Getting med/surg exp after 2 years psych

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Hello all, my first post here! :) I have been thinking a lot about this lately and as I have an ADN as an RN, I decided to start school in May of next year (earliest I can get into the program) to obtain my BSN. By the time I acquire my BSN, I will have been in psych nursing a little over 2 years. Psych nursing at a hospital is the only nursing experience I've had (I'm a new grad) and I want to continue with it and get my BSN before I attempt to acquire med/surg experience for future opportunities... it'd be difficult now since I am a single mom with kids.

The area I am in is extremely competitive for newer nurses with very limited experience and I am wondering how difficult you think it'd be to get a med/surg position when I have a BSN but only about two years experience as a psych nurse. Psych nursing is ok but I don't want to limit myself to only having that kind of experience and it's not a field I see myself as doing forever...

What do you think? Will that be too late to jump into other fields of nursing? Thank you in advance for reading! :)

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

I have 2 years solid med/surg experience straight out of BSN school and have been a psych nurse for 5 since the first 2 years. The med/surg experience was invaluable to me because I have solid assessment skills and I don't panic in stressful situations. So work wise..I am kind of the opposite of you. What I would say is that those 2 years experience will FOR SURE help you! You have 2 years experience as a nurse! Not med/surg, but you will have recommendations from supervisors and a proven track record (ie..you get to work on time, you are not constantly missing work). SO yes I would think it would help you. However...who knows..maybe I am wrong?

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Thank you for replying, that is true, I am always on time, don't call out and I am always taking extra shifts from the older nurses who can afford to take a shift off every week or two... I pick up the slack in that way. :) I am hoping two years as a nurse in general will be something strongly considered when I branch out in the future!

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Specializes in Psych.

You may also want to transition into a regular hospital that has a psych dept. and transfer from within. Since I got hired as a new grad in a free-standing psych hospital, that is my plan (provided I ever get bored with psych, that is). I have friends who have transferred this way.

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I'm also a psych nurse, have been for a year now. I'm also looking in to getting in to med/surg as I've realized that I'm never going to build good assessment skills until I've done so. Luckily I work for a large organization that does both medical and inpatient psych, so transitioning should just involve a transfer rather than hunting for work at places I'm not a known quantity.

I've been told here and there that even though we've done psych, your first year or so as a nurse is mostly about building your ability to organize and fit in to the role of being responsible for people in general, getting along with an inter-disciplinary team and all that... I hope that's all right anyways. We've certainly got to be a lot better off than we were as new-grads.

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Specializes in Med/Surg - Internal Medicine.

What I would do is to get into contact with Med/Surg unit managers at your facility, if you're in the hospital setting, and express your interest in Med/Surg. Ask about recommendations that would be helpful for a transition. Your psych background will be helpful, as med/surg pts can certainly have their share of psychosocial issues and/or psychiatric diagnoses. I personally have worked med/surg for almost 2 yrs and it seems that on a daily basis we encounter more and more psych issues. Many of our nurses have a difficult time c these pts. Myself having a bachelor's in psych and the BSN have some extra education about psych and can use some of it to help get through the shifts. If you're interested, go for it! Med/surg can be very stressful and demanding, especially when you can have 6-7 quite ill pts with so many different co-morbities and then psychosocial issues. Best wishes!!! :sarcastic:

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Hey Boxxy,

I'm a new RN as well (I grad. in May 2011 and have been working as a Psych. RN since Sept. 2011). Over the past few months I realized that I needed to have some Med/Surg experience in addition to my Psych. experience if I ever hoped to expand my career beyond the walls of my Psych. facility. So I revamped my resume and cover letter, hunted down open positions geared towards new nurses, studied the facilities I was applying to and then send out my applications. I went on two interviews and accepted a position as a Med/Surg RN in the Float Pool of a small community hospital. So far I love it! I got a really good orientation and I am on my own now but I have a really supportive team and I feel like I can always ask for help if I need it. I still work Per Diem at my Psych. job which is awesome because I really enjoy going back and forth between both positions and it helps me to reduce my stress and avoid burnout. What kind of info. or advice are you looking for right now and are you looking for any help with resume/cover letter proofreading?

!Chris :specs:

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How can I get a med surg job? It seems like recruiters frown upon my only psych experience (worked 4 years in psych). I am planning on becoming a psych nurse practitioner but I really would like to get some med/surg experience so I can be a better nurse practitioner. I am very hardworking, detailed oriented and compassionate, but for some reason scared about working on med surg, the IVs, calculating medications, etc. Any help will be most appreciated. I am in central NJ.

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