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

joanna73, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2012

Actually, I've found that nurses working med surg or acute care units usually have great assessment skills. They need to be able to recognize and respond to subtle changes in patient condition BEFORE it becomes a matter of emergency. That's crucial. If they're already in emerg, usually they're going downhill fast.

gcupid · Dec 16, 2012

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.

I never stated that I saw med surg as a place that I would not learn anything.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2012

I never stated that I saw med surg as a place that I would not learn anything.

But if are learning, then it's not a waste of your life and time is it?

Music in My Heart · Dec 16, 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.

I 'wasted' a year in med-surg (at a tiny hospital, no less) and then 'wasted' a couple more years in the limited ER at the tiny hospital before I finally got where I wanted to be.

None of it was really wasted, of course, because each step enabled the next.

Would I be more competent had the years been spent in a L1 trauma center? Of course. That wasn't an option, however; what would have been a waste was sitting as an unemployed new grad when I had the opportunity to take a nursing job (albeit one that never would've led me to nursing school in the first place).

gcupid · Dec 17, 2012

But if are learning, then it's not a waste of your life and time is it?

When making a comparison to how much more new things I could learn in order to function in a Role that I am pursuing, it is a waste of time. I Would expect to learn in a msn/NP program but when I graduate I wouldn't be able to perform as a CRNA. If my goal is to ultimately perform as a CRNA, y waste time obtaining NP certs...

wish_me_luck, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2012

If you have the med surg experience that you say you have, then it really shouldn't be an issue finding PACU/ICU, etc. jobs as you are considered to have experience. If not in your area of the country, then move. Places that are not city (i.e. rural) will take you, especially if you have as much med surg experience as you say.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2012

I never stated that I saw med surg as a place that I would not learn anything.

Still don't agree. It's good to see how a floor works. I think all NP's should be floor nurses at least once in their lives as should a CRNA and have the time be more than a couple of years.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2012

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.

The difference is that they crump a heck of a lot less on floors than they do in ER and when they do, they all crump from a similar spot. In the ER, it isn't like that. Further, I have med surg nurses complain that they felt like they had too much responsibility to inform md. They expected md to act with specificity, not allow nurse to have some autonomy to observe patient.

Our floors are high acuity. Many of our floor patients would be icu in another facility. It's really about cultural norms and expectations. You can't expect an ER patient to be a floor patient and I see that happen when nurses come from floors.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Dec 18, 2012

I would go to HR, and ask specifically for job descriptions of whatever specialty it is that you would like to pursue. That way there is some sense of direction. If you don't have a map of where you need to go, I can see how one would think that one is "wasting time" but it is a multi level process, could require further education and/or certification, and most people still need to work while pursuing their goals. Med Surg float to ED. When ED position becomes available, take it. Float to ICU, again when available, take it. All the while studying to be _______ specialty certification. Look over job desctriptions. It is an ideal resource as to what you would like to do. Speak to the manager of whatever floor/specialty you would like to be on. Then you have a plan, perhaps a timeline, and you can be sure the direction in which you are going are the correct ones.