Has anyone done med-surg after *only* doing psych?

[ivyleaf]

I graduated from nursing school 5 years ago and since then, have only done psych nursing. I have been thinking about moving into medical case management, but these positions require med surg experience. Has anyone here done med-surg after only doing psych after graduation?? I am worried that if I do decide to try med surg, that no one will hire me, as I will need a lot of training, and I have forgotten so many things since school that I haven't used in psych!!

Any advice?

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Unless the psychiatric experience you have , involved medical nursing (i.e., Geri-psych)....

you will need a refresher course.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I'm a relatively new nurse (graduated in Spring 2011) and took a job in an inpatient, psych facility (Sept. 2011) and I just recently was hired at a nearby hospital as a Med/Surg Float nurse. I am in the process of reviewing all of my Med/Surg texts prior to my orientation. I was really impressed with this hospital because I will be getting a 12 week orientation which I think is really important because I am still a new nurse. I agree with Been there, done that when she suggested you look into a refresher course. I think the key to getting a Med/Surg position is having a good cover letter/resume, polishing your interview skills and reviewing as much as you can about Med/Surg nursing from textbooks. Check to see if the facility you are applying to has a good orientation program with both class time and precepting with experienced nurses.

!Chris

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I worked for five years on a psych unit and it closed. Then I went to a med-surg unit. There was lots of relearning and learning the first time to do, but it was completely do-able, and the place where I worked provided an awesome orientation.

[LindseyRae]

I graduated from nursing school in may 2010, took a job in a psych facility right after graduating and worked there until October 2011. At that time because of some work space politics, I decided to leave and go work on a cardiac telemetry floor-not only for the med-surg experience but also because, although I loved psych nursing, it was beginning to run me down a little. I had a few interviews here and there for different types of med surg units-only one job turned me down based on the fact that I had no experience. I think that it's great to get the experience-there are still psych patients on the regular floors and you will have a lot of experience in dealing with their issues where other nurses usually become scared or uneasy when they have a patient with a psych diagnosis. I think as long as you express interest in learning as much as you can about all types of nursing and you are a good worker, you will have no problem getting a job! I hope you find your "nitch"