I worked as a graduate nurse on a med-surg floor until I passed my boards. I worked with another RN during my orientation and then I was on my own for a couple months until I became an RN. I guess some states don't allow this...I don't know.
I have been working on a surgical floor for 5 years now and I love it! You'll learn so much more than you would on a regular medical floor. We do a lot of dressing changes, monitoring output and drainage, TONS of teaching, lots of experience with foley cath's and NG tubes, PEG tubes, chest tubes, IV insertion. Some of our patient's are on heart monitors. The best part is that the patient's don't stay too long and you can see their improvement and healing process within a matter of days. There are a lot of admissions and discharges, so you'll learn time management skills pretty quickly. I think the particular unit I work on would be great for a new grad and I'm sorry I didn't start out there when I graduated.
Someone mentioned the surgeon's being miserable individuals and while some of them can be a pain in the a** to deal with, our surgeons aren't that bad and generally know and trust the staff on our floor. Many of our surgeons have been known to call our floor while they're still in the OR and request a bed on our unit because they don't want their patient to go to another unit. It's nice to have that level of trust! Congratulations on your new job!
