Life after Med/Surg

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Oct 28, 2003

Have you thought about long-term care? Not that it's monotonous, but you do get into a routine and you develop relationships with both staff and residents that can help you feel more secure in your nursing skills, especially while you're still so new. Med/surg nursing is NOT easy, and God knows the patient loads are all too often unsafe.......it's not something I would recommend to a new grad anymore, unless they were given a good 6 months orientation with a preceptor, and that doesn't happen in most hospitals.

Good luck to you, and don't give up on nursing just yet. There's a lot of different choices out there, and you're just getting your feet wet.:)

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Oct 29, 2003

Originally posted by mjlrn97
Med/surg nursing is NOT easy, and God knows the patient loads are all too often unsafe.......it's not something I would recommend to a new grad anymore, unless they were given a good 6 months orientation with a preceptor, and that doesn't happen in most hospitals.

Good luck to you, and don't give up on nursing just yet. There's a lot of different choices out there, and you're just getting your feet wet.:)

Ditto and THANK you !!! It's amazing when you think about it... M/S entails so much of EVERYTHING, and yet the orientation is a pittance ! I'm getting all of 4 weeks ! They call it "sink or swim".

Well now... I can swim, but I'm not so sure my PATIENTS can, dangit ! How rude is THAT?

I'd LOVE to have 6 months of STRONG orientation... wow! What great nurses we'd be putting out ! But I guess my 4 weeks will have to do... and then I'll have to be annoying all the other poor nurses for the following 5 months about all the things we didn't have time for in my measly four weeks, eh? What a shame.

RN-PA, RN · Oct 29, 2003

I totally agree with everything mjlrn said. I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience so far, and hope you won't give up on nursing. There are many stories on this bulletin board of nurses in similar situations. Please check the Med-Surg board, the GN board, and the General Nursing Discussion, and you'll find many in the same boat who eventually move on and do better elsewhere.

I worked in LTC for 9 months right out of nursing school and was disappointed at first that there were no med-surg positions available in hospitals at the time I graduated, but in hindsight, med-surg would've eaten me alive, and it practically DID (and still occassionally DOES!) when I eventually took a job in M-S after the LTC position. I learned a lot in LTC; it certainly is NOT stress-free, but I learned plenty about dealing with the residents, delegating to the CNA's, wound care, organizing my time, and much more.

When I was struggling with med-surg nursing 4 years ago, I considered working on our hospital's rehab unit. As in LTC, the patients are there a bit longer, are more stable than med-surg, and aren't usually in the acute phase of their hospitalization. Several nurses from med-surg left and work there now and are much happier. And if you really want to work in L&D or PACU, talk to your manager about a transfer. All they can say is "no", and you can try to hang in there for another couple of months until you can go to another unit. Sometimes just knowing there's a light at the end of the tunnel-- that you have other options and aren't trapped can make a bad situation a little more tolerable.

Good luck to you!

bellehill, RN · Oct 29, 2003

Med-surg is a very hard area to work in, especially out of school. Don't give up on nursing...it is true that you either love or hate med-surg. I would check with you nurse manager about possibly transferring to a different area.

happystudent, RN · Oct 29, 2003

All i can say, linus, is BUMMER!

I will soon be a new grad and throughout my clinical experience I pay colse attention to the nurses and their pt loads. Because of this, I have made the informed decision that med surg is NOT the place for me.

Nurses that I have talked with say that I need a good background in M/S to be able to build on my nursing skills......I feel that I couldnt possibly learn all I need to know to function as a competent nurse when I have 6-8 pt all w/ different dx.....I have come to the conclusion that I would like to specialize in ICU or CCU......Hopefully, I will have a wonderful preceptor that will take the time to show me the "right"way.......

Sorry that you are having a tough time......Use what you have learned as good experience that you can take with you througout your career........(((((hugs))))

SharonH, RN · Oct 29, 2003

Linus, I am sorry that things are going this way for you. Med-surg is very difficult, that is why I get upset when people act like it is basic nursing from which you ascend to higher specialties. Not true. After 12 years, I can honestly say that I love med-surg nursing but not hospital or floor nursing which is why I have left the bedside. Trying to give patient care is very difficult with all the obstacles that are thrown in your way.

Please don't be so hard on yourself. You are still very new and I honestly believe that other specialties might cause you the same stress because of that. I started out on peds and I felt the same terror my first year and then I relived the terror my first year in med-surg.

I wish I had some good advice for you but I honestly don't know what to tell you, such is the state of nursing today. I'm sorry.

SharonH, RN · Oct 29, 2003

Originally posted by jnette
Ditto and THANK you !!! It's amazing when you think about it... M/S entails so much of EVERYTHING, and yet the orientation is a pittance ! I'm getting all of 4 weeks ! They call it "sink or swim".

Well now... I can swim, but I'm not so sure my PATIENTS can, dangit ! How rude is THAT?

I'd LOVE to have 6 months of STRONG orientation... wow! What great nurses we'd be putting out ! But I guess my 4 weeks will have to do... and then I'll have to be annoying all the other poor nurses for the following 5 months about all the things we didn't have time for in my measly four weeks, eh? What a shame.

Sink or swim? Boy, things never change. Why not take the time to make sure you have the skills you need to provide safe, competent care? Honestly, Jnette I am sure that you will be just fine but everyone might not do well with only four weeks of orientation. That's just crazy, it's like they set you up to fail before you even start.

PMHNP10 · Oct 29, 2003

Originally posted by LINUS
I'm one of those people that like monotony-- same thing over and over-- because then at least I can get a routine and feel confident.

If you want monotony, I recommend going back to school and woking towards a MSN so you can get a management/admin job. Something to keep in mind, though, is that no matter the job, it takes about 6 months before you truly get a feel for what is happening.

When I was a student, I followed the advice of the instructors and got some m/s experience. Unfortunately I had Atilla the Hun as my preceptor who in the 7 months I worked there did everything from threaten my license to sexually harass me. So to that extent I regret my decision; I wish I would have gone straight into psych nursing which is the reason I got into nursing at all. While I was working at a VA (which was purely psych) as a student I knew of 1 or 2 nurses who had no m/s experience since school and were working on their MSN. I'm thinking the lack of m/s did not hinder their career path.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 29, 2003

Med surge is a specialty in and of itself.....and not appropriate or suitable for all.

don't beat yourself up. if it's not for you after 6 good months of trying why not move on? it is not for everyone. SURE as heck NOT for me. good luck.

hanksRN · Oct 29, 2003

Wow!

This is so wierd! So glad to hear someone say all this...I thought it was me.

The only difference is, I have been a nurse for 6 years, but never did med-surg like all the instructors told us to do. I worked for a private practice doing recovery for one surgeon. Very relaxed, very nice! He retired, so for the past 3 years, I haven't worked at all...until a few months ago, I decided to go to a med-surg floor to get that "experience" everyone says you need!

What a disaster!! I lasted all of five shifts, then quit! I hated it too! The chaos and patient volume was too much! Now, I don't know if I ever want to work in a hospital...anywhere!

So, I can relate!! Office nursing is very relaxed for the most part, but ofcourse it pays less.

At least know, you're not crazy...I understand!!

Marsha

chad75 · Oct 29, 2003

To each their own :) what I liked about med/surg was the lack of monotony. Something new and different to learn everyday. Hang in there though, med surg is tough at first but you catch on. I am a bit of a sadist though and like moving on to something else once I've gotten good at my current speciality :) so take my advice with a grain of salt.