Deciding on whether to start with med/surg

Hi Lisa-

You may find more direction after you finish your clinicals and last two years. I never regretted starting in med-surg. I think it's essential to build the foundation of your knowledge- many years later, it isn't want I want to do anymore, but I'm still glad I did it. I had two friends when we graduated that KNEW what they wanted to do (one peds psychiatry, one peds ICU.) They both went straight for it, did it for 10 years a piece, and loved it. Now that their interests have changed, they are doing a lot of re-certifying and skill training to work in other areas... I can't speak for the nsg. admin.- I don't know what the background specifications are.. but I would think if you are interested in admin, you should have a good working idea of what the nurses on the floor are doing....

Good luck!

Hi Lisa-

I'll try to answer some of your questions- and I'm sure others with different experiences will chime in too. I hear your concerns about re-certifying or having to get additional training to switch specialities... it isn't always fun to be a student again, but getting more training is always a good thing... and if a completely different area has become your passion, you'll want that extra training/preceptoring to give you the best possible start (and make you a safe nurse!)

It sounds like your interests are really varied.. mine were too, for many years. Of everything you mentioned (ER, burns, OR, diabetes educator,) med-surg is a good starting place for all of them. As a new grad, I was hired onto the floor I did my final preceptorship on. It was a medical ward in an old hospital with several concentrated palliative care beds. My patient load was 12 (that's right-12!) with one assistant or days and one assistant fo rthe entire floor (36 beds) on nights. It was more than a little overwhelming and nurses are not always nice to new grads, so I didn't get a lot of help... but I will say this- I learned to be extremely organized, and now consider time management one of my best skills.... when my patient assignments included the palliative beds- I discovered that I really had a passion for end-of-life care. At the same time, I worked casual on a psychiatry ward... not because I was remotely interested in psych, but I wanted the experience (and there are psychiatric considerations in every single specialty you can think of!) After a year or so, I worked on a busy surgical ward for 8 months or so- another place to practice my time management skills, learn a lot about lab values, blood transfusions, etc. Then I worked more on a medical palliative ward. I spent two years after that as a travelling nurse... took assignments on surgery, different types of medical wards (gynecologic, diabetes), more surgery and even some time at Moss-Rehab in PA- which really enhanced my knowledge of strokes and rehab (which you see everywhere...) None of these were the "perfect job" or what I wanted to do forever, but they gave me a good foundation (this spanned over four years.) Now many years later, I am going into Infusion Therapy, which I really love and am really excited about- (and it is requiring a LOT of education and re-training.) I don't think I'll do it forever, but for now it's just right.

You'll find your place... and until you know what that is... med-surg is an okay place to start. (and it might help you figure out what you DON'T want to do...)

Jessamy

I, Like you, started out in nursing, as a second career. Not knowing where I wanted to be, chose medical-surgical floor. We handle most surgeries, colorectal, thyroid, gyn, urology, vascular, bariatric, and handle orthopedic overflow pts. I figured I would do this for a year or two, and then know where I would like to specialize. Well, I've been here for 15 years.....and I love it here. Wouldn't go anywhere else. I am always intellectually stimulated, always more to learn, can be the floor Diabetic Specialty Nurse on this floor if I liked...just so happens I'm the SuperUser for my unit in that I'm the computer software go-to person for computer issues, for staff as well as physicians. I also teach BCLS CPR, precept the new nurses on my floor, help with the student nurses (I love student nurses!!). It was a perfect fit for me.

I believe this is a personal decision that you will make in time. However, I want to point out that Med-Surg can be as challenging as other units and is, in fact, a speciality of it's own accord. There are a variety of patients with a variety of issues. I promise you will not be bored!