Preceptorship suggestions

[Laurinq]

I hear time and time again that it is a great idea for a first year nurse to work on a med/surg floor. So, say I plan on doing so. When I take my senior practicum class and have a 7 week preceptorship, should I complete it on a med/surg floor (this would seem the most logical), or should I take the opportunity (if possible) to do it on the ICU, ER, PICU (I am interested in these, but would be willing to get experiance on the med/surg floor first, but it would be amazing if I got the oppurtunity to test the waters while in school). Any suggestions or experiance?

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

I would do a preceptorship in your area of interest (ER for example) just to see if that's what you really want to do in a year's time. I did my senior preceptorship on a critical care unit and knew that's what I wanted to do, but knew that I didn't feel comfortable with it right out of school. I like to ease into things a bit more. I did my year on a tele floor and now I'm working on a CCU, lots of immediate post-op hearts and code patients. I'm glad I got the experience I did because I feel more comfortable with the patients, med administrations, procedures in general and the doctors.

Good luck, I hope you get the preceptorship you want!!

[taz628, BSN, RN]

I'm a firm believer in challenging yourself. I went straight into a critical care environment after graduation and I"m SOOOO glad I did. I'm transferring to the ER in a few weeks and my choice to go into critical care made me much more favorable in the eyes of the ER manager. Yes, you see a lot of variety in med/surg, but you don't see the drips, invasive lines, etc that are in a step-down/ICU/ER environment. Go where your interests are - do what makes you HAPPY, and if that means PICU over med/surg or what have you, then go for it. :)