Love for med surg

solneeshka, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2011

You will not get pigeon-holed. If med-surg is what you love, then do it! Nurses are accepted from med-surg into all areas of nursing. You may find individual exceptions here and there, but for the most part, med-surg is a great lead into any other area. Good for you for having a feel about what you want and going for it!

Tua15395 · Mar 21, 2011

Thanks, thats exactly how I feel. They say its easier to move down from critcal care then move up from med surg.

NursingStudent17 · Mar 22, 2011

I am in an area where jobs for new grads are very difficult to come by, and ALL of my professors say to intern and then apply for jobs in med/surg first because it's where you get the best experience. I don't have any experience myself as I do not graduate for another year but I'm just repeating what my professors have said to me, and I as well want to be a med/surg nurse when I start out :-)

I<3H2O, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2011

Most all specialties want Med Surg experience!

evilolive, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2011

I think you'd succeed in critical care by starting in med-surg. With med-surg, you'll learn a lot of the basics, and a ton of skills over the course of a year or two. If you have the basics under your belt, my thought would be that you'd transition easier into critical care. Remember, if you start in critical care, you'll have to learn the basics AND everything that comes with critical care nursing. Just my two cents, as a med-surg nurse :)

candykay · Apr 19, 2011

I've been in med-Surg for 2 years and it's the most comprehensive floor you can work on. You definitely will NOT get "pigeon-holed" by working there. Be prepared for the fact that everyday is unpredictable, you never know what type of patient you will be caring for. For me, that's the best part.

graceomalleyRN, RN · Apr 24, 2011

If you're concerned about getting stuck in Med-Surge, I recommend you peruse the job ads for the hospitals in which you are interested. My hospital rarely has critical care/ED jobs, but when they do they want 1-2 years of MS experience. Some of the nurses I know in CC started out in Med Surge, went to Tele for that experience and then on to ICU or ED.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 24, 2011

i am curently in my last semster of nursing school and on a med surg foor for my senior practicum. i love it . yes its busy and can be crazy at times but i think thats part of the appeal. i have had my days when im tired and fed up but med surg is where my hear. when i tell nurses that i want to work on a med durg floor after gradution. they tell me dont do cause i will get pigeon holed and it will be harder to go to critical care if i decide later. maybe later i will want to do critcal care but at this moment i have no desoire and dont feel comfortable doing that right out of school. i would love to hear anyones input.

i'd actually advise a new nurse to start out in med-surg if possible -- something that most don't wish to do. so take a job in med-surg and know that whatever specialty your little heart desires in the future, you'll have a good, solid knowledge base and skill set on which to build. and if you like med-surg enough to stay there, all the better. it's a difficult specialty -- and it is a specialty -- and there is so much to learn!

CrazyCatLadyRN, BSN, RN · May 10, 2011

I'm starting in a Surgical- Telemetry unit (basically med surg with telemetry) and am really excited. I got hired right out of school and will start after I pass the NCLEX. There were a lot of people out of my class that either wanted to or were hired in specialty areas. I really think that med-surg is totally needed though. I did my preceptorship in the PACU and realized how important a strong background in med-surg really is. You really don't get the prioritizing and juggling skills starting out in critical care. When I did clinical in an ICU, the nurse only had 2 patients. While they were both very sick patients, it just wasn't the same as nursing on the floor.

LouisVRN, RN · May 10, 2011

Other than the fact that i work and for the most part love med-surg i would recommend it for several reasons

1) you get experience with almost every type of pt/population/condition

2) networking - you will get to know almost everyone in the hospital from or, pacu, ed, tele, icu, step-down pts from med-surg often come and go to different areas and it is a great opportunity to talk to people in different departments

3) assessment skills - without monitors and technology you learn how to do a thorough assessment and be acutely aware of abnormalities that may indicate the need for future interventions

AMCNurse · Jun 12, 2011

Med-surg is a great place to start you really get to see a little of everything.