Tele or MedSurg better for career to be in OR

kickinbck · Apr 13, 2012

I started my nursing career on a heavy medsurg/stepdown floor in a level 1 trauma center for 3 years and then decided to go to the Perioperative dept. Being in this type of hospital on a medsurg floor you get the heaviest of all medicine pts, the ones that other hospitals cant take care of so believe me you will get plenty of experience workin in a medsurg floor in a level 1 or level2 hospital to prepare you for the OR even though they are completely different. The basics you need to know is good anatomy -number one- then knowing how to accurately assess your patients and know what is going on with them when things go sour. Word of advice, most medsurg floors only require a BLS certification to work, go ahead and get ready to take tha ACLS because that is a requirement in the perioperative dept. I had to have a year of Medsurg before i could even qualify to take the ACLS. Know how to really assess the heart, brain, kidney functions including vascular, gastrointestinal, and neuro. If you really want to go into the OR the BEST place to start is on a surgical floor that specifically gets most if not all of the pts coming out of surgery to be admitted to that unit. Its still considered med/surg you just want to make sure it's a surgical unit, cause some medsurg depts are split up like that, the one i worked on saw mostly your chronic medicine pts, not ones needing surgery. For example, the CHF'ers, ESRD pts, Sickle Cell pts, Alcohol W/D pts, all the nursing home pt's with multiple pressure ulcers.

So my advice is, "yes" a med/surg will prepare you for the OR, but if you really want to get ahead of the game before you go into the OR, work on a "Surgical floor", they are the ones that are recovering these pts from surgery and changing theri dressings and reviewing their discharge instructions with them. Good Luck!

michele742 · Apr 16, 2012

Hi all :)

I'm a nursing student in my first term and just wanted to thank you for all the feedback on this thread. Right now I am trying to get into the OR as an ACP while in school. I LOVE OR/PACU. I worked a stint in OR/PACU some time ago and loved every minute of it (even if most days I was just restocking and cleaning equipment). Loved the personalities and the doctors and nurses were so gracious in teaching me about procedures and protocols. I have never forgotten the experience...it was invigorating. I plan on going straight into the OR after I get my license.

Having said that, I have 2 days left on clinicals for med-surg. I will NEVER work med-surge.....EVER!!! lol. As a nursing student, I don't even do much but take vitals, do neuro checks, give meds, change dressings, bathing, etc, but I HATE it :) I LOVE LOVE the patient's though. I don't know why I hate it...the only thing I like about it are the elderly patients I sometimes get. I guess if I never was able to work in the OR, I would probably end up working in a nursing home because I love the elderly so much.

Anyway...one of my classmates said they want to work in the ED or trauma "but first I will work on med-surge or tele I guess." Why? If you have a passion for something, go after your passion!! That's my opinion anyway. I have found (and correct me if I am wrong) that the OR is such a different animal from floor nursing. I have a passion for the OR, I am excited in the OR...I don't think med-surge or tele will help in navigating through an OR, RN position. But again, I am a 'green under the gills' nursing student and maybe I don't have a clue as to what I'm talking about...lol. But, that's what I'm going to do...

Oh, and if you HAVE to wait because there are no positions...do something else that you are happy with :) Med-surge/tele, doesn't matter which :) Good luck!! :)