Med/Surg job or not??

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 27, 2015

Hi all
I am an outpatient RN (3 years) relocating to a new state and have gotten 3 job offers in Med/Surg units working nights.
I am hesitant to take a Med/surg job because quite frankly I haven't started an IV or done a blood draw since nursing school - just for starters. I have lost a lot of info and skills.
How forgiving are experienced nurses on inpatient floors?? I am worried about how safe I will be. They say they will orient me for 4 weeks but that calculates to 12 days!!!!!
Do I take the job or continue in outpatient with M-F weekends off?
Thanks

Most of us have areas of great deficiency when we start a new specialty. Those things are easy enough to work on. You know you haven't done a venipuncture since nursing school -- ask to spend a few hours with a phebotomist or IV nurse during your orientation. Speaking as a preceptor, no one expects you to be perfect or to know everything. We can teach you the job skills you know to thrive on our unit. We want you to be hardworking, easy to get along with and kind to the patients. The rest you can learn.

lunchboxRN · Oct 27, 2015

I just started on a med-surg floor after a few years of doing non-skilled care/mgmt. When I filled out the skills checklist at my interview, I felt silly. Most I hadn't seen (specialty skills) and the rest I hadn't done since nursing school. I have a lot of skills in areas like assessment, but none of my areas were on the list. My manager, during my interview, said the same thing that Ruby Vee states above - skills can be taught.

New grads start on units all the time with a few caths or what have you under their belt, but that's it. You (we) have patient experience, you are not going into this blind. I can say that I am a lot less nervous starting on med-surg than I was starting my job fresh out of school. In fact, the hardest part has not been the skills, but learning the flow and all the documentation!

Review your skills, then if you really don't feel comfortable trying something, ask to observe the first one. Then try the next one. Ask questions "how long do I need to take to push this med?" "I'm unfamiliar with this med, what is it for?" Take notes and read policies on your downtime. As long as you are showing initiative to learn and using the knowledge you already have, most people will understand. There are preceptor horror stories on AN, but I don't think that is representative of most people's experiences.

mjlcanales · Oct 28, 2015

thank you Ruby Vee. I think you are right, preceptors are not expecting me to know everything Technicalities can be taught. I am hard working and ALWAYS willing to learn! Thank you!!

mjlcanales · Oct 28, 2015

lunchboxRN - You had a lot of wise things to say. I am planning on learning a lot of policies on my downtime. you're right in saying learning the flow is going to be very important . You have made me feel more comfortable about it! thx!!