I notice that a lot of nurses that I've talked to hate the med surg area. It's too stressful even I see it. Everywhere you go, med surg nurses are stressed out and bitter. They don't recommend the floor some don't even recommend nursing. Some even say they regret their career choice. They eat their young.
Also is like everywhere you go the Medsurg nurses have 8 patients or more. Thats dangerous and stressful. Thats to much for one nurse. It's risking patient care and the nurses license cause its to busy. Time management can only do so much.
Now, I'm looking looking for a job but I just basically got my license so no experience. And the only area the places I've checked out are only willing to hire me in is Medsurg, that is IF they are hiring . I don't like Medsurg. Also I only have ASN and every websites I go to fill up applications, they always say bsn required.
I wanted to be in an OR, ER or ICU. but you need experience in the area, how am I gonna get experience if I don't even get hired in those areas in the first place...
The requirements are all the same. Must be bsn or higher and have experience.
I just needed to rant cause I'm so shocked. And frustrated.
No one is saying anything negative about LTC nurses here. But to say that one should be happy to have 8 patients because you have 15 in LTC is just comparing apples to oranges. Its like saying an ICU nurse should be happy to have 3 patients because a med surg nurse has 8. Neither is a good scenario. (For reference, my hospital med surg has 6 patients during the day(which is no cakewalk) and 7 at night.)
As to the OP, med surg experience is tough but invaluable. My med surg experience has come in handy in other departments for sure. Is this 8 patients at night? I would also inquire as to the support staff. Especially if its the only option for you, you may want to consider toughing it out for a year there to open up doors.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I notice that a lot of nurses that I've talked to hate the med surg area. It's too stressful even I see it. Everywhere you go, med surg nurses are stressed out and bitter. They don't recommend the floor some don't even recommend nursing. Some even say they regret their career choice. They eat their young.
Also is like everywhere you go the Medsurg nurses have 8 patients or more. Thats dangerous and stressful. Thats to much for one nurse. It's risking patient care and the nurses license cause its to busy. Time management can only do so much.
Now, I'm looking looking for a job but I just basically got my license so no experience. And the only area the places I've checked out are only willing to hire me in is Medsurg, that is IF they are hiring . I don't like Medsurg. Also I only have ASN and every websites I go to fill up applications, they always say bsn required.
I wanted to be in an OR, ER or ICU. but you need experience in the area, how am I gonna get experience if I don't even get hired in those areas in the first place...
The requirements are all the same. Must be bsn or higher and have experience.
I just needed to rant cause I'm so shocked. And frustrated.
OK, you just needed to rant and you didn't ask for advice.
People who HATE something are far more willing to discuss it than people who are OK with it or actually LIKE it. It's not cool to LIKE Med/Surg these days; I'm not sure you'll find many people brave enough to admit to liking it.
There are some Med/Surg nurses who are stressed out, bitter, regret their career choices and are less than welcoming to new staff. (Hard to blame them over that last when the new staff come to work, tell everyone they hate Med/Surg and they're just there for the experience and then leave as soon as they have enough experience to move on.) There are some stressed out, bitter lawyers who hate their jobs and regret their career choice. Also NPs, doctors, teachers, brick layers and rocket scientists. Nursing doesn't have the corner on stressed out, bitter or regret.
You haven't even started a job yet, so I'm not sure how you're qualified to say how many patients is too much in a particular setting. As far as risking patient care . . . maybe. But "risking your license" is today's buzzword for "I don't like it and I don't wanna do it!" Your husband might explain that you're quitting (another) job rather than risk losing your license, but he might get testy as the bills pile up and you're quitting because "I don't like it and the other nurses are mean to me, WAHHHH!"
Take the job that's willing to take a chance on you. Find things you like about it -- there will be something -- and focus like hell on THAT while you learn as much as you possibly can. In a couple of years, when you're competent, look at in-house opportunities for ICU or ER. That's what most of us crusty old bats did.
Gaining the med-surg experience is a must , even for an old crusty bat like me!, i transitioned from LTC/rehab care to hospital med-surg, I needed to gain skill, acute care experience and confidence to continue my education. With that said...I am caring for WAY to many acute care patients, 8-9 and-the 3-11 shift as many as 15- it is dangerous, leads to mistakes and poor care for the patients.Our unit has a very high turnover rate because of this. It ultimately is your decision, that is the beauty of nursing, you have many options what path you will take. Good luck !
The hospital I am currently doing my rotation at has about 5 medsurg patients per nurse. Most of the floor nurses are LPNs. The last 2 weeks I have trained under LPNs. Yes, in my area LPNs work the floor. Each nurse has 4-5 patients and an aide. Then when we come in, the students will take a patient off the nurse's hands which leaves them with 3-4. I guess you are in a big city? I am in a semi-rural area. We are considered a bedroom community to a larger city. But I have yet to see places that put BSN only in their want ads unless it is an upper level position. In the town I currently live in, nurses are few and far between. The hospitals are always understaffed. But to me 4-5 patients seems manageable.
The only problem I see, is that many people at least on the floor I was truly needed ICU care. Especially my patient last week. She really needed 1:1 care and had numerous issues that needed caring for. There were times I was in over my head and had to get my nurse. She was awesome!! The things she did, I don't know if I could ever do.
