What is it about Med-Surg?

Specialties Med-Surg

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I have read quite a few posts from students complaining about how much they hate med-surg and wouldn't dream of working there after graduation. :o

What is it about med-surg that turns so many people off exactly? I'm a med-surg nurse and believe me I know how frustrating it can be, but what area of nursing isn't these days? :confused:

It makes me sad to think that med-surg is receiving such a bad rap.

Many hospitals require some experience in med/surg. After working on a med/onc unit for some years as an aide and throughout nsg. school and going through many students, it makes such sense to me personally to get a foundation there. True there were many injustices regarding staffing and patient ratios. I have suffered along with my nurses. But I think med/surg is such a potporri of specifics that it is an awesome breeding ground for learning. The nurses and docs are resourceful and have to give optimal care under sometimes crummy conditions. When there is a good team it can be done in spite of the staffing issues. You cannot escape the wealth of knowledge received that you can take to the ICU, mother baby, PCU, transitional care, ER, etc. I hope to be an oncology nurse. But if that is available on a Med/Onc floor, more power to me. If it is not available to me I will seek out Med/Surg till I get what I want or till I am ready to move on to something different. I for one am proud of my Med/Surg,Med/Onc nurses everywhere(but especially in Anchorage, AlaskaXXXOOO)

I started working on a medical floor in March. My orientation was about a month. I was made to feel like I should be happy I got that long. When I was on my own, I was made to feel like I was bothersome when I asked to many questions. It is getting better, but I would have liked to have a person to really touch base with on a regular basis that did not make me feel stupid for asking questions. Some of the people who were preceptoring me had been in nursing maybe a year or less.

Originally posted by hapeewendy

I love med-surg

honestly its the only area of nursing I see myself in ....

not exactly a general medicine or surgey unit, but definitely the acute med-surg aspect of nursing....

Coming from LTC as an LPN and feeling like I needed that acute care experience as an RN-I took a position, 12's on day shift on a more med than surg unit. We get a good mix of pts, Im getting exactly what I thought I would, enjoying the job and glad I made the move. I can deal with what the pt/doc/manager/secretary/ family can dish out from my LTC days so that's not an issue. I can deal with the personalities, issues, and crap that come along with it pretty well and concentrate on my pts.

It's 100% bedside/hands-on nursing.

It's the only kind of nursing I could see myself doing too.

It's where I belong :chuckle

and couldnt see myself EVER in LTC again, ICU, peds,OB, or even a doctors office.

"TO EACH HIS OWN"

deb

Med/Surg is one of the hardest jobs a nurse will ever have. I was one for ten years and you were either a well organized, efficient Med/Surg. RN or you weren't. And it is that simple. It is the catch all of most hospitals, and the destination of patients the other units decline for whatever reason. The knowledge base possessed by a Med/Surg. nurse has to be a solid, diversified one. A good Med/Surg. nurse is worth her or his weight is gold. It is one of the toughest jobs that I have ever loved. I am a labor and delivery RN now and will never regret my experience as a Med/Surg. nurse. It is the best stepping-off point, working my way through to another form of nursing and paying my dues.

"A truly good Med/Surg nurse is worth his or her weight in gold"...

Med/Surg is one of the hardest jobs a nurse will ever have. I was one for ten years and you were either a well organized, efficient Med/Surg. RN or you weren't. And it is that simple. It is the catch all of most hospitals, and the destination of patients the other units decline for whatever reason. The knowledge base possessed by a Med/Surg. nurse has to be a solid, diversified one. A good Med/Surg. nurse is worth her or his weight is gold. It is one of the toughest jobs that I have ever loved. I am a labor and delivery RN now and will never regret my experience as a Med/Surg. nurse. It is the best stepping-off point, working my way through to another form of nursing and paying my dues.

"A truly good Med/Surg nurse is worth his or her weight in gold"...

