After that, she worked as a geriatric nurse, then a treatment nurse at a progressive care unit, and she now works as a rehabilitation (stroke/injury) nurse. Nursing is a highly skilled job, and while it's true that you'll be getting some specialized education, you're going to be getting a lot of generalizable training, *and* you're going to gain experience on the job that will be generalizable.

That said, I'm always just a little shy of accelerated programs. I've narrowly escaped a few (in education certification) myself, and I've been quite glad that I didn't do them. YMMV and I don't know what you're looking at precisely, of course.

Yay, being a nurse!!
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 8:02 PM on October 13, 2010

Usually one's background in nursing practice provides guidance for what NP specialty to choose. NP students typically choose the specialty which corresponds to their clinical interest.

Have you done any patient care? Were there some patient populations you preferred working with over others?

If you know from working in pediatrics that you have a passion for that work, it is fine to specialize in pediatrics. If you don't have any (or much) clinical experience and just feel you might like working with children, it might be better to go the FNP route which might give you more flexibility down the line.

I can't tell from your question, but I strongly recommend you have some bedside experience before entering this kind of degree program. There is really no substitute for that hands-on in determining whether patient care is something you would enjoy or excel at.
posted by jeoc at 8:04 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: On non-preview - there are many options and opportunities for RNs to switch their clinical specialties. Even though RNs can obtain certification in a specialty, switching to another one can be as simple as taking a job in another department.

I'm pretty sure that it is different for NPs, though. If you get a FNP credential (for example), you would have to go back to school to get a different kind of NP credential. You may or may not need it - a FNP may be fine for working in a pediatric office practice. But if you decided you wanted to work in a NICU, you may need an NNP credential instead.

It might be helpful, in understanding how much you might be limiting your options, to know what kind of setting you want to work in.
posted by jeoc at 8:12 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: Datapoint - my mom was a pediatric nurse in a hospital setting, and later as a university instructor in that specialty. After taking a break to raise 2 pre-schoolers, when she went back to work it was in public health which ultimately morphed into a focus on epidemiology.

Bottom line - a highly skilled nurse who keeps up with her field will not have trouble adapting to any number of nursing specialties later in her career.
posted by contessa at 8:15 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: Consider this: you will still have to understand many, but not all of the adult health issues when dealing with a 'pediatric' population - consider that many young adults still see their pediatrician through undergraduate years. Adult specialists won't have much experience with pediatric issues. I chose the Adult Acute specialization, and I won't be able to be hired in most outpatient settings at all, so as peds-"only", you're still going to be able to work more places than me.

If you're applying to Yale and have any questions, I'm in my GEPN year now, you can mefimail me.
posted by cobaltnine at 8:16 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: I am in the peds specialty track at Ohio State's grad-entry program (which is exactly like the programs of which you speak) for NPs, and simply, you'll always have work and you'll always have the opportunity for a variety of work. There are a lot of reasons this us true. Please memail me, I'd be happy to talk with you in depth (I just got off rotation and I am tired, or I'd write more). Colbaltnine's advice is A+, too.
posted by rumposinc at 8:25 PM on October 13, 2010

Best answer: Yes, your NP specialty will likely limit your scope of practice. You'll want to check in with your state's nursing commission to determine exactly what scope of practice your eventual licensure will allow - for example your state may allow a Pediatric NP to be a primary provider for patients younger than a certain age, but you may not be equivalently licensed to work with adults. Then again, your state may not license NPs as primary providers at all - details differ depending on where you want to work and which licensing body has certified you.

That aside, you can change your specialty if you discover that pediatrics is not for you. My school allows you to apply to change your specialty while still working on your degree. You can also come back to school later to fulfill the educational requirements for a 2nd specialty and NP licensure if you work awhile and find that you want to change (usually via a certificate program or a 2nd MSN/DNP degree).

In brief - changing NP specialties is likely to require more school, but the option is open to you.
posted by owls at 11:17 AM on October 14, 2010