Is it really necessary to start out in med surge before branching out to other units?

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All throughout nursing school, most of my class and clinical instructors repeated over and over the importance of starting out in med surge before branching out to other units such as L and D or CCU, etc. I was just wondering what others think about this topic.

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If you really know what you want, go ahead and apply for the specialty unit. For the rest of the undecided, med-surg is a common place to start.

Keep in mind, that med-surg floors are often the ones who are more willing to hire and train new grads.

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Specializes in Rehab corrections med-surg.

I started in rehab and sub acute. Not recommended for a new grad. ICU ER psych maternity and peds are specialized and once in those it is hard to branch out to med surg or insurance. Same with corrections

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maybe that is the reason why the clinical instructor and international employer wants to hire med surg nurses haha lucky for us:)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

It has everything with getting experience down in the basics so you have a good footing to learn the specialties. While it is possible to get hired straight into a specialty unit....it is rare and there is a huge learning curve.

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Thanks y'all!! That's really helpful information!

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I am not experienced RN (starting my new job on Tuesday!) but I think it's not necessary to start in med/surg. I know nurses that started in ICU or ER right after graduation and they told me on multiple occasions that I should do whatever I can to start in my dream specialty. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to get ANY interview for ED residencies (I have ACLS, PALS and had ED nursing practicum in ED). I am a little bummed about it but on other hand I am happy and feel lucky that month after obtaining my license I got job offer on medical unit/evening shift. I am not complaining about it at all and I am excited to start :)

It may take me some time to get into ER but I will get there. Sooner or later I will end up in ED :D

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Thats awesome!! Congrats!!

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I am a med surg nurse and have exclusively worked in med surg. My floor and other med surg places get tons of icu/er nurses who were turned away during or shortly after orientation. The med surg pts are also acutely ill. No, it isn't the icu but you will learn some basics. An emergency or decompensating pt is going to be a lot more stressful when you don't even know simple procedures, skills, assessments, protocols etc. There are successful people but it is difficult. For those going into other specialties in some areas of the country, that really locks you in there for awhile.

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Thanks for replying anotherone!

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Me personally, i feel like starting out in med-surg is a good move. You get to see many different illnesses and you learn how to assess each condition, whereas your not subjected to just one category such as L and D. I feel that once you get the basics and learn how to assess well, document, learn skills, etc then branching out to a speciality is a good idea. Good luck!

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Specializes in Med-surg Telemetry, Leadership, Education.

In med-surg you can learn time management, which is important in all nursing settings. For me, good time management makes the difference when something unexpected happens with a patient - I can take the time to deal with it w/o the rest of my assignment being a disaster. You also have the opportunity to assess way more patients than in the ICU (it's a numbers game). Lastly, if you are in a specialty unit later on but have to float to med-surg, it won't be a massive shock!

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