Re: New Grad Rn Entering Gastroenterology Originally Posted by lincolncontinchk 
So do you recommend going to to Med/Surg as a new grad? I have one year left of nursing school and I'm still not sure what I want to do. My dad suggested getting a job in Med/Surg for experience. But I've heard from other nurses that it's not necessary.
I would highly recommend you to either have an internship in ICU or Med/surg. Med/surg will work your butts off but you will learn all kinds of stuff ( just give med/surg at least one year, one year experience is probably enough)and you can pretty much go into any specialty you want later. ICU is a little easier because the pt/nurse ratio is like 3:1 and you will be able to learn some complex stuff. It will look good on your future resume.
I am now working as a PACU nurse in an outpatient surgery center. I am making more money than the GI place that i used to work at and I don't have to deal with dirty poops any more. It is a much easier job but I do regret that I don't have all the med/surg knowledge such as knowing how to read the lab result, effect of medicine and pathophysiology. I work PRN on some weekends in some rehab places so that i won't forget how to Tube feed and change dressings. It also helps me to remember all the medications and what they are for. I know a lot of people will tell you it is not necessary to have med/surg experience. Say, if you want a GI nursing job, you can apply for it, someone will probably hire you as a new grad. However, if you want to change your specialty later, it will be much harder because GI is really only specialized in GI, you might know what hiatal hernia or barrett's esophagus and for sure you will be good at doing IVs. It will be almost impossible for you to work in other specialties (unless you are lucky like me or you are willing to go through perceptorship again and receive minimal salary from it)
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