Med-Surg nursing...required?

[StraightOuttaNursingSchool, CNA]

Wow, I can't believe how close graduation is- only 12 weeks from now.

The amount of recruiting that is happening at this point is insane. I am having a hard time figuring out what to do. I've been a CNA for 6 years on a medical-surgical floor, a phlebotomist for 2 years, and a medication aide for 1 year now.

I have had nurses tell me its imperative that I start with a year or two of med-surg experience to really get a good foundation. On the other hand I have had other nurses tell me to go straight into the specialty I want to work in. My favorite clinical experience thus far has been medical ICU. I love the critical care and have a great experience each time I am in that setting.

My job (where I work as a medical-surgical CNA/ phlebotomist) has offered me a position on the med-surg floor. I would like to take it to stay comfortable (I know everyone, I know the charting system, I know where everything is located= smooth system), but I have also been offered a residency position about 1 hour away from where I live in the ICU. I am very torn on what to do. It is a one year residency program with full benefits and classes to go along with it.

Did anyone go straight into ICU after graduating? How was it? Do you recommend that new grads get medical surgical experience first?

Thank you in advance!

[Wuzzie]

Take the residency!!!

But move closer to the hospital.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If the hospital has had this ICU residency for a few years and it has been successful ... and ... Most of the new grads who have taken this residency have stayed working in that same ICU for at least a year after the program was over ... Then I would recommend the residency.

However, if the residency is new and untested, I would be hesitant to recommend it. If you are going to go to an ICU as a new grad, be sure it is an ICU that is accustomed to hiring new grads, has realistic expectations of new grads, and knows how to help the transition. But certainly, it can be done well. So if you have a good opportunity in a good program -- go for it.

But definitely move closer to the hospital. A commute that is too long could cause you to fail.

[MotoMonkey, BSN, RN]

Do the residency. The research is pretty good that residencies improve new grad nurse job satisfaction, feelings of competency, and retention. If someone is willing to hire you into their ICU, give you the training they believe you need, and support your growth as a new nurse, it would be silly to pass that up.

People who still talk about needing a year or two of med-surg experience are often nurses who graduated at a time when there were no residency programs. If you were hired onto a specialty unit you were just kind of thrown in to sink or swim. That is not the way it works anymore in many areas.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

Both are going to have their advantages. You need to compare the training between the two. You might have to do a residency at the place you work at already (a lot of places, that's just standard for all new graduates) so they don't advertise the residency, you're just doing it. But even without a residency, their training process might be better than residency programs at other places.

You have to compare, you need all the information of both places. Only you can make this decision. We can help, but it's one of those things that it would be better to have a side-by-side comparison of both places

[StraightOuttaNursingSchool, CNA]

I’m sorry I forgot to mention that I can not move closer. I think I have decided on the med surg position as it offers a residency program too and it’s only 7 minutes away from my house. The reason I can’t move is my husband and I are already invested in this community and want to raise our kids here. The more I think about it the more I realize the logical decision is to stay local- I don’t think I could drive an hour to work and an hour back for too long...

thank you all for your input!