Why do so many nurses seem to dislike working in Med/Surg

jenn18soccer · Mar 17, 2005

I am currently in nursing school and have about a year left to get my RN. For all my clinicals so far we have had to do med/surg. It was okay at first, but after a while it just seems like you see alot of the same things over and over again. I think it's a great place to learn and see a variety of different things, but it all seems like it can be VERY over whelming over time. I've been able to go the the OR and i LOVED it. I still have other areas to experience, who knows where i will end up...but i don't think it will be med/surg.

HealinghandsRN · Mar 17, 2005

You're the first one I have ever heard say that. I would NEVER think that those in med-surg cannot hack it elsewhere! What an odd idea!![/quote
Hello All, I have worked in all areas......ICU, PCU & now I decided to do Med Surg..............Lets face it nursing is a stressful profession and everyone in each of their departments are very busy. In Med Surg u are trying to heal and send them home.....Telemetry....trying to monitor and stabilize their cardiac rhythms and in ICU u are trying to keep them alive. All departments have the same goals. I don't think a certain department has anything to do with "prestige" I think if a nurse is competent and loves what she does is what should constitute Prestige. "Its a zoo and each department are just different animals"

TexasNS · Mar 17, 2005

i am currently in nursing school and have about a year left to get my rn. for all my clinicals so far we have had to do med/surg. it was okay at first, but after a while it just seems like you see alot of the same things over and over again. i think it's a great place to learn and see a variety of different things, but it all seems like it can be very over whelming over time. i've been able to go the the or and i loved it. i still have other areas to experience, who knows where i will end up...but i don't think it will be med/surg.

i work on a med/surg floor and today i saw a dub-hoff tube inserted and 30 minuetes later went to check the patient and the tube was sticking out an old peg site...................havn't seen that before :uhoh3: .

i love working med/surg it is fun to watch the unorganized nurse spin in a circle half the day.

FORDGRAD78 · Mar 17, 2005

:) Within one year after graduation, I came back to California. My experience on a Med-Surg Unit during training and after graduation placed me well beyond the training and knowledge of nurses I worked with here. Yes, you do see any and everything in Med-Surg. I found that working the night shift was my preference. At night you don't have the MD rounds, administrative types, visitors, etc., to get the way of patient care. It is a great training area for nurses who want to work in other specialties, including discharge planning or case management, especially if you want to be an Independent CM.

scooterRN52 · Mar 21, 2005

I've been reading this board for a while and Med/Surg seems to be the place that most people (no everyone) pay their dues and try to get out.
What's the deal?

Med-surg is a lot of work w/ high accuity patients. It requires good organizational skills and being able to prioritize an assignement of 6-10 patients or more depending on where you work. I have found a specialty hospital that offers a very low ratio of patients to nurses, I work 7p-7a and usually I have 3-5 patients and we have cna's also. Our unit is monitored w/

telemetry and we have extensive surgery pts. :nurse:

LPNer · Mar 21, 2005

I work on a med/surg floor and today I saw a Dub-Hoff tube inserted and 30 minuetes later went to check the patient and the tube was sticking out an old peg site...................havn't seen that before .
I love working med/surg it is fun to watch the unorganized nurse spin in a circle half the day.

I would love to have seen the Dub-Hoff coming out the peg site! Just too funny!

And, so is watching the disorganized nurse who still tries to gather a million or so pieces of paper for each pt she is assigned to instead of just getting out there and taking care of them! We have nurses on our ortho unit who spend the day gathering up every single piece of paper they find (they have preliminary lab reports for every test done, they keep it even though everything was WNL!) and adding it to their clip boards. By the time they are ready to give report to us, they have to go through sheet after sheet after sheet! It's a riot.

Why don't they just jot down the important stuff, the info that it particular to that pt and move on! They spend their whole shift trying to get organized? I love it! Starts every shift with a chuckle!

But then on the down side of their attempt to have as much paper on each pt as they did on one pt as a student, they miss so many important things. Like taking care of a person for a full 8 hours and not noticing an amputation, or a hernia the size of Rhode Island. It's sad sometimes too.

NoCrumping · Mar 21, 2005

I work on a med/surg floor and today I saw a Dub-Hoff tube inserted and 30 minuetes later went to check the patient and the tube was sticking out an old peg site...................havn't seen that before .
I love working med/surg it is fun to watch the unorganized nurse spin in a circle half the day.

Thats fun to you?

scooterRN52 · Mar 21, 2005

I work on a med/surg floor and today I saw a Dub-Hoff tube inserted and 30 minuetes later went to check the patient and the tube was sticking out an old peg site...................havn't seen that before .
I love working med/surg it is fun to watch the unorganized nurse spin in a circle half the day.

