what does medical surgical nursing consist of?

[able2009]

I'm think about nursing and want to be one in OB and womens health but I was told nursing school is mostly med-surg before you can specialize. Can anyone tell me what it consists of? What are the clinicals and class experience like? And how is it working as a med surg nurse and how long do I have to do it until I can work in OB? Thanks.

[Ayvah, RN]

I'm think about nursing and want to be one in OB and womens health but I was told nursing school is mostly med-surg before you can specialize. Can anyone tell me what it consists of? What are the clinicals and class experience like? And how is it working as a med surg nurse and how long do I have to do it until I can work in OB? Thanks.

Nursing school takes you through a variety of clinicals including med-surg, tele, OB, community health, home health, etc. For more information I'd suggest you go to the students tab and there you can see in-depth posts of the experience of current student nurses. There are no set in stone requirements anymore that one has to work med-surg before specializing, although it is a good idea to get a strong foundation. Med surg nursing is a different patient population than OB. You may be caring for a car accident victim, an elderly patient with pneumonia, a man in renal failure, an alcohol detoxer, a variety of abdominal surgeries including drain management, a patient with breathing problems, sending patients to numerous tests, etc, in a med surg floor. You get quite a big variety of patients in med surg. Each floor has its own unique challenges and knowledge base.