Almost done with school!!

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jan 31, 2009

A year of med-surg will serve you well. Also, sometimes you're the only nurse in a hospice unit, and if you do in-the-home hospice nursing, you definitely need some med-surg experience first.

travel50 · Jan 31, 2009

I completely agree. You will learn alot doing med-surg for a year, and that knowledge will serve you well. Good luck! And congrats!!

iheartchocolate · Jan 31, 2009

You'll ultimately be a much better hospice nurse if you have some clinical experience under your belt, maybe even a little more than one year. Trust me, it will fly by. It doesn't have to be med-surg. Have you considered oncology where you will get experience with patients who may enter hospice? You could also consider telemetry, step-down or ICU where you will really strengthen your critical thinking skills. Good luck!

fsaav · Jan 31, 2009

I've been contemplating the same question for some time because the main reason I went into nursing was to work OB. I would love to just jump right into it if there is an opportunity available after graduation and I also hate switching jobs, but I've decided that I really need the med/surge experience. I want to be the best nurse I possibly can and I believe that getting "stuck" in one specialty without the foundation that comes with med/surge isn't going to allow me to do that. I'm going to dread that year but like a pp said, I know it will fly by. The added bonus is that OB is so hard to get into at my hospital that the openings almost always get filled by current employees first.

Good luck with your decision!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jan 31, 2009

I am a 4th semester ADN student who is scheduled to graduate in May 2009. I am torn between getting a job on the med-surg floor at the local hospital or going directly into hospice nursing. Hospice nursing is my dream job but I constantly hear people say, "get some floor experience first". Any advice on if the floor experience is preferred or do new grads have a good chance of going straight into a specialty?

My two cents is that it isn't a matter of whether you have a "good chance" of going straight into hospice nursing or not, but rather would you be a better hospice nurse for having had some clinical time under your belt...Med-surg is an EXCELLENT place to get you the experience you need to be a better hospice nurse, IMO.

Your hospice patients will have a lengthy history of medical hospitalizations, surgeries, treatments, procedures. Do you really know all of them now, as a student/brand new grad? I'd suggest "absolutely no way".

Having a good understanding of what these people have been through before landing in hospice care would go a LONG way toward making you a better nurse for them. And I'm not talking about emotionally what they've been through....there's LOTS more to hospice nursing than being that compassionate ear. Many of my med-surg patients do go on to hospice care, and we help them get there....we can speak intelligently about what has been done to them, about expected outcomes, etc. I can't even imagine being a new grad in hospice and getting some of the patients I've cared for in the last couple of years.

Experience, IMO, would be key for your success.

truern · Jan 31, 2009

Not sure about where you're at, but here you can't work hospice without at least a year of experience.

You can, however, get new grad fellowships in L&D, tele, m/s, etc. so there's no reason you can't specialize.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jan 31, 2009

My concern with you getting med/surg experience before hospice is that you would often be the only nurse in hospice and would have to make decisions and do things you wouldn't know enough about, without some med-surg experience.