Does every new nurse need to start on med surg?

[jc449]

Maybe this is me coming out of my honeymoon period, or maybe I have just realized I made the biggest mistake of my life accepting a job on a med-surg floor. I was just wondering- are there nurses who aren't meant for bedside nursing, meaning who are meant for outpatient procedural type work? I just know- I really do not like my job right now. I am a new nurse just out of hospital orientation and find myself with 7 patients a night. I do not take a break, I do not work less than 14 hours-(from all the charting I have to catch up). I feel unsafe having so many patients and I have told my charge nurse this. I just feel like I have made a big mistake. I am miserable. I talked to my nurse manager and let her know about my feelings and she seemed to understand. I don't know what to do.

[DeadHeadRN, BSN, RN]

i think it really depends on what you want to do. i am on a very busy surgical floor (both adults and peds which is tough). i want to get to the ed more than anything, but i know that i need at least a year of med-surg experience to transfer (doh regulation). my hospital is very supportive and they all know where i want to go and my nurse manager and the nurse educators are all really trying to help me. for me personally, i think the experience i'm getting is invaluable. but if i wanted to do something like nicu, it probably wouldn't be.

[INwannaB]

I am in my orientation period on a cardiac unit. Most nights I have any where from 6-8 patients and I am feeling VERY overwhelmed. My preceptor is a smoker so guess where she is most of the time? When I tell her the way I am feeling I get a lecture about "this being the way it is everywhere" and I just have to suck it up. When I make a mistake, she acts like I should have known better. At this point I hate my job and I am not sure I want to continue being a nurse.