Any hospitals hiring exp Med/surg nurses to fulfill specialty needs

Overland1, RN · Dec 15, 2012

Hi, I am interested in working in the ER, PACU, or Dialysis but I have a solid background in Med/surg. Are there any hospitals willing to hire such an individual?
I was counseled to work a year at a hospital in Med/surg and then request a transfer. Is there anyway, that I can avoid wasting a career year of my life?

OMG... don't say that (the part about wasting) if and when you get an interview. Doing such will surely send your application to a most special place in the hearts of the HR Dept. :roflmao:

Seriously (again), a period of time working and learning Medical and Surgical (they are indeed different from one another) will help you polish your skills and teach you some things you need to know in order that you are successful in a specialized critical care area. Some of the best ER nurses I have worked with came from Surgical units - they can recognize a hot appy coming in the door and know how to deal with heads, necks, and bones, too.

"Wasting a career year" by pursuing and making the best of the opportunity may well be the best thing you can do in furtherance of your career and the care of your patients. Go for it. :yes:

gcupid · Dec 15, 2012

LOL! wasting a year would describe exactly how I'd feel... I'm unwilling to post my entire resume on this forum but I am more than familiar with the medical surgical specialty. There is always something new that can be learned; however, does it have to be on the floor.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2012

I disgree. The ER nurses I work with that came from the floor are forever floor nurses that came to the ER. It just shows in their work. They fail to respond quickly to changes in patient's condition. They assume everyone is stable (and it is a belief they possess in the very very very core of their being because of their background).

On the other hand, ER, PACU and dialysis are very different areas. Pick an area you are actually interested in and don't get seduced by the desire to work in critical care.

roser13, ASN, RN · Dec 15, 2012

Hi, I am interested in working in the ER, PACU, or Dialysis but I have a solid background in Med/surg. Are there any hospitals willing to hire such an individual?I was counseled to work a year at a hospital in Med/surg and then request a transfer. Is there anyway, that I can avoid wasting a career year of my life?

Does a year qualify as a "solid" med/surg background? Not a rhetorical question - after 1 year, I was just beginning to get my feet under me.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2012

First Med/Surg is a specialty and secondly working there only a year is not a lot and it certainly was not wasteful. Geez...

Having med/surg experience usually opens doors, not closes them.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2012

I disgree. The ER nurses I work with that came from the floor are forever floor nurses that came to the ER. It just shows in their work. They fail to respond quickly to changes in patient's condition. They assume everyone is stable (and it is a belief they possess in the very very very core of their being because of their background).
On the other hand, ER, PACU and dialysis are very different areas. Pick an area you are actually interested in and don't get seduced by the desire to work in critical care.

So Med/Surg nurses don't respond to an emergent situation? Your med/surg floors must be pretty low acuity, because everyone I worked on had pt's that were thisclose to crashing many times over including my current floor. Any person admitted to any dept in the hospital has the potential to crump.

gcupid · Dec 16, 2012

Yes, I have more than a year of medical/surgical nursing.... Unwilling to specify my credentials but trust that you'd want me as the nurse to take care of you if you had to go to any Medical/surgical floor...

gcupid · Dec 16, 2012

Guess I will have to waste another career year.... I can't wait till the pendulum swings back in to the nurses favor.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2012

Guess I will have to waste another career year.... I can't wait till the pendulum swings back in to the nurses favor.

It's really sad when you think that working on a med/surg floor is a big waste of your time and you are apparently not learning a thing.

Gosh, I have been a nurse for well over 20 years. I'm always learning and will continue to do so.

Aurora77 · Dec 16, 2012

Guess I will have to waste another career year.... I can't wait till the pendulum swings back in to the nurses favor.

It's only a waste if you consider it to be so. With all your experience, you should be a good candidate if there are jobs to be had.

Ntheboat2 · Dec 16, 2012

I disgree. The ER nurses I work with that came from the floor are forever floor nurses that came to the ER. It just shows in their work. They fail to respond quickly to changes in patient's condition. They assume everyone is stable (and it is a belief they possess in the very very very core of their being because of their background).
On the other hand, ER, PACU and dialysis are very different areas. Pick an area you are actually interested in and don't get seduced by the desire to work in critical care.

I'm sure that would probably depend on the hospital they worked as floor nurses too. I was an intern at a level 1 trauma center and the patients on med/surg were high acuity. On the other hand, I was offered a job on a med/surg unit at a smaller hospital and the med/surg patients were cake. Their ICU patients were what you would've found on med/surg at the trauma hospital. The patients at the larger hospital were never assumed to be stable and there were more rapid responses and codes than I'd like to remember.