I dread working on Med/Surg

nrsang97, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2007

I don't know anything about acute rehab, but I wouldn't change the fact that started out in med surg. Med surg is a good learning area for finetuning your skills like IV starts and blood draws, foley cath, organization, time management, calling docs, assessment skills.

I can look at a pt and tell immediately if something isn't right and do a focused assessment. Trust your gut , if it tells you this pt dosen't look right then assess. Have the house doc come and look. My gut feeling saved a pt many times. I did 5 years of med surg before moving to the neuro icu and it was the best thing I ever did.

If you are a new grad and are able to start in ICU, ER, CCU, etc. then if you feel confident enough then make sure you get a good orinetation. Eventhough I had experience I was still given a 8-10 week orientation. Remember you can change after one year. Working med surg can help build confidence with your skills.

You will hear many mixed reactions here about starting in med surg first or going to specialty. Med surg helps build a good knowledge base.

Remember it can be hectic in any area of nursing, from L&D, OR/PACU, ICU,ER,Med surg, Acute rehab, etc. The first year is always overwhelming because of so much to learn that wasn't taught in nursing school.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

grace90, LPN, LVN · Jul 28, 2007

I'm looking for a job in Med/Surg right now...but I know I'm gonna hate it.....it's too hecktic for me..
i'm thinking about acute rehab...does anyone know what skills nurses provide there?...and would that be enough skills/diversity to build my nursing career on?...
Also...it is a bad place for new grad to be?....Does anyone know what are the nurse-patient ratios for acute rehabs?

yeah, med-surg is hectic...

when I float to the rehab unit, I find that to be busy, in a different way...

considering many, most or all acute rehab patients come from med-surg in some way, shape or form, working on a med-surg floor first would get you into the nitty gritty of what they're illnesses/injuries are all about in the earlier stages when they're not as stable, and just a hunch that you may not learn the skills and pick up the knowledge you would on med-surg (this may not be the case with all acute rehab units) :twocents:

PedsRN1991 · Jul 28, 2007

Med-Surg may be hectic...but most floors are. It is a great learning experience. Just try to think of it that way.

Good Luck!!:icon_hug:

deeDawntee, RN · Jul 28, 2007

Hello,

That's a great question! I'm the nurse that has gone through many different areas of nursing. And I always followed my heart and what that inner voice told me. (LTC, TCU, Vent House, Home Care, Orthopedics, tele, ICU)

You can ABSOLUTELY build your career on being an acute rehab nurse. You are helping people go back to the community. It is a HUGELY rewarding area of nursing. I never did work in a Med Surg unit and I have done just fine without it. Yes it is an area where you build on those basic skills, but you can do fine bypassing that area, I did.

Follow your heart. Do what will make you happy. If after a year or two, you want to pursue another area of nursing, then go for it. That is one of the great things about nursing, you can try so many different areas throughout your career and it is an accepted part of the nursing culture. Never did I get turned down for a job because I had too many different nursing positions. You can try it all!! For your first job, start out with what your heart says is where you belong. You can't go wrong with that approach!!!

Good luck to you!!!

traumamomtx · Jul 28, 2007

I started out in Med/Surg and figured as most "I would pay my 1 year dues". Now I'm in trauma/med/surg and have been for 9 yrs. I see everything, I can do just about anything you throw at me, and my critical thinking skills are above average. I float to other floors and it is the same old, same old. Many nurses I have seen from my own experience are just going through the motions. I have heard so many nurses say, "it's just a ___, or they are no big deal they only had a ___". It is told in our hospital that if you can work our floor you can work anywhere and I believe it. You might be surprised once you get on the floor you may like it. Just have a positive attitude those patients on a med/surg floor need you too.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 28, 2007

I think it is a huge mistake to take a job that you know you are going to hate. Doing so gets your career off on the wrong foot and may lead you down the path towards career dissatisfaction and bitterness. There are enough choices in nursing that you should be able to find a department that will reasonably suit your needs.

Most new grads struggle at least a bit with the transition from student to professional -- in most fields, not just nursing. In nursing, it can be a major problem made worse by the current nursing shortage and/or working conditions in some areas. Why make it worse for yourself that it needs to be? At least choose a department that will give you a good orientation, support throughout the transition, and that provides the type of care you want to do for a living.

