Question for those who started or currently in Med-Surg

Nurses General Nursing

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majrn

57 Posts

Specializes in medical oncology and outpatient surgery.

Peaceful----I have worked med/surg/tele/oncology since I graduated 15yrs ago. Med/surg nurses are not "lower" than the other "specialties" Med/surg is a great place to learn as you stated. It gives you those basic skills to apply when you specialize. Think of it, if you know the basics all you have to learn is the special applications for your patient population, i.e. you know how to drop an NG already, now all you need to learn is how to apply to your pt. There are lots of pro and con argument regarding where to start. If you have a good base, and learn good organization skills in the process you can go anywhere and feel confident in just a short time. I happen to love med/surg so I stayed and now have held a certificate for almost 10yrs. I think if you opt to spend some time, even 6 mos to a yr in med/surg, you wont regret it. Good luck to you.

surgorthonurse

18 Posts

Med/Surg what a great, difficult, hair pulling, wonderful... All I can say is that in Med/Surg you learn sooooooo much..... Not for the lazy or weak at heart...

My first preceptor what a NURSE... Compassionate, tough, kind, difficylt... But likeable. Gave me the best piece of advice to this day. If you are going to work Med/ Surg make sure you grow some big balls. You will need them with surgeons...

mattsmom81

4,516 Posts

I worked medsurg several years before specializing in adult critical care and it was a great place for me to really solidify my knowledge base, and learn where I wanted to go from there.

Some of my friends are still working medsurg and have specialized in that area. :)

Some look down on medsurg nurses (that old hierarchy rearing it's ugly head again) but I am convinced medsurg is still the backbone of the profession. I can tell you that a strong med surg nurse is welcome anywhere, any specialty because they are well rounded and capable. Medsurg is stressful...but most nursing jobs are...LOL!

Do what YOU feel will be best for YOU, not what others tell you you 'should' do...and good luck to you!

MishlB

406 Posts

I don't think anybody is knocking med/surg nurses...but let's be honest here, it can be STRESSFUL, especially for a new grad. I am glad there are nurses who like to work in different areas. There is room for everyone....go for what you want. Not everybody needs to use every skill taught in school, and if you have a love for something else....DO IT WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SmilingBluEyes

20,964 Posts

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I went directly into OB/GYN after school. NO regrets. I had no desire to be chewed up and spat out my first year of nursing. And that is just what med-surg would have done to me. Nope. I started where my interests lay and do not regret it one bit.

Ortho_RN

1,037 Posts

I have also thought that I was going to go straight to Pediatrics when I graduated, but I think I am actually gonna stay on the floor I work on as a PCA for a while until I get comfortable... Its and Ortho floor, but most patients have bunches of other things going on, so I think it would be fairly close to a med-surg type environment....

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