Experience with switching from med/surg to a different specialty?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 21, 2014

You've got a long list of possible specialties there, and they're very different. Right now it looks like you just want OUT of Med/Surg rather than IN to another specialty. What do you like about Med/Surg? What do you dislike? Are you trying to get away from the nights, weekends and holidays as some of your choices might indicate? Or do you want something a little more challenging? SICU is one thing, an Orthpedic office is on the other end of the acuity scale. Which do you want?

I went from Medical Oncology to MICU, and it was very challenging. The work was much more intense -- not as much running up and down halls, but the patients were sicker. I had to know them inside and out and be prepared for sudden changes in condition. I loved it!

NYbabyRN, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2014

I work on a med-surg floor that is mainly surgical. One of my awesome co-workers got burnt out and she went to ambulatory surgery. She loves it.

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2014

You've got a long list of possible specialties there, and they're very different. Right now it looks like you just want OUT of Med/Surg rather than IN to another specialty. What do you like about Med/Surg? What do you dislike? Are you trying to get away from the nights, weekends and holidays as some of your choices might indicate? Or do you want something a little more challenging? SICU is one thing, an Orthpedic office is on the other end of the acuity scale. Which do you want?
I went from Medical Oncology to MICU, and it was very challenging. The work was much more intense -- not as much running up and down halls, but the patients were sicker. I had to know them inside and out and be prepared for sudden changes in condition. I loved it!

I know, I am all over the place! In school I really enjoyed critical care areas, with NICU being my favorite. I love critical thinking and seeing very sick people get well again. I don't know how I would feel if a large percentage of my patients passed away, I think I could handle it, but it may burn me out. That is one reason I am hesitant to get into a critical care area.

I think what I don't like about med surg is that it is physically (and mentally) exhausting. I am worrying about too many patients at once, going up to 7 patients at times. I often have patients that should really be in a stepdown bed, but I am juggling them with 5-6 other patients who need help going to the bathroom, need their dilaudid q1h, need fresh ice packs, etc. I am constantly running from one end of the unit to the other like a chicken with her head cut off! I am also charge nurse 90% of the time I work (with a full assignment) because there are a lot of newer nurses on night shift, and that's another headache in and of itself.

The M-F no weekends no holidays schedule isnt even important to me at this point in life. I actually kind of like night shift! I do kind of miss the sunlight though!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 22, 2014

I know, I am all over the place! In school I really enjoyed critical care areas, with NICU being my favorite. I love critical thinking and seeing very sick people get well again. I don't know how I would feel if a large percentage of my patients passed away, I think I could handle it, but it may burn me out. That is one reason I am hesitant to get into a critical care area.
I think what I don't like about med surg is that it is physically (and mentally) exhausting. I am worrying about too many patients at once, going up to 7 patients at times. I often have patients that should really be in a stepdown bed, but I am juggling them with 5-6 other patients who need help going to the bathroom, need their dilaudid q1h, need fresh ice packs, etc. I am constantly running from one end of the unit to the other like a chicken with her head cut off! I am also charge nurse 90% of the time I work (with a full assignment) because there are a lot of newer nurses on night shift, and that's another headache in and of itself.
The M-F no weekends no holidays schedule isnt even important to me at this point in life. I actually kind of like night shift! I do kind of miss the sunlight though!

SICU definitely has more patients get better and go home than MICU! And it can be very challenging. MICU is challenging in different ways -- many of the patients are in MICU for months and never seem to advance much (or at all). In SICU, it seems, they get better faster and do go home, although a lot of that depends upon your location and how your hospital allocates the patients. In one hospital, SICU got all the hearts and the TICU (Trauma ICU) got those unfortunate folks who'd gone through the threshing machine or been run over by a power boat or crashed their cars into a bridge abutment. SICU was lots of fun, but TICU gave me nightmares. (Unfortunate accidents tend to happen more often to young males.) In another, SICU got anything with an open wound or incision and MICU got everything with the "dwindles", CCU patients, etc.

I don't know a thing about NICU except walking past and seeing all the devastated parents and grandparents. I'm not sure I could handle that, but they definitely need new nurses as well.

I did the floors for five years before going into ICU, and I can certainly identify with running back and forth and up and down the halls. We had 15-31 patients with an aide or an LPN, and it was brutal. Looking back, I'm not sure how I did it! The ICU, while still intense, and very hard work, allows you to concentrate on 1-2 patients.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 22, 2014

Every switch yields goods and bads, and a learning curve :)

I was in med-surg for years, and really did like the type of nursing but disliked the staffing ratios and overall stresses of the floor (usually due to under-staffing!). I switched to ambulatory/endoscopy. I always enjoyed GI surgical stuff on the floor, so going to gastro/endo was a good match. And being in ambulatory, no one stayed overnight

Have left that and now work occupational health. Never saw that on my horizon when I was in m/s, but in fairness didn't see it when I started endo either! And now, I love it. The facility's employees are my patients; I take care of them so they can take care of the rest :)

Every change has it's advantages and disadvantages, but the best advice I can offer is don't be afraid of the change---change is GOOD!

Savvy20RN, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2014

I completed 2 years of med surg on an ortho floor as well. I got tired of the management issues, understaffing, mean patient/families etc of the hospital and decided to try my hand at something else entirely. I now work in Public Health and I love it. The pace is slower, the patients are nicer and I actually feel like I'm making a difference.

I loved med surg at first. I did my preceptorship on the floor I worked on. My coworkers were amazing but they were all leaving for various reasons. My floor had a high turnover rate. I believe 30+ people left before I did. I stuck around because I loved the people I worked with but when they left I didn't see a reason to stick around in a job I no longer liked. I now work 8-5, M-F with no weekends or holidays. I actually get to take a lunch and go to the bathroom when I need to.

It's the little things!

j0yegan · Mar 26, 2014

I switched from med surg to postpartum. I like it a lot better. I'm finally where I want to be. But realize, that wherever you work as a nurse, it's gonna be busy or hard in a different way. I felt like a new graduate nurse all over again on this new floor. I learned a ton and am still learning. The advantage of nursing is that you have so many different fields out there you can choose from.

Caffeine_IV · Mar 27, 2014

What areas within your facility or close have openings? That is the easiest way to par down the list.

I do think the 2 year mark is a good time to leave med-surg.

I've seen many nurses go to critical care, home health, pediatrics, hospice from med surg so it isn't a barrier. Having ACLS helps a lot! I just interview from outpatient radiology per diem and my background is mostly medsurg.

As for workload...it runs the gamut but most don't come back to med-surg so it must be better. The clinic and outpatient areas are more predictable.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · May 1, 2014

I'll let you know. I am currently undergoing this process ?