Your original post doesn't tell us what type of nursing interests you most. Perhaps if you shared some of your hopes and goals with us, we could make some suggestions for types of units that will help you meet those goals that might be good departments for a new grad.

Finally, note that most people who tell you that you should work adult med-surg first as a new grad are people who took that route themselves. They don't know what it is like to not go that route. There are lots of us out there who have never worked adult med/surg in our entire careers -- and we have had long-term successful and satisfying careers in nursing. So, if adult med-surg is not for you, talk with some of us and let us help you find the alternatives.

So ... what areas of nursing are you most interested?

iHeartNICU · Jul 28, 2007

ok, well i'm still a nursing student and know nothing about acute rehab but just wanted to tell you of my mom's experience. She graduated nursing school in 1989 and went straight into med surg which she HATED!!!! It wasn't only the floor she didn't like but she got a crappy orientation (basically no orientation), and was put in charge after a very extremely too short of time. She had a terrible start in her nursing career and guess what....she quit nursing all together after a few years because of that. She thought all floors were like that and so she didn't even try and go somewhere else. Now, I'm not saying that med surg is bad but it wasn't for her and possibly if she tried something different she would have enjoyed it more.

I don't think there's any reason to start where you don't want to. I myself know for a fact that if I started out with adult med surg I would quit in 5 minutes. Luckily, I'm working as an extern in the NICU and plan to stay there.....I LOVE it. There's no way I would do something that I knew for a fact I didn't like. There's enough stress as a new grad....you might as well be doing something you want to do. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

MadisonsMomRN, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2007

I thought the same thing. BUT once you get in there working and learning you will be SO thankful that you did work in med/surg. The experience you will gain will be so valuable to your career. Its totally different than clinicals in nursing school.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Jul 28, 2007

I have never worked med/surg and I wouldnt change a thing. I knew I would hate med/surg - not because it was too hectic, just because I didn't like anything about it - so I steered clear of it. Follow your interests and you will be much better off than taking a job you know you are going to hate.

PHM · Jul 28, 2007

Many many new grads "hate" Med/Surg before they even "really" know what it's all about. They may think they know how the whole thing works based on their nursing school experience, but they really "know" very little.

I also felt the same way, but instead of following the path of many classmates who bolted to ICUs, infusion centers, etc., I decided to also "give it my first year."

A little over 3 years and I'm still where I started, by choice. Primarily a Stepdown unit with an extraordinary variety of cases, I remained where I'm at because of excellent co-workers who have mutual trust, who will help each other at the drop of a dime, and who are, for the most part, dedicated to their profession. We have nurses who've been on associated Med/Surg units for many years, not because they couldn't work in an ICU or ER, but because this is exactly where they want to remain. They prefer the fast pace, critical decision-making, muti-tasking environment and primarily, the patient/family interaction. I'll go out on a limb here and say your Mom's perspective of Med/Surg may have been skewed by her pre-assessment of what was to come in Med/Surg and her Orientation only put the icing on the cake.

I'm fortunate my military skills took control on graduation and told me to "suck it up" and take a tough road to start nursing. I've met many fine dedicated nurses who are very satisfied with Med/Surg . . .just like those who went to ICU or anywhere else. I feel I'm well prepared for just about anything and, more importantly, fully cognizant of the quality of any future Orientation I might experience at other nursing levels (i.e. separate the facts from the BS).

Best of luck to you, but don't be to quick to scratch Med/Surg off your list . . .you might be missing a a part of nursing you would've excelled and enjoyed.

Good luck,

Phil

crysobrn · Jul 28, 2007

I started in med surg and thought I'd "hate" it too. But it really got me to where I am today. I decided to give it a year as most nurses do and after a year I had a baby went to part time and stayed there for another two years and it opened up a big door for me to OB... I don't regret it now, I'm very happy that I got that time to develop into a good nurse before going to a specialty. I got used to the "hectic" med surg floor and was so good at organizing, assessment and basic nursing care that when I got to OB I could really focus on what was new to me.

That said there are many nurses that I know that jump right into a specialty and it has worked for them. Good luck and do what feels right to you.