A year of Med/Surg... Seriously?

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So I am a new grad working on the floor at a small local hospital. I am a week away from finishing orientation, and I'm already ready to get out! I can't decide if it's really that I don't enjoy m/s, or if it's that most of our patients consist of nursing home residents and drug seekers. Sorry, but neither is my cup of tea if I'm honest.

My constant question in my head lately is, do I REALLY have to do a whole year of this? Do you think it would help if I tried for another hospital, or is it like this on any m/s floor? I think I'm just getting restless, feeling like I'm ready to move on.. wondering if I can make it until at least the six-month mark.. would it be any easier to branch out then (job-search wise)?

I love the other nurses here, and the support is great for the most part. I'm now carrying five patients and some shifts get an admission as well. But I feel as though I was pretty much thrown to the sharks from about the fourth week on, and I think that's another reason I have a bad taste in my mouth.. hopefully for this hospital only and not for m/s in general.

So would I be doing myself a disservice if I went ahead in my search for a new area? Are there any others who have had success getting a new gig WITHOUT a year of m/s under their belt? My gut says I should stick it out, but my heart just can't wait I guess, lol. Although, I have no clue what my "calling" is, I don't feel like this is it and I don't want to feel dread every time it's time to go in, you know? I would love to have a job where I feel like I'm truly needed and learning something new every day, instead of one where I feel like I'm just a drug pusher to people who (mostly) don't even need them and are never satisfied.

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My original plan was to start of on a med-surg floor before considering other specialties but I landed a job on the tele floor--I'm starting in few weeks....so I guess some places do hire new grads into specialties (I guess tele is more of a sub-specialty but still a specialty)..In your case I would be extremely cautious about walking away from you med-surg job since I'm sure you perfectly know how hard it is to land a job now days plus another place might not be thrilled to find out you quit your first RN job so fast..If I would be you I would suck it up and stay on that floor for about 6 months or possibly up to one year..Most places will let you transfer to other floor just after 6 months....Just remeber that begginings are hard but the ending are usually sweet!

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Yeah I guess you're right about the quitting early thing. Honestly, with my current schedule I could pull it off to do a PT position somewhere else, but that may not work out the way I picture, lol. And on paper, it would just seem like I'm giving up.

I certainly would NOT walk away from any job- nursing or no- before getting another one. It was HARD enough to find this one! You have a great point there! And I can definitely do six months, only problem is, unless ER is my next stop, there's nowhere else to go TO in this hospital. Ah well, I know I'll make it.. Just curious as to others' experiences.

Thanks, blackhearted!

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

Honestly you'll never get away from the elderly or the drug seekers they are in every specialty. The only place where they wouldn't bother you would be the OR. Each specialty is going to have it's disadvantages and the grass isn't greener on the other side. I would take an honest look to see what bothers you so much about med/surg. Also be grateful for the things you do like about it, try and look at things with a different attitude and it might help. Any kind of specialty you go to will want at least one year of med/surg, you really need to perfect assessment skills before being considered for the ED. Good luck I hope you can find some way to find your time enjoyable while on ms.

P.S. I don't work on a medical unit but think it's a breath of fresh air when we get medical overflow because they're much less complicated then our surgical patients.

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Peds ;). And thanks for your reply! I will keep on keeping on and try to remember the good things.. I do get some great patients mixed in who are very grateful and complimentary of the work I do, I have to remember those. :)

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I don't think you need a whole year of med/surg, but I would certainly stick it out for 6 months. You will learn a lot from it skill-wise. I hated it, too, but I stuck it out for 8 months, then got a different job that I love. I am not sorry I did it as I gained a lot of valuable assessment and hands-on skills. But I would have to be without any other options before I'd go back to it.

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Thanks, tencat! That's encouraging. I think another thing is, I really don't feel like I DO much, other than assess, as far as skill-building. In my three months I've started TWO caths, hung blood once and started a handful of IVs. I dunno, maybe that's normal but I guess I just expected more of that stuff??

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It's hard to get experience in a small hospital, but if you pal around with the other nurses to see what they're doing, then you get to see a lot more, I found.

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Even with very simple and basic skills, only repeated experience can bring true mastery, for something to become as ingrained in you as knowing how to drive a car. Imagine a new driver teen who complains that they'll "never learn anything" if they are only allowed to drive on surface streets at first. The nursing skills you need for this floor may seem unchallenging and non-transferrable, but when it comes to patient care, that's never the case. Whatever you learn (which is probably a lot more than one can consciously recognize) will most definitely be an asset to any future nursing pursuits.

Unfortunately, too many new grads find their first working experience to be less than supportive of their steep learning curve with sometimes overtly hyper-critical colleagues. It doesn't mean that's okay, but it's not unusual and may not be a reason to quit (though if you feel safety and sanity are at stake, that makes a difference). If you've made it this far and feel pretty okay about your work, it might be worth it to stick it out instead of risking starting over somewhere else (assuming you can find something) and ending up disappointed again.

It also should be easier to find a new position applying when you've got more on-the-floor experience. And you can spend your off-work time doing something besides looking for other jobs! However, if you just so happen to have an opportunity to join an awesome new grad program in your area of interest, then making that change could be worth it.

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Wow great post jjjoy, thanks!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

i stuck it out for 9 months and landed a job in an ed. getting out before 6 months is next to impossible in most places. if you can find another job, it will be med surg. most specialties want 6 months or more recent acute care experience. also, many places look down on new grads, period. so the more you can do in your current work environment to enhance your nursing knowledge and skills the better. i understand what you mena about not having many opporutntiies to perform skills that are valuable in specialties. however, there are ways to train and gain further skills that are outside of your work enviroment. try taking addiitonal classes, get a pt job in another facility or another med surg floor, or talk to your nurse educator about skills you want to enhanse. gl!

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

Definitely not. I'm in NICU and m/s would have been a waste of my time. I never want to do it.

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