Med-Surg Roll Call

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Hi all ... thought it was about time to have a Med-Surg roll call .... please repond by telling us if you work in med-surg .... how long you have been there and if you plan on staying in med surg .... also, please let us know if you hold certification in med-surg through ANCC or AMSN. Thanks ....

I will start ....

I am a nurse manager for a 40 bed med-surg unit. Love med-surg, but am challenged daily by how busy the unit is and how sick our patient population is. I plan on remaining in med-surg for a number of years (at least until I finish my Masters degree and start teaching). I am not currently certified, but am planning on taking the test in October throught AMSN.

I think the thing I LOVE the most about M/S is the diversity of patients we see. You really need to be a nursing generalist to be successful in med-surg.

Specializes in Med Surg.

Ive been doing med-surg 3 1/2 yrs now. Yea I agree it can be fustrating at times. Where I work, we sometimes have 9-10 pt ratio and we also do admits and discharges. So yes Im always stressed!! The only advice I can give u is go into work with a positive confident attitude. Take it one step at a time and never rush through anything. Depend on help from your coworkers, The girls I work with are great. If one of them is caught up with their work they never mind lending a hand. We also have student nurses that shadow us so that helps out alot. However your day may be going, hold your head up high! Being a nurse is a privalige and im greatful to have LPN behind my name!! :nurse:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Thank you for your encouraging words. I appreciate it alot :)

most of everyday afterwork, I am thinking about which area should I transfer to. I spend so many hours of thinking about it and no results!!! It is very frustrating, but until now, I am haning in there.

I know I am getting better everyday.

thanks again. :nurse:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

hello! i will be starting on a 25 bed med-surg unit very soon! i shadow a nurse this week! i will start working the floor after my four week nurse specialty course. cannot wait! :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Congratulations!!!

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Specializes in ICU.

Hey all,

I have been an RN for a year. This is my second career. I completed an accelerated BSN program. I spent my first six months at an LTAC. I learned a lot and had some extremely complex patients. I left after 6 months, just in time. As the hospital I was working at increased the nurse to pt ratio and there was NO way I would be comfortable with 6 or 7 patients at an LTAC (almost all on vents, etc, etc...). So I left for a med/surg unit, where I was a student nurse for a few months. I absolutely love it where I am now. :)

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I work on a general surgical floor - we get pre-ops & post-ops from all the specialties at the hospital. We'll also get a medicine patient or two if the medical floors are full. I've been there about 10 months. It is great to see all the different surgeries!

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Specializes in Nursing Informatics.

New grad (December - RN), passed my boards last March, but I worked as an LPN at a skilled nursing home before being hired for Med/Surg/Peds as an RN last May. I was a teacher for 13+ years before I became a nurse. JUST finished my 6+ week orientation and will be working on my own tomorrow (wish me luck!):uhoh3:

Starting my BSN in the fall and will be done by summer of next year. We shall see what will happen after that. :nurse:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I am a new grad nurse (Graduated in May 2011) and I have just completed my 3rd orientation day on my med surg unit (my orientation period lasts 3-6 months). I am working for a small hospital on a med surg floor which takes both adult and pediatric patients. The staff on my unit have so far been very friendly, kind and welcoming and after having read some stories about what some new grads experience, I am so happy to have such great people to work with.

This is not only my first job as an RN, but also my first job in the medical field altogether. I am struggling with trying to learn everything because it feels like I know nothing. I am confident that in time I can become a competent nurse, but right now it seems so far away.

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Specializes in Nursing Education.
I am a new grad nurse (Graduated in May 2011) and I have just completed my 3rd orientation day on my med surg unit (my orientation period lasts 3-6 months). I am working for a small hospital on a med surg floor which takes both adult and pediatric patients. The staff on my unit have so far been very friendly, kind and welcoming and after having read some stories about what some new grads experience, I am so happy to have such great people to work with.

This is not only my first job as an RN, but also my first job in the medical field altogether. I am struggling with trying to learn everything because it feels like I know nothing. I am confident that in time I can become a competent nurse, but right now it seems so far away.

Congratulations on securing a position that provides you with a period of transition. Embrace this time and use this opportunity to learn a great deal about time management, becoming a part of the team, critical reasoning and developing skills. All new graduates face many of the same challenges you face. You are skilled and you will soon be able to apply the knowledge you gained from school in you work environment. Just be patient with yourself. When you go home after a shift, use your text book to look up information about the certain types of diagnosis that you have cared for during your shift. This will help familiarize you with the nursing care.

There are many theories on how new graduates transition into practice and most call for a period of time where the new grad is paired with a more experienced nurse. Ask lots of questions, take a look at the experienced nurses you work with and see how they practice and how they function. Many will be great role models for you. Always remember .... RN practice is autonomous practice, so this means that regardless of how you are oriented ... you are responsible for your practice and for doing the right things for your patients. Congrats on your first position and best wishes for a smooth transition to nursing.

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Well I am a certified 'newbie' to med-surg. I graduate NS this Thursday (Dec. 15th) and have accepted a position for a GN internship on a med-surg floor. I will be an 'intern' for approx. 3 months and then when I pass my NCLEX, will be labeled as a RN. I did clinicals at this hospital and absolutely loved it, although I thought I'd never see myself in med-surg, I am looking forward to the experience because: the morale/working environment is AMAZING, staff is always happy, 4-1 nurse/pt. ratio, I get to apply EVERYTHING I learned in NS in med-surg, and this is where I expect to hone in on my skills, time mgmt, etc. Can't wait :)

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Specializes in Education, Skills & Simulation, Med/Surg, Pharm.

I started my first job as a RN on a med/surg floor. It's the only type of patient care as a nurse I've ever done. I hope to get certified. I've been at it for about 3 years. I only work part time now because I work as clinical faculty primarily and I'm about halfway through my master's in nursing education.

I genuinely hope I get to work in L&D at some point in my life.

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Ortho Med-Surg here! More med-surg than ortho. First job and I really, really enjoy it so far. Awesome team of nurses and a great preceptor. I'm never bored for sure!

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