[kukukajoo]

I keep hearing this over and over again. How you will learn skills here that you won't learn elsewhere, how it's a continuation of your education.

No please can someone tell me exactly what you mean when you say med surg? Do you mean on a floor like a regular adult floor? In a specific part of the hospital? And what exactly do you learn there that you won't learn elsewhere?

How has this experience helped you?

I know it sounds like a simple question but I have been assuming a lot about this and want to be clear- you know what they say about assuming!!! ;0 Thanks everyone!

[TazziRN]

Med surg is the regular floor, adults. You would learn time management, for one thing. And assessments of chronic illnesses. I have always been in the ER. My instructors really encouraged us to start in MS before specializing, but more than half my class went into specialty units. I don't know what chronic illnesses look like when they're at norm because I only see the exacerbations. I once saw a COPDer that I tried to slap on O2 and treat for exac, but he was at his norm. He came into the ER for an ankle injury. You would also be exposed to a wide range of problems and pts, whereas in peds you would see only kids. In ICU, ER, and other critical care areas you would only see acute problems that need to be jumped on.

[chuck1234]

You will learn all the basic skills from M/S floor....

[Altra]

Medical-surgical nursing is a generic term that generally means adult acute care in a hospital setting. Depending on the facility, a med-surg unit may include a variety of patients or be somewhat specialized, i.e. an ortho floor.

[RNsRWe]

And keep in mind that there are variations of med-surg, with different m/s units having different emphases: med-surg renal, med-surg respiratory, med-surg surgical, med-surg cardiac, med-surg neuro, etc.

Meaning that while there is a concentration in one unit for any of those specialties, there's always overflow--and LOTS LOTS of times someone is admitted for one thing, but they have chronic co-morbid conditions that require a floor able to handle the variations. I'm in med-surg, and practically never see a patient who just needs to be treated for one specialized thing. Usually, it's a combination of problems that brough the patient there, requiring a varied combination of tx.

[jill48]

I did go right to med/surg after graduation and I'm glad I did. I think it was one of the smartest things I've done. There are so many experiences on a med/surg floor that it's like you get a little bit of everything. From that foundation alone I feel I could go to any floor and survive. Obviously it would take more specific training for floors like ICU, ER, and telemetry, to name a few; but I know I would at least be able to hold my own and not sink.

[kmoonshine]

I went straight into the ED after graduating and I LOVE it. Do what you want to do after graduating - its best for you and your employer. Personally, I'd rather be working in an area that I enjoyed rather than sticking out a year of med-surg only to transfer elsewhere.

I hated med-surg during clinicals at school. I am an ED nurse at heart and I'm so fortunate I found my niche. Don't get me wrong - it's a huge learning curve and every night I am looking things up and studying. It also took a couple of weeks before I was proficient at skills. But, I handle a full patient load and feel comfortable caring for critical patients. I assist with codes but haven't taken care of any trauma's yet (ie GSW to the head); I need to be TNCC certified first, so if we do get a trauma patient I help cover the other RN's patients.

Each area that you work in will have different skills. I know a 40 year-old nurse who has never put in an NG tube because she has always worked in L&D. My friend works in a cardiac-ICU and has never placed an IV (all her patients are post-open heart surgery and they all have central lines).

Here's some of the skills I use in the ED: IV insertion, blood draw with phlebotomy set, ABG's, NG's, foleys, straight caths, IM injections, IV drug therapy, central lines, conscious sedation, care of ventillator patients, I/O insertion, oxygen therapy, trach care, enemas, assist with RSI, etc. Lots of med-surg skills, with some specialized skills too.

[meandragonbrett]

ICU and trauma all the way.

[KSELRN]

I did almost a year of med/surg after graduating, and I'm glad I did. It actually wasn't my first choice of jobs, but I really liked the hospital and decided to just do med/surg even though I wasn't crazy about it. I learned a lot of the basics, time management, etc.

[NorthpoleRN]

I highly encourage med-surg experience before specializing in a specific unit. It not only helps you connect everything you have learned in nursing school, but also helps build your skills in many different levels. I worked med-surg/Oncology for 2yrs right after nursing school and it was the best experience. You see a variety of patients with all sorts of things and you learn very quickly how to prioritize, organize and delegate.