General medicine or neurological/ neurosurgical nursing

NCLEX_CareBear · Nov 30, 2004

Hi! What kind of patients (diagosis) do you see on general medicine unit?

I graduated recently. I don't have much experience in either units. I'm hoping to work in postpartum (maternal-newborn unit) in the future. Would neuro be too specific of a field for a new grad?

Please help!!!

Tony35NYC · Dec 1, 2004

You should post your question in the ortho-neuro forum or the med-surg forum. Lots of experienced peeps there to give you some great advice.

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2004

i started out working on a neuro floor as a student nurse and as a graduate nurse and no work in another state as a neuro nurse, and have been told that my neuro experience will take me a little further if i am interested in ER work, and of course neuroICU work. frankly it depends on what you want to do eventually. if you know that eventually you want to do GI lab work, then med surg is your better bet. want to be a renal nurse? med surg. want to do cardiac? i would think neuro, as we do telemetry for all our stroke patients.

neuro patients are a handful! they are perpetual escape artists, found wandering the halls looking for a place to pee or utterly convinced that there is a large bug on the ceiling or that youre lying about what time it is. they keep you on your toes.

eborgelt · Dec 11, 2004

I graduated and got my LPN license and got hired right away on a Neurology/Neurosurgery/Otolaryngology floor. I love it! I take a patient assignment just as an RN would on our floor on most days and because Michigan scope of practice is a little wider than some, I can do anything our RNs can except spike blood products and take phone orders. I love the neuro floor. Talking to new grad RN and LPN friends I have, I have seen so much more in my short 6 month career than the ones working on a general care unit. I still get other off service patients almost every shift (1 out of 4) because our hospital is always full, so it keeps my skills fresh on cardiac, gi, etc, but I love having a speciality. And there is never a dull moment on a neuro floor. One night a patient is running naked up and down the halls with 6 security guards attached to him and the next night, he is a perfect angel and doesn't remember anything. Never a dull moment!