Am I crazy because I love med surg???

JamieLynn RN · Dec 22, 2009

I honestly love med/surg...what burned me out was the attitude of the doctors. I was tired of dealing with their crap...too bad because I am a really good attentive nurse. I love the patients, all the different diagnosis, but again,,,back to the doctors....maybe if the hospitals put some pressure on them to act more professionally to nurses I would consider going back....

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 23, 2009

I'm a new nurse (less than one year experience), and it's not my first choice. however, I'm a firm believer that it's the "meat and potatoes" of nursing and a good stepping stone for other specialty areas.

it's busy, chaotic, etc, but what a great learning environment.

I'm hoping in a few years to do hospice care on a full time basis.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 23, 2009

The only thing that would make med/surg nursing easier and less stressful:

If we could pump aerosolized valium through the heating/cooling systems 24/7. :specs:

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

OK, granted my experience was just my final semester preceptorship, but I loved med-surg/tele. I got up to taking 4 patients. I know I might have felt differently if I had a full patient load with ultimate responsibility, but I LOVED it. I didn't want to leave on my last day!

Chaya, ASN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

I also love Med/Surg ( it DOES help to be a little crazy). I love it because of the wholistic nature of the field; COPD plus anxiety (sure she's anxious-she can't breathe); undertreated diabetes evolving to renal/skin/ vision issues; GIB assoc with anemia and cardiopulmonary insufficiency...I am never bored trying to put it all together b/c you never know what you're going to walk in and find each shift. I've been doing it for 3 years and I learn something new every day. The family dynamics are also fascinating. However, we are lucky in that we don't have more than 5 pts at a time (day/ eve) or 6 on nites. It can still get wild with a couple of heavy pts, a complicated admission and an out-of-control family member, but it's usually manageable. When our capabilities are strained beyond capacity and I am unable to provide all or even most of the care my pts need in a timely manner it makes me feel dirt-mean. It must be totally demoralizing to have some of the heavier pt loads mentioned and feel from the minute you come on to the shift that you are spread too thin to give good or even minimally safe care.

What I hate is what everyone else has mentioned; the nurse is the most visible staff member, especially on the off shifts when most family members are visiting, so we are expected to deal with any and every issue. Med/ Surg also does tend to be frankly, a dumping ground for patients who don't specifically fit on a specialty unit; failure to thrive, awaiting placement, etc. Plus because of patient turnover they don't even try for any consistency in assignments, so in three shifts within a few days I might have had only one or two of my patient group before. It would be so much more efficient if they could try to give you some of the same patients more than once. Even with the needier patients and families if you've spent a shift with them you have some familiarity with their needs and have built some rapport with them.

But- I love Med/ Surg more than I hate it- at least so far!

nurse441 · Dec 23, 2009

thanks to the economy, there are new grads out there begging for ANY type of nursing job (that is if they want to give us a chance).

interestingly enough, why is telemetry and med-surg (other than non-hospital jobs) the most vacant?

ayla2004, ASN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

at least in my hosptial med reconcilation is done by pharmacist.

meadow85 · Dec 23, 2009

I did med/surg for a little over 2 years and it was a great learning experience. A lot of hard work & dedication. However I cannot picture myself doing this forever. I have always had an interest in critical care so thats what I am doing next. I don't think I would be as prepared for this next step if it weren't for my med/surg background. Med/surg nurses do it all (this can be good and bad) and are very well rounded. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for them. But I was beginning to feel burnt out. I want to be able to focus on one or two patients and do an excellent job as opposed to feeling burnt out or worn down from staying late (w/o pay) making sure all my patients are settled for the next shift, last minute orders are carried out, loose ends are tied up, giving a good report, very thorough charting etc. Or the other option being leaving on time, but doing a less than stellar job and losing sleep over it.

RhiaRN75, RN · Dec 23, 2009

I loved MedSurg. I miss it often. I'm the ER nurse that understands- and so long as you're not taking advantage of me I totally don't mind if you call me back in a few for report. Been there, done that! By all means, be sure to pee first, this family will keep you jumping.

ER is really just MedSurg on crack. Same story, just a little bit more.

I really appreciate the ICU nurses. They ignore the forest and concentrate on one single tree- they have to, and there's nothing wrong or 'less' about that. It's a different mindset. In the ER and on MedSurg, you have to attack the whole forest at once.

I think no matter what we do, we're all a little warped if we love it. I had a middle school teacher thank me recently. "I could never be a nurse." No no no! Thank you! I could never be locked in a building with a bunch of 11-14 year old kids. Are you kidding me- I have a teenager. So we're all a little nuts, aren't we? We had a good laugh about that and decided that we are both awesome and crazy :)

diane227, LPN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

When I was a new grad I worked med surg for a year, transferred to critical care for about three years, then went to the ED where I spent the majority of my nursing career. I have over the last 4 years gone back to med surg, something that I never thought I would do. And I have come to really love the job and respect the nurses who do it. It is a hard job and the nurses who do it well have to be on their game to keep people alive and safe. In the past, some of the people we have on our unit would have been in an ICU or a step down unit. I love my new career and plan to work on this unit until I retire.

doubleplay · Dec 24, 2009

I work med/surg and it is terrible. I do feel that some day I will find a job that I like but this isn't it. I don't mind being busy but you should have time to think. I really feel like I am just a tech. We have no unit clerk or tech at night so most of the time is spent answering the phone, call lights and cleaning up people that are incontinent. There is nothing wrong with this but do you need all of the school work to do this? I had a patient tell me last week that it was unfair that he would have to stay in the hospital longer because we did not have the staff to walk him as much as he felt that he needed walked. What do you say to that when he is right? I guess the post is "Am I crazy because I love med/surg?". Well if you are staffed the way you should be then no, but that is RARELY the case.:angryfire

BluegrassRN · Dec 24, 2009

Another, crazy "I love med/surg" although honestly, I only love medical. Our hospital divides medical and surgical into their own floors.

I have done other nursing: OB/Mother-baby, peds, office nursing--but I've always returned to the medical floor, and here I will now stay. I love the variety, the challenge, the pace--I love it!

I will note that I feel our hospital provides us with adequate staffing for our med floor. No teams of 10-12 as mentioned by a previous poster, for sure. It's a rare, bad night if I end with a team of 8. Mostly it's teams of 5-7, or if you aren't working with an aide and are on your own, it's 3-4. Never more than 4.

I love it.