Nursing: How to Get to Where You Want to Go

This is the book I wish I had in nursing school. It offers practical, thoughtful guidance for navigating career choices and planning a meaningful path in nursing. I highly recommend it for nursing students who want to be intentional about where their education and career can take them.

From an admissions and higher education perspective, I see tremendous value in this book for prospective nursing students who may not even know where to begin. One of the biggest challenges students face is understanding the differences between nursing degrees, licensure, career pathways, and how one educational decision can affect their future options. Nina breaks down these areas and gives students a better foundation for asking the right questions before enrolling in a program or investing in another degree. This is much more than a motivational nursing book. She also understands something I spent years talking with nursing students about: Earning the degree is only part of the journey. This is the kind of resource I would have loved to recommend when students came to me asking, “Where do I start?” or “What should I do next?”

Nursing: How to Get to Where You Want to Go is an invaluable resource for nursing students and nurses at every stage of their careers. What stood out to me most is the remarkable breadth of nursing career possibilities presented in this book. For nursing students especially, this guide provides an opportunity to explore specialties and identify areas of genuine interest even before graduation, rather than feeling limited to the traditional bedside path. I particularly appreciate the book’s emphasis on building a career that is not only professionally rewarding, but also sustainable. Nina challenges nurses to look beyond prestige and conventional expectations and instead consider what type of nursing career truly fits the life they are building. The Nurse CAREER Method provides a practical framework for doing exactly that. This book reminds nurses that bedside nursing is one meaningful option among many, and that changing direction does not mean failure. It means intentionally creating a nursing career you can live with.

Nina’s book breaks down different career options in a way that feels practical and real, not theoretical, and she includes the kinds of questions nurses should be asking themselves when choosing a specialty, or considering a change. I especially appreciated the sections on what to ask schools and admissions staff, those are the kinds of insights you only get from someone who has been through it. As I read through this book, I kept thinking how much I wish I'd had access to this information when I was pursuing my own nursing education. It would have saved me a lot of guesswork and helped me make more confident decisions earlier in my career. This guide is a valuable resource for new nurses, seasoned nurses exploring new directions, and anyone trying to understand the full landscape of what nursing can be.

This book is the resource I wish every nursing student and working nurse had at the beginning of their journey. Nina Titchenal presents the many paths within nursing in a clear, practical, and encouraging way while reminding readers that success is not about following one ‘perfect’ path, but about finding work that fits their strengths, values, and life. As a nursing professor, nurse practitioner, and practice owner, I especially appreciate the book’s honest discussion of education, licensure, career transitions, professional responsibility, and sustainability. This is a valuable roadmap for anyone entering nursing or considering what comes next. I believe this guide will be so beneficial that I plan to gift copies to some of my future nursing students.

This book is an excellent resource. As a nurse who has recently transitioned into the Nurse Practitioner role, I can personally relate to many of the decisions discussed in this book. Looking back at my own journey, I realize how valuable it is to truly understand what each step in your nursing career involves before deciding where you want to go next. The amount of information in this guide is impressive. I especially appreciated the message that changing direction does not mean you have failed. This is the kind of book I wish I had earlier in my nursing journey. Nina did a wonderful job creating something educational, realistic, encouraging, and genuinely useful. I would highly recommend this guide to anyone considering their next step in nursing.