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Discussion

Is 6 months enough??

Hi all,

I just graduated in spring of 08 and have been working on a 40 bed med/surg floor at nights.

I have had it....I knew I needed to get some med/surg experience under my belt but I do not like this field......tooooo much chaos for me!! I know other nurses I work with love this pace but I can't take it any more.....

Just wanted some advice as to whether 6 months experience in this field would be sufficient enough to move on.....I am miserable and wondering if nursing is for me at all....I feel soooo bummed out feeling this way after working so hard to get where I am.:(

I look forward to hearing from anyone with advice! Help!

Thanks!!!!

Featured Replies

  • Author

hi everyone,

any response is better than none.......:confused:

thanks!

I don't know what to tell you.

6 MO is not much when you talk to an old-timer... What were you doing B4?

If u don't like it, u don't like it but did you like everythingto begin with? Like, I don't know, Algebra, or ballet, or being a world class swimmer??

I grant u lots of things suck canal water in this profession but I'm hoping if you got thru all that schooling it was because u really FEEL IT.

Don't give up, there is a place for u. I'm sorry u feel u have it rough right now but maybe there is someone you can really help?:heartbeat

maybe u can try diff. field in nursing?? after 6 mo u r no longer a new grad but it's not much of an experience either. what were u thinking about doing?

  • Author

hi..........thanks for the repy!

yes, b4 the job, full time, stay at home mom! loved it!!!:heartbeat ........started school b4 the kids and when the youngest went into school, started back with with education.....finished and based off of recommendation of instructors, started with med/surg....but, find it is not for me...i do love helping people but the pace of the job is too much!

....i didn't know if 6mos. would be enough experience for another job, (e.g.) school nurse, long term care, etc.??

thanks again for your input!!:yeah:

Yes you're welcome. I am new into the field as well, so I speak what I know from my experience and what others have told me. Since you're doing med/surg that is a basis to a lot of other nursing care. I think overtime you will find your own niche and enjoy what u will be doing. good luck with you and all the best.

I am curious to the answer to 'what IS enough experience' in med/surg. I feel miserable in this position too. The chaos, the acuity of some of the pts (dementia/aged), my shift managers, *my* lack of knowledge.

I am just not sure what to move in to after this....I would prefer part-time; I would prefer slightly less sick patients (yes, I prefer the 'walky-talkies'); and maybe some time to really LEARN patient care rather than feeling I am just going through the motions. I'm just not sure if such a position exists anywhere....

  • Experts

Is 6 months enough experience? .... For what? .... to know whether or not you like it? .... to develop competence? .... to develop expertise? ..... to develop leadership skills? What exactly is the question?

If you really hate your job, then analyze why you hate it before moving on. You don't want to find yourself jumping from one job you hate to another that you hate just as much. Do you like the patient care, but hate the people you work with? Do you like the people you work with, but hate actually taking care of the patients? Are you unhappy because you feel overwhelmed? Or do you feel really competent and capable, but just don't like to work with that type of patient.

Do you see what I mean? WHY you hate your job makes a big difference in what you should do next.

If ... after analyzing the situation thoroughly ... you decide to seek a new job, take your time and find one that will better suit your strengths and preferences. However, realize that your 6 months of experience is not enough to market yourself as an expert in med-surge nursing. Managers will look at you as a "new grad whose first job didn't work out well" or as someone who "did not stay very long in her first job," not as an "expert med/surge nurse." But they might still hire you if you present yourself well.

Finally, it might take a while to find your next job -- particularly in this economy. So, don't quit your current job until you have your next job lined up.

Good luck!

If it is not something that you enjoy, move on. My hospital requires you stay in an area six months before transferring. Yours may require longer but if you speak to your director and director of the unit you wish to go to you may be able to squeak through, they make exceptions especially if you are an asset to the field.

when I first became nurse about ten years ago. Ifelt like I did not know what I was doing and if I made the right choice to be a nurse. until I went to another facility and my supervisor told me that it will take me six months to feel like I belong there.I love med surg,although I never had chance to work in hospital setting. my longterm care patients are pretty what you guys have on med surge floor in hospital,but only that they are more sicker. most of my patients I sent out ended up on medsurge floor. I do not know where you stand right now but you may want to think about starting slowly in longterm care.it also depends on what you want to do in future.personally six months is not enough, you are just getting you feet on the ground.

best wishes.:yeah:

Thank you, thank you so much for posting this. I have posted this same question in other forums, with no response. Also, thanks to all that responded. I'm starting my 4th month of med-surg, after being a Psych RN for over a year. Everyone told me I needed to get med-surg experience, so I left the nursing I was good at. In response to the one poster, I had hoped to gain some medical nursing experience, not really to become an expert. Also, I wanted to stop hearing in interviews, "So you don't have any medical experience?" My thoughts are these, I want enough to qualify as "having had medical experience", enough to possibly leave the options of the OR or L&D open. Is 6 months enough for this? I have no longterm plans for med-surg, definitely no desire for "expert" status. Thanks for your help!

I should add, I don't care for the diagnoses, i.e. cellulitis, diabetes etc. My coworkers, for the most part, are great. Thanks again.

  • Author

I truly THANK everyone for their replies......... all the help given is truly appreciated.... I received a job offer at a Long Term care Facility and have a great feeling about it; this place has a great rating and it seems warm and inviting for the clients that live their. I love working with the elderly so I accepted the job....:redbeathe

I can't wait!!! I keep everyone updated on how it goes!

THANKS ALL!!!!:yeah:

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