Want out of medical/surgical nursing!!!!

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

:bluecry1:I want out of med/surge nursing. I'm a travel nurse right now, only have med/surge experience so thats the only type of job I can accept as a traveler. I went into the field following the advice of a school instructor many years ago. I dont regret my med/surge experience, but its not going to be my career. Its so not a good fit for me.

Are there any med/surge nurses out there who find they can not get out of the field? I've been told by a couple hospitals they dont like moving you out of the field if you have experience in it already.

How could someone get around HR people insisting on filling a spot with you and not taking you seriously when you say you are not doing med/surge anymore?

I'll travel until I find a hospital willing to put me into a specialty field (Oncology, ICU or OR are what I'm seeking). Being a travel nurse makes working in the field a little easier to take. But when I do go full time at a hospital, it wont be a med/surge position.

Is there anything I can do to make my chances of getting out of the field better?

[rainyann]

I don't understand why you would have a hard time getting out of med surg. Look for a hospital that has internships. We have them for both the ED and critical care. You have at least a six month orientation. We even take new grads. I am not sure why you think you will have a hard time.

Oncology where I am also takes new grads. You have experience, so uinless you don't get a good reference I don't understand why you think you would have a had time.

[Pepperlady]

Can you take a certificate course in ICU or ER or whatever specialty it is you want to go into?? Thats what I did to move into the ICU, but it may be different where you are.

[CathyLew]

Trouble getting out of the field? I always thought Med Surge was a neccisary stepping stone. Many do their stint with Med Surge, then move on. Some are lucky to get right into a specialty area without *paying dues* with Med Surge. But if you take the right courses, you should be able to move out. Maybe not land your ideal job... but get your corinary, ACLS, PALS, or whatever, and move on it you want.

It takes a special kind of nurse to stay on Med Surge.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

As CathyLew says, start getting certified in things necessary in the specialty you desire to enter. Take an EKG class, ACLS, or whatever you might need before you apply. There's plenty of need in specialty areas so I'm sure you'll eventually meet with success.

[jetsetter]

I think the problem you're having is your trying to get someone to train you while your traveling. Those hiring travelers want "instant gratification". they don't want to put any time/effort into you, why should they, you'll be gone soon. Maybe if you hire on somewhere expressing desire to learn from a 'newbie' perspective, you would get what you're seeking. Good Luck!

[RNperdiem, RN]

Find a field you are interested in.

Find a teaching hospital with a nursing education department.

Apply for a full-time position.

Are you talking about trying to find a travel position that is not med-surg? The hospital is not going to pay a traveller to go through the long and expensive time it takes to orient you to a speciality; there is nothing in it for them.

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

No, no. I know no one is going to hire me as a traveler into a field I have no experience in. I am traveling to take a look at places I might want to live. I've found one such place twice now (Lancaster area of PA and Western WA state). I've had two hospitals now that I applied to online call me for interviews. Both told me on the phone there were opportunities outside of med/surge. When I go there, they offered me things like med/surge float poll or a specialized med/surge unit (renal m/s, GI m/s etc.....).

I want to be done traveling and go on as a full time staff nurse. Problem is, when people see my m/s experience, they try to stream me into that field. I got really upset with the HR person on my last interview. They told me they had opportunities in OR and ICU both. Then she said new grads were offered those positions first, but after I did one full year, I'd be eligeable to transfer to the specialty I wanted. What a joke.

It's laughable too, cause HR is earns HUGE points for convinceing someone to quit travel nursing and go full time with their facility as staff. You'd think they'd be more receptive to the fact that I want to be done with m/s.