Nurses with a hx of Med Surg Experience

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 25, 2007

I'm still in med-surg after 15 years. Several times I've been offered jobs in ICU and ER here. I think several years of experience makes the transition into the areas easy.

I have given the opinion on those other threads, that I think it's not necessary for those who don't like med-surg to torture themselves with it. I only think people who want to work med-surg should work med-surg, not be forced to.

Cattitude · Feb 25, 2007

i'm still in med-surg after 15 years. several times i've been offered jobs in icu and er here. i think several years of experience makes the transition into the areas easy.
i have given the opinion on those other threads, that i think it's not necessary for those who don't like med-surg to torture themselves with it. i only think people who want to work med-surg should work med-surg, not be forced to.

wow. 15 years! that's incredible and you are so valuable. i for one appreciate you ! i know that med-surg is truly one of a kind. but i didn't want this to be a thread of should everyone work it. just those of us that did, are we glad? and do we feel it has given value to our career?

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cisco · Feb 25, 2007

I'm glad I choose to work in med/surg as a grad nurse. I stayed for 10 years...looking back though, I would not stay that long. There are so many other areas in nursing that are so interesting and also rewarding. Our med/surg floor always had the toughest staffing ratios in the whole hospital system...3 hospitals in that corporation! Whew, I learned amazing things and it has definitely helped with my assessments and medical knowledge...I'm just really glad I don't do it anymore!!!

lsyorke, RN · Feb 25, 2007

Well, 23 years of med surg here. Bottom line is I can work anywhere, handle any situation, and have seen it all. I love med-surg! It forces you to prioritize, recognize changes in a patient fast (so you get them to ICU before they crash) and give you an overall education about all disease processes. I've worked ICU and found it wasn't my cup of tea. I love the interaction with a group of patients. It's challenging to do it and do it right.

I've tried other areas for short periods of time...not for me. I'm a bedside nurse and darn proud of it!!

NicoleRN07, RN · Feb 25, 2007

Three years ago, I transferred from a med/surg unit to the ER. Having that experience made me a better ER nurse, and I am thankful that I had that experience going into the ED. I always knew that ER is what I wanted to do, but when I came out of nursing school, I knew that to be a good ER nurse with good assessment skills, and a decent knowledge base, I needed some med/surg experience, so that's what I did for 4 years. Once I felt comfortable in my career, I put in for a transfer. I love the ER, and don't think that I could do anything else.

imenid37 · Feb 25, 2007

I think a person needs to do what works for them. If you are a new grad, you are lucky to have that option. A few years ago, med-surg was usually what new grads got offerred. ANY experience is valuable. I do think some people know med-surg is not for them and if they are pretty solid in school, I think it is okay to do peds, oB, ER, etc. I work w/ some really great nurses who have done nothing but OB since they graduated. I did 3 years on a cardiac unit. I think it helped me a lot, BUT if I were getting out of school now and knew I liked Ob, I'd go straight into that. I have been 1000x happier in OB, than I ever was on the cardiac floor. When I was in school, I actually didn't really like OB much. Once I had my own kids, I knew that was what I wanted to do. There are a lot of new grads out there w/ a ton of life experience. They may have more of an idea what they want, unlike those of us who graduated as youngsters!

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Feb 25, 2007

are you glad that you have that experience?
[color=#483d8b]i know that i am. i started my career on a combination ortho/med/surg floor. i stayed for 4 1/2 years and feel it gave me such a solid base to work from.
[color=#483d8b]during that time i got floated everywhere in the hospital and most of the time felt pretty comfortable wherever they put me. now mind you, i'm not talking completely out of my area of expertise here but i did get floated to neuro, peds, maternity, burn, er, jail ward, aids floor, oncology, etc.
[color=#483d8b]one of my best friends also started out in med surg, now in critical care, she feels the same way. another one of my friends never did ms , went straight to maternity,l&d, nursery. she loves her specialty but feels shaky when she gets a mom with medical issues. and forget the rare code, she freaks. i can't blame her though. she doesn't really have regrets but does wish she had a way to have that medical exp.
[color=#483d8b]i know this topic is often discussed before someone goes into medsurg. how about now, years after the fact? i'm still very glad that i did it.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

yeah home health, no floating!!!!!

BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Feb 25, 2007

I spent almost 8 yrs on a tele/stepdown unit, recently transfered to ER,.very glad I went there first,.not sure I would stay as long if I had it to do over again,.but I'm glad I got the assessment skills, and general knowledge base to work from,...you don't really have time to see the whole picture in ER, and there is always a Dr there to advise you,.working nights on a med surg unit will give you great critical thinking skills, a good knowledge base of many different meds, treatments, disease processes etc and you learn alot about many other areas of the hospital,.ie radiology, lab, nuclear med etc.

clou · Feb 25, 2007

I'm a LPN who has worked on a Med-Surg floor for almost 6 years. I've learned so many assessment tools, procedures, ETC. I don't know if I would've ever learned so much valuable information et such a variety of information in any other specialty.

Cattitude · Feb 25, 2007

three years ago, i transferred from a med/surg unit to the er. having that experience made me a better er nurse, and i am thankful that i had that experience going into the ed. i always knew that er is what i wanted to do, but when i came out of nursing school, i knew that to be a good er nurse with good assessment skills, and a decent knowledge base, i needed some med/surg experience, so that's what i did for 4 years. once i felt comfortable in my career, i put in for a transfer. i love the er, and don't think that i could do anything else.

i know that there are new grads that go into the er. i can't imagine it. i know they have special orienattion programs for them and such but still, i just can't imagine it. i think that you have such a great advantage by having that solid knowledge base. and i bet you feel pretty comfortable too!

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:
yeah home health, no floating!!!!!

lol, no floating is right! this job is the one job where a new grad or nurse with no med/surg exp. is not allowed. at least at my facility that is. which is a good thing for the patients. i could never imagine doing this job without my knowledge base.

[color=#483d8b]i'll tell you, i don't know why ms gets such a bad rap. it's hectic and busy but you learn and grow and i worked with the greatest team ever. they were really good nursing times for me and i miss them!

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DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Feb 25, 2007

[color=#483d8b]i'll tell you, i don't know why ms gets such a bad rap. it's hectic and busy but you learn and grow and i worked with the greatest team ever. they were really good nursing times for me and i miss them!

i fully agree except that i don't miss those days. when i transferred from ob/gyn to med/surg everyone thought i had lost my mind. truely they did!

i had been an lpn for 23 years and it had been 12 years since i had done any med/surg, being a new rn, i wanted to experience med/surg as an rn and knew there were alot of new things i needed to learn. i soaked it up like a sponge. i do miss only the "clinical" aspect of med/surg but at 51 y/o my body and mind knew it was time to hang up my cap. yeah home health!!! i agree, there is no way to do home health w/o that med/surg base.