I don't think that is funny. :angryfire You are a nursing student?

scooterRN52 · Mar 21, 2005

I would love to have seen the Dub-Hoff coming out the peg site! Just too funny!
And, so is watching the disorganized nurse who still tries to gather a million or so pieces of paper for each pt she is assigned to instead of just getting out there and taking care of them! We have nurses on our ortho unit who spend the day gathering up every single piece of paper they find (they have preliminary lab reports for every test done, they keep it even though everything was WNL!) and adding it to their clip boards. By the time they are ready to give report to us, they have to go through sheet after sheet after sheet! It's a riot.
Why don't they just jot down the important stuff, the info that it particular to that pt and move on! They spend their whole shift trying to get organized? I love it! Starts every shift with a chuckle!
But then on the down side of their attempt to have as much paper on each pt as they did on one pt as a student, they miss so many important things. Like taking care of a person for a full 8 hours and not noticing an amputation, or a hernia the size of Rhode Island. It's sad sometimes too.

It is a good thing you aren't a registered nurse, if so, I don't think you would find this funny. I take my license and practice seriously.

LPNer · Mar 21, 2005

It is a good thing you aren't a registered nurse, if so, I don't think you would find this funny. I take my license and practice seriously.

Give it a break.

I TOTALLY understand the implications in the matter.

But, unless you are a total stick in the mud who sees no humor in the human body and the way natural proccesses alter the way medical staff want things to go, then you will be one of those who burn out and just can't take it anymore!

Come on, there is humor in putting the Dub-Hoff in just to see it let itself out!

Do you realize what it took for that DH to get out? The peg site almost surely has an exterior puncture is not lined up with the puncture in the stomach. (Oh yea, I have years of experience with pegs and other g-tubes) That means the DH really had to "work" to get out! I can just see that DH navigating through the abdominal cavity to make it's way to freedom! If you can't see that, then I feel sorry for your pts, they certainly don't see the lighter side of their problems with you for a nurse. Remember, humor is the best medicine!

And I would have approached it like... "well how in the world did that tube find it's way all the way out here!" as I took whatever steps were needed to stablize the situatioin. The first thing I would not do is allow the pt to think that is was anything to worry about, maybe if you were an LPN and had significant experience at the bedside, you would know that!

scooterRN52 · Mar 22, 2005

Give it a break.
I TOTALLY understand the implications in the matter.
But, unless you are a total stick in the mud who sees no humor in the human body and the way natural proccesses alter the way medical staff want things to go, then you will be one of those who burn out and just can't take it anymore!
Come on, there is humor in putting the Dub-Hoff in just to see it let itself out!
Do you realize what it took for that DH to get out? The peg site almost surely has an exterior puncture is not lined up with the puncture in the stomach. (Oh yea, I have years of experience with pegs and other g-tubes) That means the DH really had to "work" to get out! I can just see that DH navigating through the abdominal cavity to make it's way to freedom! If you can't see that, then I feel sorry for your pts, they certainly don't see the lighter side of their problems with you for a nurse. Remember, humor is the best medicine!
And I would have approached it like... "well how in the world did that tube find it's way all the way out here!" as I took whatever steps were needed to stablize the situatioin. The first thing I would not do is allow the pt to think that is was anything to worry about, maybe if you were an LPN and had significant experience at the bedside, you would know that!

Excuse me, but I was an LPN for about 3 years before I became a RN. I have been doing bedside care for over 17 years, I currently work on a surgical

stepdown unit, I take care of many patients who have had head, neck. and

tongue surgery and they are unable to eat, so they require DH tubes. I can't

imagine one of these patients w/ a DH that migrates to another orifice.

All of our pt's are surgical w/ lung and esophageal surgery as well.

Believe me I have found a lot of humor on our unit, I just don't think a tube finding its way out of the body in that manner is funny.

LPNer · Mar 22, 2005

Excuse me, but I was an LPN for about 3 years before I became a RN. I have been doing bedside care for over 17 years, I currently work on a surgical
stepdown unit, I take care of many patients who have had head, neck. and
tongue surgery and they are unable to eat, so they require DH tubes. I can't
imagine one of these patients w/ a DH that migrates to another orifice.
All of our pt's are surgical w/ lung and esophageal surgery as well.
Believe me I have found a lot of humor on our unit, I just don't think a tube finding its way out of the body in that manner is funny.

That's the type of unit I worked on right out of school, it was a great unit! Matter of fact, that unit was at the same hospital I work at now, though I have been all over the country between then and now.

I see you do not like your abilities/knowledge questioned, just to let you know, neither do I, sat for my boards in 1977 and although life has not allowed me the money to further my formal education, it does not mean that I could not give you a run for your money on the knowledge. Yet, I am an LPN and proud to be one!

I see humor in it, sorry you do not. I did not at any time say it was funny for the pt! I just think it is funny that despite our abilites, knowledge and intentions, the body can do some things all on its own. I see humor in that, sorry you don't.