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Discussion

New RN - help on how to get out of med surg!!

Med surg nursing is MISERABLE! I am looking for some help... I have been a nurse for about 6 months now, 4 months on this hell-recreated med surg/tele floor. I feel like I work in a zoo and the patients are the animals. Everyone is so needy and it seems like the patients are getting worse every week. I HATE med surg nursing. When I was in school I excelled at everything and loved it. I couldn't WAIT to be a nurse. Now nursing is beating me down to the point where I am in bed for 2 days after working 2 shifts in a row. I can't live like this. Help! :(

I really want to work in the OR where you can see patients for a short while and keep it moving. I don't think my personality fits med surg, I don't want to build relationships with people and families, I want to do my job and do it WELL, and keep chugging along. I know I am gaining awesome skills each shift I work on this unit, but I really want to know what can I do to set myself up for an OR position.

Is it too soon to transfer after 9 months? How can I make the transition? How can I sell myself? What can I put on my resume to translate med surg into "i will be an excellent OR nurse". Help me pretty please so I can remove myself from this med surg hell!!

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    • Experts

    As hellish as working there is, try to stick out the full year: it looks a lot better on your resume and gets you out of the new grad black hole. Also, most opportunities require at least one year of experience.

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    I would start by being careful not to verbalize what you've said here at work. You don't want to be perceived negatively by others. You don't want to be running away from something, but running to something.

    Reach out to surgical nurses and ask them for advise. Surgical training is highly involved, internships last a year I've heard. You are under the microscope and there is often a lot of politics.

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    • Author

    I would never verbalize what I've said here at work. I am a very professional person, more so than my more experienced RN colleagues if I don't say so myself. I worked in corporate america prior to nursing and know about politics very well.... I agree I am trying to "run to" something that isn't so horrid as med surg..

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    I agree on being quiet about it and 9 months should not be short. What really matters is how you "market" yourself.

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    • Author

    Any specific ways you can think of how to market myself for other areas like OR? I have seen everything on my current unit.

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    First off, never get into a place within yourself that you have "seen everything". It is near impossible to see everything 9 months in. To make your job at least workable for you, make sure you "do" everything you can to heighten your own skill set. Med surg is one of the best places to master clinical skills. Given the right set of circumstances, you could become really proficient in the skill sets you would need in order to be an OR nurse.

    Meanwhile, I would make an appointment to see the OR nurse manager. Discuss goals. Discuss specific skill sets and certifications that you would need to be able to work in the OR. Look up and know what is needed to be an OR certified nurse. Discuss specifics on how to get there.

    Do not, under any circumstances, discuss how much your current floor stinks with the OR manager. This could only reflect poorly on you.

    Today, see what med surg can do for you. Think about skills, think about assessments, think about the "whole picture" of your patients and what their various interventions mean. Volunteer to do all the IV sticks you can, all the foleys you can, all the NG tubes you can.

    The first year of nursing is hard. No doubt about it. But to attempt to look at the big picture as opposed to the "needy patients, and I already GOT this" is of no benefit except to bring you down. Your goal regardless should and could be that you are forging ahead and taking advantage of what will get you to your long term goal.

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    • Experts

    ​Join AORN. It will give you the opportunity to learn more about the specialty you "think" is perfect for you.

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