Is it bad that I have no interest in working on Med/Surg floor?

~Shrek~ · Feb 19, 2015

Jail experience is excellent for community health and vice versa. If you told me your dream is to work in the hospital, be open to med/surg. If your interests are in community and public health and you have steady employment opportunities in them, go with your heart.

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 19, 2015

I never did understand the med/surg as a starting point in nursing. To me, it's a specialty just as much as ICU nursing or school nursing or (fill in the blank) nursing. If med/surg doesn't interest you, apply for jobs that do interest you. It may take longer to find a job depending on the current employment market, but that's a decision you'll have to make. Personally, I knew I would never make it as a med/surg nurse- I would have burned out and left nursing a long time ago. I went into the OR as a new grad, and I'm still there, enjoying my job most days.

springchick1, ADN, RN · Feb 19, 2015

I went straight to the OR as well. I had NO desire to work on the Med/Surg floor.

scottaprn · Feb 19, 2015

Had no interest in med-surg and looking back I would have been a terrible med-surg nurse. I would have had no passion for that job.

seconddegreebsn · Feb 20, 2015

ABSOLUTELY NOT. I cannot get off this floor fast enough. All of this time management ideology they keep jabbering about - code word for "hey, we don't really staff the floor sufficiently for you to do anything BUT run around like a chicken with it's head cut off, we don't have enough supplies and we're going to give you too many patients so you're (rightfully) stressed - too bad, deal with it." I wish I had held out for something else, med surg is making me want to leave nursing for good. If you can start somewhere else where you'd rather be, I don't know why you'd torture yourself and put yourself through the misery of med surg.

seconddegreebsn · Feb 20, 2015

For those of you who are in OR, how did you get there? I've been applying to OR jobs nonstop and all are asking for two to five years of experience :/

LeceNY_RN · Feb 20, 2015

I would apply to what you are interested in. Nursing can be challenging, frustrating, and rewarding amongst other feelings. Hopefully, if you apply to a unit that you are interested in you won't spend your days off looking for a new job. I graduated knowing that I had no desire to work in medsurg and I went straight to the NICU and now almost two years later I am trying to transition into another unit. I am noticing that I am labeled the "Nicu Nurse" which is not cool because in my opinion I am an RN first and I happen to be employed within the NICU. It is a little irritating trying to break away from this label because I have met many denials, but if I absolutely hated the NICU I would be in a tough situation right now.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 21, 2015

I would apply to what you are interested in. Nursing can be challenging, frustrating, and rewarding amongst other feelings. Hopefully, if you apply to a unit that you are interested in you won't spend your days off looking for a new job. I graduated knowing that I had no desire to work in medsurg and I went straight to the NICU and now almost two years later I am trying to transition into another unit. I am noticing that I am labeled the "Nicu Nurse" which is not cool because in my opinion I am an RN first and I happen to be employed within the NICU. It is a little irritating trying to break away from this label because I have met many denials, but if I absolutely hated the NICU I would be in a tough situation right now.

Can we trade places?

I have no desire to work in the med-surg. Would love to work in the NICU.

That being said, OP, in this job market, you have to take what you can get. Med-surg is great in that the skills are so transferable and many places prefer a year or two of Med-surg before entering specialties. I have seen many M/S nurses leave M/S and go onto their dream jobs such as the OR, ICU, ambulatory, oncology, etc.

allnurses Guide · Feb 22, 2015

If you want to go to the OR look for internship openings.

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 22, 2015

For those of you who are in OR, how did you get there? I've been applying to OR jobs nonstop and all are asking for two to five years of experience :/

There's a saying about the OR: you either hate it and leave as soon as you can, or you love it and stay for the majority of your career. That's how many of us got our jobs- we've been in them for years, having been hired in the days of "You have a license? When can you start?". Those days are long gone, and there is a lot of competition. My facility currently has 1 opening for an RN in the OR. We've interviewed six candidates, and we've probably had about 75-100 applications.

What that means in the current market is that it's not just applying for open positions. It means networking, because it's sometimes more about who you know than what you know (and for those with zero OR experience, you pretty much know nothing). Look into joining AORN and attending the local chapter meetings. This will let you network with those already employed in a perioperative setting, including those who may be making hiring decisions. Try shadowing in the OR of your current facility- get your face out there, show some interest in what goes on in the OR. Be patient; finding an OR job is going to take time. Also look into facilities offering OR residencies- the reason you may not have seen any postings for new to the OR nurse positions is that these residencies/intensive orientation programs may only be offered 1-2 times per year, and you need to time your Job Search to coincide with when they are hiring for those positions.

theradiantforce · Feb 23, 2015

ABSOLUTELY NOT. I cannot get off this floor fast enough. All of this time management ideology they keep jabbering about - code word for "hey, we don't really staff the floor sufficiently for you to do anything BUT run around like a chicken with it's head cut off, we don't have enough supplies and we're going to give you too many patients so you're (rightfully) stressed - too bad, deal with it." I wish I had held out for something else, med surg is making me want to leave nursing for good. If you can start somewhere else where you'd rather be, I don't know why you'd torture yourself and put yourself through the misery of med surg.

seconddegreebsn hit the nail on the head! I too had zero interest in med surg, and really didn't apply for any med surg positions because I knew it would just be a "filler job" for me. Just something to get the ball rolling and get some experience until 1) I got something I actually enjoyed, or 2) I made my golden "year exp. in med surg" and actually qualified for something else.

I don't think med surg is a necessity. Especially for people like me who really want to work a specialty. So many specialties will have to retrain you anyway that I think it's better to go after what you really want. Plus, the reason so many med surg floors have such a high turn over rate is because I would guess that more than half the new grads they hire, don't really want to be there.