Student needing LOTS of guidance/advice!

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Hello!

So here's my story: :imbar I attend Michigan State University, where I am entering (Fall '09) my Sophomore year. After months and months of critical decision-making, I have FINALLY changed my major from Education to Nursing (BSN). I originally entered education as simply a default. I have always loved working with children (especially special ed) and my entire family is made up of school district administrators! However, I have thought long and hard..and have decided this is not truly for me. I feel that nursing is a wonderfully unique yet challenging profession that I have always been extremely interested in. From the core of selflessness that nursing is to the exceptional wealth of knowledge that a nurse has worked so hard to obtain- I respect and am very excited to get into the curriculum/field! :loveya:

ANYWAYS- what now? I have officially changed my major and altered my curriculum/credits with my advisors but now what!!! I have an additional appointment set up with career advisors, but I think some of the advice you guys could offer me is just priceless! So here are just a few primary questions I have. (Excuse my naivety, I'm sure I have barely scratched the surface of what I'm getting into):

#1- What is the process for becoming a surgical nurse? What type of bachelors/masters/phd programs are necessary to complete and how?

#2- What are the top major universities for surgical nurse programs? Undergraduate specifically-?

#3- What is the daily schedule and duties of a surgical nurse? Is it fast-pace or frustrating or exciting? (probably ALL of those i would guess...)

#4- If you could give any advice to an undergraduate University student wanting to enter surgical nursing, what would it be? Is there anything I should know that I probably won't hear?

Once more, I apologize for my "bluntness". I am not taking anything lightly- just wanna find out the basics! Thank you very much for any respones, I appreciate it! :loveya:

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Specializes in Med Surg.

glad you've made the choice for nursing:yeah:

i'm curious about your decision to be a surgical nurse, though. not that i think it's a bad, thing; god love them for doing what they do because that means i don't have to do it. it only took one observation day to confirm that this was not my field. anyway, i'm surprised you aren't looking into peds since you love kids.

my advice? choose a field after you've had clinical experience in all of them. it would not be good to commit to one and base your education on it, only to find that you prefer your patients awake and talking to you.

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OK! This is true- I am a very social "people-person" type. I'm not committed to going into surgical, but have a serious interest. I will definitely keep an open mind though...you're definitely correct...I'm sure clinical experience opens up a lot of thought about what individual field of nursing one's forte is in. I won't push myself too hard in one direction in case it's not the right one...

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I'll add to the great advice above --

When you have time, attempt to set up "shadows" in areas of the hospital you think you might be interested in, if allowed. In my program, we had limited exposure to various specialties such as OB (none), Peds (6 weeks where we weren't allowed to do anything), NICU, OR (one-day obs which was enough to also convince me that I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than do that another day), etc.

I was able to do 2 shadow days in NICUs and loved it. Unfortunately, competition is high and between not having a BSN (I'm an ADN grad) and the folks who had tech'd in these areas before, I was unable to garner a position in one of these units. Therefore, I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work on a med/surg unit in a facility I had my heart set on working for and gaining additional valuable experience that will help in future endeavors.

Also getting a hospital job as a tech will expose you to many areas and opportunities for post-graduation positions.

Take advantage of every opportunity to observe/work in all the different areas of the hospital. Only then can you say for sure where your interests lie. And keep in mind that in this profession, the opportunities are boundless and many lay beyond bedside nursing.

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glad you've made the choice for nursing:yeah:

i'm curious about your decision to be a surgical nurse, though. not that i think it's a bad, thing; god love them for doing what they do because that means i don't have to do it. it only took one observation day to confirm that this was not my field. anyway, i'm surprised you aren't looking into peds since you love kids.

my advice? choose a field after you've had clinical experience in all of them. it would not be good to commit to one and base your education on it, only to find that you prefer your patients awake and talking to you.

great advice. when i started school i had my mind made up i was going into mental health. in mental health clinic i was cowering in a corner when one of the patients went bezerker, in surgery clinical i was suffocating and all i could think about was "god my nose itches...is that a machete?", i almost passed out in the wound clinic when they started scraping, but hey i really shined in med surg. anticipating needs and working with post op is where i do my best. pretty far from psych huh? wait awhile, the reality of clinicals will be valuable.:D

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele.

Hi,

when you are asking, what is the process for becoming a surgical nurse? Are you referring to med/surg or OR nursing? You did post in a med/surg forum, so maybe you are not quiet clear of the difference. If you do, excuse the following.

A med/surg nurse, or lets say the "/surg" part, usually takes care of post surgery patients, whereas a OR nurse is working in the operating room, taking care of the patient before and during surgery.

In terms of the education: Where is the best place for a surgical education? You will have to go through a general nursing program, regardless, there you will learn all the basics and have a glimpse of many sides of nursing.

Once you graduate, you can decide which area you would like to work in. Many hospitals will have specific internships geared towards a special nursing branch, be it med/surg, OR, ICU, ER, OB, L&D, PED's and so on. This is where you will have to compete with the rest of the graduates and hope to get on of those positions, and as the others have mentioned a volunteer, tech or extern position while in school can help you get a foot in the door in the specialty that you are interested in. Once you work you can also become "certified" in your chosen field.

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