Having just started my med-surg rotation, I can honestly say that this unit scares the hell out of me!! Prior rotations consisted of a pathway of care; you could pretty much count on a spectrum of routine care with minimal anomolies.. In med-surg, there is NO routine care!! Another thing is I don't think that med-surg is properly explained to nursing students and we aren't prepared for the chaos.. My first patient was to be an acute lady partsl bleed.. I thought, "No problem". No one bothered to tell me that she was completely immobile, suffering from dementia, extreme HTN, and a long list of other ailments.. My previous experiences went out of the window and I was back to feeling ill-prepared despite all of my research...I look at my 6-inch textbook that accompanies this rotation and wonder if I can do it.. I don't know where to begin!!! I have to write a 10 page paper explaining nursing interventions that focus on a med-surg topic...AAAAHHHH!! Where do I start? You guys do everything!!! There are SOOO many complete care patients and seemingly so little staff.. The nurses are so excited to have us there to help out because they are running around mad their entire shift!!

Anyway, I hope this reply provides some insight.. After speaking with my classmates about this particular subject I can honestly say.."It's not that we hate med-surg, I think we are all terrified and a bit over-whelmed..."

Thanks!

Having just started my med-surg rotation, I can honestly say that this unit scares the hell out of me!! Prior rotations consisted of a pathway of care; you could pretty much count on a spectrum of routine care with minimal anomolies.. In med-surg, there is NO routine care!! Another thing is I don't think that med-surg is properly explained to nursing students and we aren't prepared for the chaos.. My first patient was to be an acute lady partsl bleed.. I thought, "No problem". No one bothered to tell me that she was completely immobile, suffering from dementia, extreme HTN, and a long list of other ailments.. My previous experiences went out of the window and I was back to feeling ill-prepared despite all of my research...I look at my 6-inch textbook that accompanies this rotation and wonder if I can do it.. I don't know where to begin!!! I have to write a 10 page paper explaining nursing interventions that focus on a med-surg topic...AAAAHHHH!! Where do I start? You guys do everything!!! There are SOOO many complete care patients and seemingly so little staff.. The nurses are so excited to have us there to help out because they are running around mad their entire shift!!

Anyway, I hope this reply provides some insight.. After speaking with my classmates about this particular subject I can honestly say.."It's not that we hate med-surg, I think we are all terrified and a bit over-whelmed..."

Thanks!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Long Term Care.
Originally posted by 2BRN

"...It's not that we hate med-surg, I think we are all terrified and a bit over-whelmed..."

Heck, I've been working Med/Surg almost 10 years now and *I* feel that way practically every shift I work-- Except, change "a bit overwhelmed" to "VERY overwhelmed" and that'd be closer to the truth most nights. ;)

Specializes in Med-Surg, Long Term Care.
Originally posted by 2BRN

"...It's not that we hate med-surg, I think we are all terrified and a bit over-whelmed..."

Heck, I've been working Med/Surg almost 10 years now and *I* feel that way practically every shift I work-- Except, change "a bit overwhelmed" to "VERY overwhelmed" and that'd be closer to the truth most nights. ;)

Specializes in Neurology and Med Surg.

med=surg never interest me.. but like they say, you either love it or you dont.

i dont love it, but i am up for for the challenge, but as soon as the opportunities come, and i have paide my dues 6 months=1 year, i am out of there, God-willing...

Originally posted by Gator,SN

Personally, as a future new grad, not wanting to go to med/surg has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of work that it involves and everything to do with the last 2 years that I have spent on that unit as an NA. I have a lot of respect for some of the med/surg nurses I know and I have been very observant over the years. Honestly, what I have seen is some very dedicated men and women who get screwed. The things that I hear the most complaints about are the staffing problems, unsafe nurse-patient ratios and the fact that the nurses are so overburdened that they have almost no time to spend with their patients. Changing shifts throughout the week is a complain too.

I think that it would be unfair and unjustified if med/surg nurses were getting a bad rap, but the fact that med/surg is not very appealing has nothing to do with the nurses rather the BS that goes along with staffing those units.

Gator

Excellent observations Gator, SN. Sad, but true.

Specializes in 4 years of L&D and 6 years of Med-Surg.

All I can say about the Med-Surg Department is...............I LOVE IT!!!! ;)

Everyday is always different, never the same ol *#$^!.

And besides to me, it's very rewarding. I love my job and helping others reach there medical goal is what I do best!

Med-Surg Rocks! YEAH!

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