med surg, ob, or mental health

[yvbsa1102]

Hello- I am going to be graduating in May of 06 and I would really like to go into OB or Mental Health. Do you think it would be wise to start on the Med- Surg floor and get some experience there?? Thanks..

[beautifulb]

I feel that med-surg is the basic starting point. You get a chance to hone in on your nursing skills, see a variety of diagnosises, and feel your way through many different clinical situations. However, there are people who just did not like med-surg in nursing school and skipped it all together to do what they wanted to go into.

Good luck.

[MIA-RN1, RN]

I think you need to take into consideration what you want to do with your career, where your interests are, and how you plan to get from point A to point B.

You are young, and maybe have the time to spend in med-surg. Or maybe its not your big interest. If you know what you want to do, then go for what you want. I personally don't believe that a nurse has to give a year or two to med surg before doing what he/she wants. Med surg is a specialty like any other specialty, and God bless those that do it but I know I couldn't.

Me, I am 37 and graduating in may. I am skipping all that med-surg because it is a specialty that just does not appeal to me. I'm going right into PostPartum and later into L&D. I don't have the time to spend that year or so doing med surg just for the experience.

My vote is just go for what you want.

[sharann, BSN, RN]

Med-Surg and OB have plenty of psych elements already...ha ha.

I think that Med Surg has NEVER hurt anyone but it is not always feasable. If you go directly into a specialty you just have to study a bit harder to learn the basics as well as the specialty stuff. You still will have to know the complications of surgery, IV problems, electrolyte imbalance and dressings in ALL 3 specialties. Med-Surg is probably the one that will yeild the most efficient and well rounded nurse.

If you fo straight into psych you had better hope you love it otherwise you will have to go through a long re-orientation to get into another area.

Many mental health units take care of very chronically and acutely ill "med-surg" patients.

[sharann, BSN, RN]

Med-Surg and OB have plenty of psych elements already...ha ha.

I think that Med Surg has NEVER hurt anyone but it is not always feasable. If you go directly into a specialty you just have to study a bit harder to learn the basics as well as the specialty stuff. You still will have to know the complications of surgery, IV problems, electrolyte imbalance and dressings in ALL 3 specialties. Med-Surg is probably the one that will yeild the most efficient and well rounded nurse.

If you fo straight into psych you had better hope you love it otherwise you will have to go through a long re-orientation to get into another area.

Many mental health units take care of very chronically and acutely ill "med-surg" patients.

[Tettismom]

I started in Mental Health and stayed in it for 5 yrs. You WILL eventually burn out in Psych.....eventually. At that point, I went to PEDS med/surg. I might as well have been a NEW GRAD, actually worse, cause as a new grad- at least everything's still fresh. I don't know about OB, but I'll bet it's about the same senario. In closing: If I had to do it all again, I'd have started in med/surg. You'll learn more about real nursing the 1st 6 months on the Med surg floor than you learn in all (two - four) years of Nursing School.

Good Luck