GN, med-surg myth

[jiyun1027]

Hello !

I am a stundent nurse/tech in my last semester.

I am applying for 2 years contract intern program for GN.

I evenyually want to go into further intensive or critical trauma care and I have been heard the med surg is a good base ground to start my nursimg career.

I am interviewing this week ED manager and next week med surg (my home floor) and PCU panel interview.

Everyone has different opinions on med-surg myth.

Some nurses disagree with this saying working at med-surg is such a waste of time and not optimistic about chances of having an opportinity after 2 years.

Some nurses agree, saying I will need med surg experience no matter what.

So I want to know what's your opinipn on med-surg myth.

I appreciate in advance !

Thank you !!

[AJJKRN]

If you get a chance to start out in a specialty where you think you really want to practice in, like the ED, don't look a gift horse in the mouth and take the job! Otherwise, take any job you can get your hands on as a new grad.

[LessValuableNinja]

Some people will say, "I wish I'd worked in Med-Surg first. I'd have known so much more when I got to my current specialty position!"

You hear that quite a bit.

I'm with AJJ though. You can always go back and work in Med-Surg later. If you REALLY want to work in a certain area, and get offered the job, take it. You can always go work in med-surg later!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Med-Surg is the epicenter of acute care. Work experience in this area will familiarize you with much more than patient care. You'll learn about the important processes - how patients move through they various stages, from admission to discharge.

You'll work with a variety of different services, such as Case Managers, Dietitians, Medical Records, Supply Chain, Chaplains, Risk Management, Quality, etc... And, of course, you'll work with all of the ancillary clinical areas. You'll master time management in a way that is unmatched in other clinical areas. You'll function as a ' team leader' to CNAs & other staff which will perfect your delegation skills. You'll be involved with coaching and counseling for the staff you supervise and education/development for new hires.

Yeah - It can be a 3-ring circus on most days, but there's nothing that an experienced Med-Surg Tele nurse can't handle.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I view med/surg as a specialty in its own right, just like any other specialty out there (even has its own certification!), and I think that introducing med/surg as the "starting point" for all nurses does that distinction disfavor. I've never worked a single shift on a med/surg floor- I went straight into the OR as a new grad and I'm still there now. Do I regret not getting that experience? Absolutely not, because what I saw as a student told me med/surg wouldn't be a fit for me, and I would have suffered burnout and probably left the nursing profession years ago.