So far I have liked medsurg. You have to realize that this is a job like any other. You are going to find happy and unhappy people at any job. Nursing is also a industry where you don't start at the top. You need to get your experience in on the bottom. And honestly, I think that is how is should be at any job. You shouldn't start at the top. Working in critical care should require years of experience in the basics. I wouldn't want someone just out of nursing school caring for me when I was critically ill. I want someone who knows what they were doing. I know some people get hired right away in ICU, I just think it's dangerous. Nursing school prepares you to take the NCLEX. You learn the actual job once you are hired for it.
Be that as it may LTC patients still need a lot of care and often develop acute conditions that need experienced thoughtful nurses to care for them. A week ago I spent sevel hours with just one patient who the family listed as No extraordinary measures and a doctor who insisted that I start an IV on a patient who was clearly dying and hypovolemic. I got the IV in on the third try but kept thinking why am I torturing this poor patient. She passed after my shift was over.
People think LTC nurses are a bunch of burnouts but it takes a nurse with good instints to take care of patients when you don't have fancy machines and immediate access to labs and X-ray to figure out what wrong - we are a no restraint facility so add in a ambulatory Sun Downer running naked down your hallway and it's fun fun fun.
I was away from the bedside for 9 years and was having a hard time getting back into bedside nursing because most hiring managers felt my bedside skills would not be up to part so I took the LTC because I needed a job. On my first day I started 7 IV's so please don't downplay the demands of LTC vs Med surg. I am very aware and in awe of all nurses who work med surg but sooner or later we all get old and no one knows what the future holds so if you ever find yourself in long term care you better hpe you have a nurse who can multitask and really cares about you.
Wait!
From my position, HH in CA, we call this skilled nursing and/or rehab. This is not LTC, these are the THR d/t fx with co morbidities who weren't ready to go home. Or the perf with IV atb's and wound vac. These patients might be stable (?) but they're a lot of work.
And 12-15 of them?! They were just on med/surg a few hours ago. Can you imagine your med surg patients stabilizing but double (triple?) in number?
One of our more recent hires came from such a unit, 2+ hrs to admit a patient with all of the paperwork. On top of her 12+ other immobile patients with IV's and vacs and/or needing pain meds q 4.
Do you every try to do something like yoga or relaxation techniques after your shift? Also the gym can be helpful. Sometimes it's not the unit more than it is the people you are working with. Stay strong it sounds like you're doing a great job.
Guess I'm another who is of the opinion that seems so unpopular with new graduates. Take med/surg if it's being offered! It is usually (not always) unrealistic to land your preferred job right out of the gate. I knew I did not like med/surg but applied for only med/surg as a new graduate knowing I would value the experience later. After my initial learning curve I felt confident in the care I was giving and learned I didn't hate it near as much as I though I did. Was it my "calling"? Did I suddenly love it? No way, but the experience I gained was absolutely invaluable and I wouldn't change it.
I also agree with the sentiments that there are stressed, bitter people no matter where you go. I now work in L&D. You would think this would be one of the happiest units out there. Don't get me wrong, my unit it great..but there are still stressed and bitter people, even here. For what it's worth, my preceptor on med/surg was so lovely and one of the least stressed/bitter people you could meet. She'd been working that same med/surg unit for 15 years with a smile on her face!
I hope you find your dream job but if it doesn't come your way for now med/surg could only make you a better, more marketable nurse.
I actually liked Med/Surg...but it is not for slow movers or people that find it difficult to get organized. It is a good starting point for a new nurse. Lots to learn in Med/Surg. As for hospitals not hiring new nurses to specialty areas, some times they do when they have enough experienced nurses on that particular unit, they then can afford to take on a new nurse or two. However, if they don't have many seasoned nurses, they then don't need another new nurse, they'll need an experienced one. As someone else said,...once you are there in Med/Surg awhile, you can move inside that hospital to another area.
I hate to say it but Med Surg wasn't my favorite area either. However, it will make your life easier if you're planning on going to a specialty unit. You will understand basic disease management and time management. You will hone your basic nursing skills. It will be twice as hard to learn those skills AND learn a specialty unit. And like someone else said, as an internal applicant, it will be easier to get to your specialty unit that you desire. Think of it as a learning experience, do 1 -2 years and move on.
It sucks, I know from experience. But I took a med/surg job out of nursing school to get experience. I will say this though: I have time management and prioritization skills like no other! lol. But after 2 years I want the hell out! It is really about who you know. After working 8 years in the hospital that is one thing I have learned from observation (who's ass you kiss and who you network with) lol.
I don't know...maybe? I really regret doing med surg as a first job, it's given me a really negative outlook on nursing and has made me really regret entering the field. I hate my job. Hate. I cry a lot. I alternate between being bored and being infuriated and I'm so tired of being overloaded with patients, never having enough supplies, being treated like the garbage can of the hospital. I never wanted to do med surg but I bought into the whole "you need a year" notion and now I'm having a hard time getting out. I think the idea that everyone has to do a year of it is outdated - med surg is it's own specialty, if you don't want to do it and can go directly to where you want to be, why would you bother putting yourself thru the misery?
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No one is saying anything negative about LTC nurses here. But to say that one should be happy to have 8 patients because you have 15 in LTC is just comparing apples to oranges. Its like saying an ICU nurse should be happy to have 3 patients because a med surg nurse has 8. Neither is a good scenario. (For reference, my hospital med surg has 6 patients during the day(which is no cakewalk) and 7 at night.)
As to the OP, med surg experience is tough but invaluable. My med surg experience has come in handy in other departments for sure. Is this 8 patients at night? I would also inquire as to the support staff. Especially if its the only option for you, you may want to consider toughing it out for a year there to open up doors.