Med Surg right after graduation?

[kukukajoo]

I keep hearing this over and over again. How you will learn skills here that you won't learn elsewhere, how it's a continuation of your education.

No please can someone tell me exactly what you mean when you say med surg? Do you mean on a floor like a regular adult floor? In a specific part of the hospital? And what exactly do you learn there that you won't learn elsewhere?

How has this experience helped you?

I know it sounds like a simple question but I have been assuming a lot about this and want to be clear- you know what they say about assuming!!! ;0 Thanks everyone!

[jill48, ASN, RN]

It seems to me that in med-surg you "learn time management" in the same way one one's "learns to swim" by being thow into the deep end of a pool.

Is there really any other way?

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

I "technically" work on an Ortho/Surgical floor.

I say "technically" because I see all kinds of patient there. Hence, I've changed my profile to reflect my current basic load of patients: Medical (many times Onco)/Surgical/Ortho/Tele

If they could get away with it, I bet they'd send us the peds patients too....

cheers,

[Lorie P.]

i have worked med/surg for almost 3 years and still learn everyday. i get pts that come in for low blood sugars that also have copd, chf and so on. one does learn time maganment and how to prioritize their which pt needs to be seen first. i love med/surg will only switch to another unit after i am a rn, then i want to do cardiac.

[chuck1234]

I keep hearing this over and over again. How you will learn skills here that you won't learn elsewhere, how it's a continuation of your education.

No please can someone tell me exactly what you mean when you say med surg? Do you mean on a floor like a regular adult floor? In a specific part of the hospital? And what exactly do you learn there that you won't learn elsewhere?

How has this experience helped you?

I know it sounds like a simple question but I have been assuming a lot about this and want to be clear- you know what they say about assuming!!! ;0 Thanks everyone!

Med-Surg is highly recommended but it is not necessary in these days because of the nursing shortage. Some girls just got their licenses two months ago...now, they are working side by side with me in the ICU.

[gerry79]

In my humble opinion all nursing floor are specialties. On occasion we have med/surg nurses who float to my floor (Cardiac) and are scared to death of dealing with drips, post cath patients, heart failure patients, ect. The nurses on my floor dread floating to other med/surg floors because they primarily deal with cardiac patients. Yet we are not considered speciatly nurses we just work on different floors. In my opnion medsurg nursing is a specialty with sub specialties.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Is there really any other way?

isn't there? Since nursing schools are less practice-based than in the past and since nursing specialties are so varied, I think nurse residencies or internships would be a very useful tool for new grads and those wanting to start into a new specialty area.

[jill48, ASN, RN]

:yeahthat:

In my opnion medsurg nursing is a specialty with sub specialties.

[jill48, ASN, RN]

isn't there? Since nursing schools are less practice-based than in the past and since nursing specialties are so varied, I think nurse residencies or internships would be a very useful tool for new grads and those wanting to start into a new specialty area.

That is great, in concept, but it is just not the reality. No matter how long you intern or precept or stay on orientation, you don't feel the full responsibilities until you are on your own and it is then that you are forced to rely on your education and common sense to make the right decisions.

[lugnutz]

I am not there yet (still a student), but I am lucky to be near a hospital that offers new grads a residency where the first 6 months is rotating to different floors. That way it is like an extension of school and you can get an idea of each specialty. I may change my mind someday, but I feel like I already know what I don't want to do. and a pretty good idea of what I want to do. Therefore, in my case, I don't think med-surg will be my first job.

[jjjoy, LPN]

I agree that nothing can fully prepare one for the full responsibility but I do think the gap could be shortened for many. I mentioned in another thread that when I started teaching ESL, I was lucky enough to team teach at first. If I'd gone directly to teaching my own class right off, I honestly don't think I would've made it through the term. When there are so many different variables and responsibilities that are all new at once, I tend to get overwhelmed. It helps to be able to not have to be fully responsible for all of them at once. That team teaching experience helped me develop more confidence and several day-to-day skills such that when I did take classes on my own I did fine. I went on to teach ESL for several years.

The thing is if med-surg, which is supposed to "teach time management skills" and such is "too much" for a newbie, what alternatives are there to help one "get up to speed"? If the new nurse can't handle juggling a full load of med-surg patients after 8-10 weeks, does that mean he/she just isn't cut out for that type of nursing and should look elsewhere? And it's not like med-surg is easier than critical care. Many critical care nurses admit that they couldn't handle a med-surg assignment. Yet, new nurses are steered to med-surg over critical care as if it should be easier to master before moving onto more "difficult" areas.

[chuck1234]

Med-Surg experience helped me a lot in the ICU. It took me two and half weeks to "eliminate" my preceptor in the ICU. Other new grads....took a long time to eliminate their preceptors. You get all basic skills right there...including time management, reading the lab values, anticipate the patients' needs, admission, discharge, IV pump, receiving/giving the reports and etc.

Anyhow, Kukukajoo, good luck to whatever you do in the future. By the way, how is the Mother's Day.