New nurses in Med/Surg a must?

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Hi,

I've got one more year of nursing school, and currently am planning on working for two years in med/surg before deciding what to do next. I understand there are two camps -- the "old fashioned" folks who think what I'm planning is a "must" for most nurses -- especially those like me with no previous clinical background. Then there are those who think that's irrelevant, and you should just go directly into what interests you -- like critical care or labor and delivery, etc.

On the "pro" side, the general argument is that you get a wide array of medical conditions to work with when you do med/surg first, and you really learn the "fundamentals" of nursing. On the "con" side, I've heard people say if you really know what you want, why waste time doing something else.

Any other insights into this debate?

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Specializes in Education, Administration, Magnet.

Well, it depends what area of nursing you are interested in. I want to work in the nicu and they mostly offer internships to new grads. It would not help me to work med surg first, because nicu is a whole lot different. I would have to relearn everything. But I would say med surg experience would be good if you plan on going to the ICU or the ER, but I don't think it is necessary. Just make sure you have a long orientation.

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I think it is really your choice. What is going to best for you?? Where will you feel most comfortable?? You'll get lots of opinions...why one way is better than another.

As for my own experience, I spent my first 6 months working m/s. That is where I honed my assessment skills....altho I was not new to the healthcare field...I was a respiratory therapist for 18 years, and had worked NICU, PICU, ICU and ED as such. I was also a manager for several years before I decided to go to nursing school.

I think that orientation to whatever unit you are working is probably more important than what the unit is. The amount of orientation, are there quality preceptors that can take the time to teach you, what is the overall "moral" on the unit. These were the things that were important to me when I took my first job as an RN.

Good luck in your last year of school!!:rolleyes:

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I'm very old-fashioned, and I used to be a very strong advocate for that one year of med-surg, but I've slowly come around over the years to the view that you do what works best for you. Which isn't to say that you might not miss out on some skills by not going the med-surg route first, but you will probably do ok in your specialty field anyway.

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Well, it depends what area of nursing you are interested in. I want to work in the nicu and they mostly offer internships to new grads. It would not help me to work med surg first, because nicu is a whole lot different.

The comparable experience in your case would be to work pedi or newborn nursery before NICU, but as long as the facility is comfortable offering new grad internships, it's nobody else's business what you do.

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Thanks to all for answering! The replies are all really helpful.

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Specializes in Med-surg.

I've asked several of my teachers this question, and every one of them was against the school of thought that everyone should do time in med-surg. I know a lot of people that HATED med-surg clinicals and that would probably just burn them out and throw them out of nursing really quickly. As for me, I have NO IDEA what I want to do and while I didn't love med-surg, my favorite rotation was on a surgical floor so I may do that. I think I'm more concerned about the work environment than the actual work as it's all the same to me right now.

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I think it depends on the person/area/situation.

Obviously, med/surg experience isn't going to HURT anybody. You'll learn good assessment skills and time management, two areas that pretty much everyone I've talked to said new nurses are the weakest.

Having said that, I'm going straight into my chosen area. I've been offered a generous orientation and the managers have stated that they will be very supportive (they are offering me a much longer orientation than I think I'll need, so at least they are being realistic!) and I feel that they will be, so I'm going for it.

I would have done my two years of med/surg if I needed to, and I'm sure that I would have benefitted from that time - I will definitely be losing skills that I don't really even have down yet, but I also have a very good idea of where I want to be in 5 years, so I figured I'd just start there.

Good luck,

Amanda

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Specializes in MICU.

I'm a new RN and I also asked lots of teachers and nurses I worked with as an aide before getting my job what I should do - work med-surg, or go directly into ICU which is what I want more than anything! The overwhelming response I received was to go directly into ICU, but only in a position offered specifically to new grads - one that offers more extensive orientation. Once I started job hunting, I found that internships for critical care nursing are really popular right now, and I was able to get a position as an intern that will allow me to rotate through the SICU, MICU, and progressive care units at the hospital before choosing which one I want to work in. The internship is 4 mos. long, and after that, I get a minimum of 6 mos. orientation to the unit I choose! So, I personally feel that a new grad who can find an internship or extended orientation could skip the initial med-surg time and go straight into a specialty area. However, if I hadn't been able to get in this internship, I would have definitely worked med-surg for the first few years to gain confidence and experience.

Hope that helps. :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I am a newer nurse with five months of experience at this time. All of my instructors said it was imperative that all new grads obtain at least one year experience doing hospital med-surg. I did not follow their advice because I absolutely hated my med-surg clinical rotations while in school.

I have two jobs. My 'real' job involves working full-time weekend double shifts at a nursing home. I only work at this place on Saturday and Sunday but get paid for a full 40-hour work week, which is not too bad. At my second job, I am a medication nurse at a psychiatric hospital. I love psych nursing since there's never a dull moment. I also love the slower pace of the nursing home environment.

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Specializes in Wound and Ostomy care, Neuro, Med-Surg.

I just graduated and passed boards and started my first nursing job on a fast-paced med-surg floor. I think its a great idea to get your basics down first. I think once you have a couple years under your belt you'll know for sure where you want to specialize in. Good luck in nursing school!

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Specializes in ER,Neurology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology.

Hi there! I was faced with the same dilemma. I worke on a cardiac floor as a Tech and was considering being ICU/CCU or tele nurse after graduation. When I was ready, the cardiac program was at least 12 weeks and med surge was only 8. I really wanted to get donw quick so I could spend more time with my small child and maybe go into cardiac in a year or so. Never happened.

But...my med surg floor has a thoracic step down unit, which is right below ICU in level of care, we have Telemetry, ortho - hips,knees, fractures, hemodialysis, other renal, vascular post ops, GI surgery, GU surgery, Neuro surgery/CVA/Brain tumors, etc, our patients get radiation and off-floor chemo, then, of course, we get the nursing home crouds with giant wounds and pneumonia, we also can do some cardiac drugs, but nothing crazy - cardizam, dig, labetolol and lopressor IV. SO, it is a total zoo, but the experience I have can help me in any situation.

I don't think I will be leaving med/surg because I now have weekend trac ( full time pay for 25 hr work) and I am in NYS university admitted to pre-med program.

My advice is - if you are not sure what you want yet, make sure you shadow on as many floors as possible and then you will see what it is you want.

good luck :)

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