Can't stay in Med-Surg, Need Help!

indynurse#2 · Oct 2, 2006

My advise - there are too many opportunities in nursing to stay in something you hate!!! I too started out on a specialty med/surg floor from the advice of my teachers, even though I hated it even in school. I stayed 1 1/2 years, then realized the advice I now give to everyone - if you hate it that much, find something else b/c the opportunities are endless! Having said that, I don't regret the experience I got on that dreadful floor, now that I'm out of it and know I don't ever have to go back :wink2: You do learn a lot, but you will learn a lot wherever you go as a nurse, and it can be something you even enjoy! I now work as a UM nurse and I love it.

csiln · Oct 3, 2006

Listen to the experienced. I lasted three months in M/S quit and am now "gun shy" and haven't applied anywhere. I probably should spend more time working on my resume and thinking about my options then reading this board!! LOL

oramar · Oct 3, 2006

I feel like people here are reading my mind! I also graduated in December last year, and have worked for 6 months on a specialty med/surg floor - and I also hate it! I hate being a waitress and being pulled in 80 directions. So, next week I'm transferring to PACU!
I also struggled with trying to stay for a year, but then I realized that if I didn't get out soon, I would be turned off nursing altogether. Fortunately, the hospital I work for has a very supportive new grad program and my advisors were very good with helping me find a new home. They allowed me to shadow in the PACU to make sure I'd like it. It's so cool - no more than 2 patients and I get to eat lunch!
My advice to the OP is to get out now, before nursing is ruined for you. You won't hurt your career by switching now. If you stay, you'll look back in a few years and wonder why you put yourself through that. They're hurting for nurses so badly now, if your hospital is smart, they will do whatever it takes to keep you. If you can't talk to your direct manager, go meet with managers of other units, explain your plight, and ask if you can shadow there. Don't feel guilty - your main priority is your happiness and saving your career. Good luck!

Have been a nurse for 40 years and this is exactly what I would advise.

anne74 · Oct 3, 2006

I'm very happy with my decision to leave my specialty med/surg floor. Right now I'm orienting in Pre-Op, and in a month I'm moving to PACU. I absolutely love it! I love being able to comfort patients who are very scared before their surgery - and most of all, I love actually having time to spend with my patients! (And, I'm getting decent at starting IV's.)

This is how nursing should be - having the time and resources to properly care for pts. In med/surg, everything needed to be done in such a time crunch - I always felt like I was neglecting my pts, and like I was forgetting something, or making a mistake. The anxiety level was too much. In addition, I had no life outside of work because my schedule was so erratic - I worked both nights and days (many times in the same week) and I worked almost every weekend.

I'm sure some people on my old floor felt like I left because I couldn't "handle" med/surg nursing - actually I could, but I didn't want to! I'm glad for the experience I got there, but I never want to go back!

So, it is possible to be happy in nursing - you just have to find your right home! Good luck - and you'll probably really like PACU. I'm really excited because I get to take ICU classes and learn about more acute pts - AND I'll have the time and pt ratio to properly care for them. More critical thinking and less running my orifice off!

bcskittlez · Oct 3, 2006

What about LTC?

RaElrA · Oct 3, 2006

I graduated in Dec. of last year and I have been working on a gen. M/S unit for the last 6 months. My plans when I graduated were to work M/S for a year (to the advisement of my instructors in nursing school) and then move into a speciality that I would be interested in. I completely hate were I am working. We are very understaffed and overpopulated. I knew M/S was not going to be for me before I began, so the question is--should I try to stay in M/S another 6 months? I have not decided where to go once I finished my year, just because I'm not sure what type of nursing I would want to have a career in. I was interested in PACU, OR, ICU, TELE. I really can't stand any environment that is too fast paced. If anyone has any suggestions on what steps I need to make I would greatly appreiciate it.

Bloody hell! You're scaring me! I'm looking forward to just getting out of school so that I can work on a med surg floor, and work night shift at that, lol. Just to be able to stay up all night and not have to be in class at 8 am...sigh! I feel it will suit me. In my daydreams, I'm one of those who loves med surg and never wants to leave, lol. I guess we'll see. But...shouldn't six months pass quickly? I think (think) that I could do almost anything for six months, but at my age, time "feels" different, lol--long ago, I realized that "this too shall pass" with just about everything. Anyway, I envy being where you are. Now, off to my lab mid-term...