How long should I stay in Med/surg?

sassygrl · Oct 13, 2003

I am a new grad who recently (about four months ago) started working on a med-surg unit. I have never wanted to do med-surg nursing for the long haul- but I decided after many sleepless nights, that I should jump in and get the experience while I'm young and excited to be nursing no matter where it is. I have learned more in the last four months than I could ever have imagined possible, and I have told myself that I will stick it out through the first year. I have never been more exhausted, or worked so hard in my life, and I work the night shift which is supposed to be easier than days. Even though it is not a job which I am interested in staying at for a long term career, I think it has been and will continue to be worth it in the long run. I could never have gained so many skills so quickly anywhere else.

inna · Oct 21, 2003

Shevalove,

I understand how you feel.. If you find an institution that accepts new grads for OR position then by all means go for it! It's the same thing anyway... No matter how long you stayed in M/S floor you would still be trained as a brand new OR nurse. I just had my 1yr M/S experience last month and considering of moving to OR. I felt like I should've done it right away since I hated M/S from the start.. Anyway I have no regrets at all.. I DID IT! I learned a lot and I'll be happy to have that experience on my resume whatever field of nursing I want to pursue.

pie123 · Dec 24, 2003

Nothing.

joannep · Dec 25, 2003

Hi, as a nurse who has been around the block (22 years of nursing) I would advise you to stick to the med-surg unit for a year. For starters, the experience is valuable, secondly, it shows a potential employer that you have commitment and that is valuable. It costs a lot of money to recruit staff, and staff that don't stay awhile get a bad reputation, and it will get around.

As for specialties, well, I have qualifications in both OR nursing and Renal nursing. I have worked in OR for 15 years, and renal (dialysis) for 4 years. So even if you stay in one area for a long time, you can change career specialties. You don't need to decide a specialty as soon as you graduate surely, there is plenty of time to try different things and get experience, and as other people have mentioned, just because one med-surg unit is hell on earth, it doesn't mean another will be.

Rapheal · Dec 26, 2003

As a fellow med-surg nurse I say leave when you want to leave. Alot of my friends did not choose to go med-surg when they graduated and they are mostly happy with their career decisions. IMHO nobody NEEDS a year of med-surg. It is a very hectic perilous environment. Not for everybody and surely not worth getting an ulcer over or getting burned out. Take care of your needs first.

This is the advice I give my patients. '"Take care of yourself first- because if your not taking care of yourself- how can you take care of anybody else?" This holds true for nurses as well.

Good luck in your decision.

pie123 · Dec 26, 2003

Originally posted by Rapheal
As a fellow med-surg nurse I say leave when you want to leave. Alot of my friends did not choose to go med-surg when they graduated and they are mostly happy with their career decisions. IMHO nobody NEEDS a year of med-surg. It is a very hectic perilous environment. Not for everybody and surely not worth getting an ulcer over or getting burned out. Take care of your needs first.

This is the advice I give my patients. '"Take care of yourself first- because if your not taking care of yourself- how can you take care of anybody else?" This holds true for nurses as well.

Good luck in your decision.

Thanks.

TinyNurse, RN · Feb 6, 2004

apply to OR girl, you know what you want,

some places want a year or so exp, but just give it a shot, also look for job postings within your hospital.

best of luck

xo Jen

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Feb 6, 2004

I am that rare bug that loves med/surg. I have worked on other units but med/surg is my love. That said, follow your heart. A year on a unit you hate is terrible self punishment. It will probably take a few weeks to research other departments and their openings, but go for it. Every unit requires some type of orientation, if you are honest with what you really want to do, then the orientation will fly by and you will be doing a job you love.

P.S. I worked psych for over 3 years, was the ER intake nurse and unit relief charge, it was not my favorite job but I felt comfortable with my decisions. The doctors I dealt with often

appreciated a nurse who could say a patient with medical problems could be handled on our psych unit. You could take the level of knowledge you have already gained and be an asset on a psych unit.

I wish you the best of luck and keep us posted on what you do.

ESRD · Feb 8, 2004

I worked M/S for 15 years.. One thing I will say about it.. It toughens ya up..

If you think you won't like it you probably won't. If you think you will you might.

ESRD:kiss :kiss

Audreyfay · Feb 8, 2004

Normally your hospital has requirements regarding how soon you can post out of a unit. Most of the ones I've worked at have a 6 month requirement before looking for a job elsewhere. It is hard to stick out a job that you really don't like. You have my sympathy. I've done it too. It really gets on the motivation factor. Good luck and take care of you.

When I first started working as a GN, I started on Orthopedics - night shift. I got very very tired of bedpans and pain shots. After 8 months, finally got a transfer to day shift on another unit. Keep your eyes open and float when they need someone to float. It's amazing what you can learn about other units that way.