Med-Surg Negativity

[jthoma43]

hi everyone! i'm graduating in may and i've been applying to many hospitals in my area. i've gotten a few offers for med-surg floors, but unfortunately did not get the cardiac progressive care unit i really wanted. i'm nervous about accepting a position on a med-surg floor because everything i hear about med-surg is VERY negative. i hear a lot of nurses say, they would never want to go back to med-surg or "thank god i never had to be on that floor" so with all that being said, if anyone works on a med-surg unit and can inform me on some POSITIVE feedback, id really appreciate it ? im currently scared out of my mind and don't know what to expect.

[unknownjulie]

If you can get days do that because if it is too busy then it will be easy to go to nights but not the other way around. I also think all nurses should be required to start on med/surg. Just a wonderful place to learn!

[beekee]

Definitely start on days. You will have more interaction with the doctors, PT, OT, dietitians, etc. You will send people to procedures and get them back. You will do more patient education. This will help you put everything together. Night shift tends to be more of a “keep ‘em alive until day shift gets in.” And sometimes that’s more difficult than you’d think.

For the record, I work night shift. I’ve worked maybe three months on day shift. Days was too much stimulus for my introverted personality. I adore night shift, but I still think new grads should start on days if they can. It’s usually pretty easy to switch to nights if you decide that later.