Career options for a nursing student?

I am currently a nursing student about to graduate in December with a BSN. I am just starting to think about which graduate degree to pursue, because where I want to go for that will determine where I search for my first nursing job.

Interests:

rehab (physical therapy, occupational therapy)
counseling/mental health
teaching/patient education
evidence-based practice
empowering others and motivating change
international relations/working with foreigners
emergency medicine, OB, home care, cardiac
leadership/management
crisis intervention
writing, both creative & scholarly work
holistic health
alternative medicine

I'm about half introverted, half extroverted, depending on the circumstances. I like working alone, but believe in team work.

I have considered physical therapy/occupational therapy school, NP or PA, master's in counseling or PhD in therapy... any advice or suggestions?

thank you both for your help!

My suggestion is not to put the cart before the horse. While many people have a wide variety of interests, often times you find out once you're working that these interests were not exactly how you imagined they would be.

I'd recommend first starting out in a regular medical surgical environment to build a solid foundation of your nursing practice. It will give you a wide variety of experiences with a wide range of patients, illnesses, medications, etc.

Don't be in a hurry to pick a grad school focus. It would be a big mistake to rush into something only to find you don't like what you're doing. After doing some time in med/surg, start job searching for things that fall among those interests and go work in another area for awhile to see if you really enjoy it.

There's plenty of time to go to grad school, so take your time learning how to be a nurse and fine tune your skills before worrying about going back to school again.

I went to nursing school for the sole purpose of becoming a midwife. I mean, it was my PASSION. Now that I've been working as a L&D nurse for several years, I have found that my preferences have changed. Being a CNM is more than I expected, and I learned things about myself that have shown me that being a CNM is probably not the job for me. Now my interests are in being a Neonatal NP, or taking a different route and becoming a Nurse Educator. I am still undecided, so I am giving myself more time before I make the final commitment to return to grad school.

Good luck to you!

It sounds like you may really enjoy a career as a forensic nurse. You like working with people and obviously will be able to present yourself prorfessionally and knowledgeably in a court of law. This site may help you learn more...good luck

http://www.forensic-science-info.com/car...