Anyone gone from ICU to Med-Surg?

[Brewer,RN]

I graduated last May and took a job as an ICU nurse in October. After 6 months, I've decided ICU isn't for me. I've thought about transferring to a med-surg floor. I know it will be a huge change going from 2-3 patients to 6-7. Has anyone worked ICU and gone to med-surg? If so what do you like about it, and what do you not like about it?

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Our nurses at our hospital will sometimes have to float to med/surg to work. Some of them think it's beneath them and others are okay with it. What the biggest issue is, is the staffing. To go from 1-2 pt's to 4-5 can be difficult for them.

[Ambitiouz]

Well, I guess there isn't alot of feedback on this. But I am in the same predicament. Right after graduating last year in May I accepted an ICU job out of desperation. But its been a year in ICU and I haven't liked it at all. Oddly I feel like I'm limited if I stay any longer being that I dont plan to stay. I believe I need the well rounded experience that a med surg floor can provide. I'm also worried about being overwhelmed in going from 2 pts to many more. I guess it's a risk worth taking because I'm not happy where I'm at now.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I would think they would add pt's gradually, so you don't walk on the floor your first day and have 6 pt's.

[StephRN13]

I went from ICU to Rehab, where I hae 5-6 pt's. Still hectic, but not life or death hectic. I am getting the hang of it and like it better. ICU wasn't for me and I feel like I should have started on a med/surg or rehab floor first b/c I am learning a lot that ICU couldn't have taught. THough I still bring a lot of ICU skills to the floor and the "scary" situations that happen on the floor now to the other RN's, don't really scare me in the slightest. We have a code and rapid response team to call now instead of ME being the one to basically run the code.