jas12

Hi there! I was torn between the two too. I was offered Med/Surg first so went with that but I'm sorry to say I do not like it at all. I'm new grad, but want to get into a surgical center or something else asap. I would say don't worry about losing skills, if you decide to try Med/Surg later you will be okay, but you probably will not want to. Med/Surg is CRAZY busy! I've had great pt's, but also one's who are addicts, homeless found down, and confused elderly. I've had pt's try to hit me, scratch me, swear at me, throw things at me. It's really tough in Med/Surg, and I'm sorry to say I don't recommend it.

Dear Amms, I feel your pain! I haven't been to this site in ages but am struggling also and your thread immediately caught my eye! I have only been a nurse for 8 months. I'm on a Med/Surg floor and often have drug addicts, homeless pt's that were found down, and very confused elderly pts. Of course there have been great pt's too, who show their appreciation, but the others who have tried to hit, scratch, fallen, watch the clock for when their next pain med is due, refuse to pee in the urinal and pee in bed or against the wall, call me names, throw things at me, etc. has really brought me down. I started on nights for 2 months then was offered days and I have really struggled to keep up with all that is happening on days. I think what is so dissappointing for me is that I don't feel like a nurse... it's all about hurry and get assessments done, hurry and pass meds, hurry and chart, hurry, hurry, hurry. There is no time to talk to pt's, hold their hand, wipe a tear (or if there is time it's for about 1 second!). I am really struggling with what to do to... life is too short to be so stressed and not enjoy one's work. My last month of school I was in an out pt surgery center. Okay, so you don't really learn much about real nursing, but I loved it. You have healthy pt's checking in, start their IV, get them changed, some paperwork done, and then someone from OR comes and takes them away. Then after surgery they are in PACU for an hour, come back to us for another hour, and we send them home. I loved it even though I felt like I wasn't learning very much. I think for me I need to find something less stressful and want to work in a place like that, I have also thought about the blood bank. Private duty sounds interesting. How do you go about finding a job like that? It might be too boring too though. I agree with what the other say about kudos for what you managed this past year, and that you're doing too much right now. I also noticed when working nights I started feeling depressed, just from being so thrown off sleep wise I think. We should all pat ourselves on the back because let's face it, I'm convinced that being a nurse is the hardest job in the world! And, I think Florence would be sad to she what nursing is today, so hurried, stressful, and many times impersonal.