If you go to nursing school, can you choose your course of study, or does the course contain all areas?

Question

When my mother went to nurses training years ago, she said they trained you in everything like obstetrics, surgery, mental health, etc. When you were done, then you could pursue which way you wanted your career to go. Is that still true today?

(I could deal with being a scrub nurse in surgery, or working in an ME's office helping with autopsies, but if I had to work in obstetrics and watch babies being born, I'd vomit..that totally grosses me out.)

I was just wondering. Helpful answers appreciated.

Answer 1

Try this site, I ran across it earlier while I was answering another nursing question.

http://www.education-online-search.com/a...

Answer 2

In nursing school you are exposed to all areas. No matter what area you settle into later, you draw from all these learning opportunities to make sound judgement. If the sight of babies being born grosses you out and makes you want to vomit, then seriously think about your career choice. You don't have to go into Obstetrics, but in any area you're going to see like things. Working surgery is cool, but you're going to see all the blood and peoples insides there as well. And to forewarn you..the smells that go with it. Talk to your mom about her experiences. It's not all happy all the time. It's a rewarding job if you can overlook the 'gross' stuff to take care of your patients. Just remember, If it were you being a patient in the hospital, you'd want someone to help you while being professional as well. No matter what was wrong with you. Something to think about. Best of luck.  

Answer 3

I agree with countryk.  But if you want an alternative to being a nurse, you could become a physician's assistant.  Or there are multiple disciplines within medicine that can take two to four years to train for.  Like Xray tech, Sonographer, etc.  A morgue assistant often has a two year degree in medical assistant training. But beware, all corpses are not nice and clean.  You will be assisting on cases of burn victims and bodies that are found floating or in the woods after a few weeks.  That can be a lot more unpleasant than childbirth!  Check at your nearest junior college and see what courses are available to you.