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Dear Donna

Donna Cardillo, RN, well-known career guru and president of Cardillo & Associates, is a speaker, entrepreneur, humorist, and master of the career universe. She uses her expertise to help you polish your rough edges and shine in your career.

"Experience is not enough in today's fast-paced, competitive world," notes Cardillo. "You must look good, speak well, appear confident, have the ability to perform with increasing daily demands on your time, and through it all maintain a positive, upbeat attitude."

Cardillo brings more than 20 years of clinical, management, and business experience to her new role. She is the top-rated speaker at Nursing Spectrum Career Fairs and takes a down-to-earth approach to career advice. Cardillo has appeared on television and radio and written many articles on career and professional development topics. Most recently, Cardillo was a career consultant with monster.com, but she left that position to assume her exclusive Dear Donna! relationship with Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek.

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Do you think new grads can start out in specialty areas and build successful careers?
Wednesday November 12, 2008
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Question:

Dear Donna,

I am graduating with my BSN, and I am not interested in working on a medical/surgical floor. I have four years of tech experience in various departments, including the ED. Do you think I can go to a more specialized area and build my career successfully?

Nicole



Dear Donna replies:

Dear Nicole,

Contrary to what you might have heard, it is not necessary to start in med/surg. Med/surg is a specialty like every other, and it is not right for every nurse. If you are interested in another specialty, such as ED nursing, by all means go for it.

Once you choose an initial specialty (you’re not locked into anything), be sure to join the related specialty association (e.g. the Emergency Nurses Association at http://www.ena.org) as well as your state nurses association to increase your learning curve, build support systems, and find role models and mentors.

I recommend that you read my book Your First Year as a Nurse for additional advice in choosing your first job in nursing and how to be successful once you get there. Details are available at http://www.nurse.com/CE/7010.

My best wishes,
Donna



Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career. Information about the books is available at www.nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.



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