New Grad, pretty sure Med/Surg not for me

[chrissylee33]

This sounds like a theme on this board but I needed a safe place to think this through.

I'm a second degree BSN, meaning I had a degree and a career before going back to school to become a nurse. I went into nursing thinking I would go one of three routes, ICU and work for Midwest Organ Transplant or UNOS on donor matching. Use my fabulous MBA and go into hospital administration, or Go the L&D route get my DPn. and work in a dr. office. These being long term goals of course.

Given the conflicted state of my options I decided a Medical Surgical Floor would be a great place to hang out for a year and ponder my future. Knowing full well that I did't care much for Med/Surge during school, but adored ICU, NICU and L&D. I took a job, working days on what was supposed to be a Women's Care/ Med Surg floor with an emphasis on surgical.

CPOE roled out half the surgeons and OB/GYN's left and took their surgeries elsewhere. Leaving the floor with an internal medicine focus. My LEAST favorite!! I've been here for 5 months now and am miserable!!

Today submitted my resume for a L&D, mother baby job at another hospital, on a whimm of course, and HR called for an interview. Now what? complicating matters I'm pregnant and due in November. I'm still a new grad, so how much of this need to move on change is a new grad thing, hormones, or being in a bad place .

I need input, questions, things to think about....

I currently work days, lets start there!!

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

You are correct on this being an ongoing topic. What I find interesting is the fact that people come to a med/surg forum to whine about working med/surg. Believe it or not, there are nurses, like myself, that enjoy the challenge of these kind of patients.

If you don't like it, move on. It's as simple as that.

[BonnieSc]

I have sympathy, I much prefer surgical work to medical work myself. But five months isn't very long, especially for a new grad, as you acknowledge. I think five months was about where I started to feel competent at work in my first job. So some of it could be that. Are there things you like about your current job? Are you happy with the management, your co-workers, your schedule? If you can think of any good reasons to stay, I would do that--stay for a year and then move on. It doesn't sound like now is the time to start over unless your current job really makes you unhappy in every way. You could be jumping out of the frying pan, into the fryer--the other job might be in a preferable field, but the management might suck, for instance.

Go on the interview, look carefully around the unit, ask questions. If you feel at home and excited there, take it. But I think at this point in your career, staying where you are until your baby's born (at least) makes the most sense. IF it isn't going to make you unhappy every day.

[Mulan]

" Leaving the floor with an internal medicine focus. My LEAST favorite!! I've been here for 5 months now and am miserable!! "

I think that says it all, right there.

Go for the interview, and if you're offered the job, take it.

[erika.RN]

At least go to the interview!! I found out I was pregnant shortly after starting a clinic job (which I usually loathe) and ended up staying there for the duration of my pregnancy for insurance reasons only...I am still there, they were good to me for my maternity leave. So there are things to consider when baby is on the way, but going to an interview doesn't mean you have to take it.

[KlassiiRN]

Random but cope is the best thing in the world been using it for two years

[bostonrnbsn]

I worked on a med-surg unit and was cross trained to our maternity (post-partum) unit so I could float when it's super busy and when they have call outs. Since I stayed in the same institution, it worked out great for me... no long hospital orientation and I already knew how to use the Meditech system.