No offense please

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Hi everyone!

First and foremost i would like to apologize and to tell that i mean no offense to a nurses who work on the medical-surgical floors. In fact i respect those nurses for taking that hard work on themselves and doing it perfectly.

Now to the point-is the medical-surgical units are so bad to work in that thats probably the only unit a newly graduated nurse can get a job in?

Any hospital i go and look for a job-L&D doesnt want you, OB doesnt want you, NICU doesnt want you. Med-Surgical? Always welcome. Why is that?

So i wanted to know what kind of patients do you have there?

Can you work on the entirely surgical floor, like after surgery care or pre-surgery. Is it considered medical-surgical?

Now i want to have my career in L&D or pediatrics but because i have no choice i have to accept med-surg. Will this hurt me in the future when i will have a chance to apply for L&D? Wont L&D turn me down because i have no experience in L&D yet but only med-surgical experience?

Thanks a lot everyone and once again, no offense please

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Not sure where you are looking. Where are you located?

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Arkansas, Conway.

Searched in a few hospitals here(most of them are in Little Rock)

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I chose to work on the medical floor at my hospital because I wanted to become more grounded in my nursing skills as a new nurse....I knew that this would give me a great foundation to build upon. It's challenging for me because I see something new and different everyday--I never know what to expect!! (We also get some overflow pts from the surgical and ortho floors.)

Unlike you, I haven't had a strong desire to specialize in any one area yet, so this seemed like a good place for me to start.

We just had a nurse from our floor move over to OB not too long ago. I know the nurse manager there, and she has stated that she actually prefers a nurse to have med/surg experience before working OB/L&D.

(I do know that she has also hired new grads though too without exp.)

I would check out the department that you want to work in; if they want experience at least you know that you will eventually be able to work in the area you want. Look at it as temporary while you are solidifying your skills. Even though some nursing skills may vary on the units, you will still learn valuable skills such as time management, becoming more proficient with assessments, etc. Even gaining more & more confidence as a new nurse!

Otherwise, if you are able to go straight to OB/L&D go for it--you know this is where you want to be!!

Best of luck to you.

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i wish all new grads could get there feet wet doing a yr in med-surg.i believe it gives you a great foundation.as far as l+d goes i would think the manager would be happy to have an in hospital transfer than a new nurse to train because you will already have a proven track record.however,with the nursing shortage my hospital is even taking new grads to open hrt recovery,never was like that before....

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I guess it must depend on what part of the country you are in.

There are many threads here on allnurses about new nurses going directly into the areas they want. And those areas ARE hiring them.

I believe that you do not need to do your time in med/surg to become a better nurse. You certainly can do this if you want and you will learn alot about med/surg. But if you want to be a nurse in a NICU or you want to specialize in cardiac care or OB . .. you can directly go there in some areas.

In my class we had a nurse go directly into ICU after some orientation, another nurse go to L&D, another nurse to NICU . . .all of course had orientation to their area of nursing.

It can be done. Just have to find the right hospitals.

Good luck.

steph

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I need to go back a moment to the original poster. If I am not mistaken, you were a graduate of a foreign program? If so, I really do suggest that you get your feet wet in a med-surg program first. Nursing in the US is quite different than what was practiced in your country, and it will be a good place for you to adapt your skills to the way that things are done in the US. You will find it much easier to then get into what area that you wish.

For a new grad of a US program, their is no reason for you to be required to go thru a med-surg period first.

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Specializes in Pediatrics (Burn ICU, CVICU).
Arkansas, Conway.

Searched in a few hospitals here(most of them are in Little Rock)

I am a nursing student in Little Rock, AR. Many of the hospitals here hire new grads in various areas other than Med-Surg. I know for certain that UAMS will hire new grads in L&D, NICU and other CC areas.

I'm not sure what hospitals you've been checking in to, but you may want to look a little more.

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I need to go back a moment to the original poster. If I am not mistaken, you were a graduate of a foreign program? If so, I really do suggest that you get your feet wet in a med-surg program first. Nursing in the US is quite different than what was practiced in your country, and it will be a good place for you to adapt your skills to the way that things are done in the US. You will find it much easier to then get into what area that you wish.

For a new grad of a US program, their is no reason for you to be required to go thru a med-surg period first.

I didn't see where she was from a foreign program. Help. :)

steph

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Not stated here, but in the NCLEX forum, and I think that their were some in the International forum as well.

Think that she is from Israel if my memory serves me correct. Or soemwhere close to there, but she took the NCLEX here, but did not do her training in the US.

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Not stated here, but in the NCLEX forum, and I think that their were some in the International forum as well.

Think that she is from Israel if my memory serves me correct. Or soemwhere close to there, but she took the NCLEX here, but did not do her training in the US.

Ok - well, then please follow Suzanne's advice here!

steph

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Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.
Hi everyone!

First and foremost i would like to apologize and to tell that i mean no offense to a nurses who work on the medical-surgical floors. In fact i respect those nurses for taking that hard work on themselves and doing it perfectly.

Now to the point-is the medical-surgical units are so bad to work in that thats probably the only unit a newly graduated nurse can get a job in?

Any hospital i go and look for a job-L&D doesnt want you, OB doesnt want you, NICU doesnt want you. Med-Surgical? Always welcome. Why is that?

So i wanted to know what kind of patients do you have there?

Can you work on the entirely surgical floor, like after surgery care or pre-surgery. Is it considered medical-surgical?

Now i want to have my career in L&D or pediatrics but because i have no choice i have to accept med-surg. Will this hurt me in the future when i will have a chance to apply for L&D? Wont L&D turn me down because i have no experience in L&D yet but only med-surgical experience?

Thanks a lot everyone and once again, no offense please

Not entirely true. I know people that were hired on specialty floors directly out of school. Me for one of them. No med/surg experience. It would've helped to have med/surg exerience tho! :rolleyes:

Out L&D hired a couple of brand new nurses too. I guess it depends on when you apply, who you know and how many new grads that they are taking. Specialty floors only take a certain number of new grads a year. That's what I was told anyway.

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