I am graduating in May and right now I don't have a job yet but I am debating my options. I am interested in NICU and that is my top interest, 2nd choice is pediatrics, 3rd choice is OB, I am also looking into Med-Surg although that is not my top choice. I am looking at Med-surg as a chance to learn skills I have not yet learned in nursing school like starting IV's and inserting urine caths. I haven't even had the chance to insert an NG yet. I am doing my senior capstone in OB but am not quite sure if I will end up there after graduation. If I can get a job in my top interest which is NICU then I will go right for NICU but if not then I will probably start in Med-Surg.
The only thing that scares me the most is hearing about all the high nurse patient ratio's in the med-surg area. I am wanting to work nights because I am a single parent and have a 5 year old daughter and my parents agreed to keep her while I work.
What are your nurse patient ratios. I often hear that night shift nurses have 12-15 patients. Is that true? How in the world can you provide care to that many patients??
I REALLY enjoyed my med-surg clinicals but because we were required to only have one patient each and then we pair up with a buddy and share the second patient that probably makes all the difference in the world for either loving your clinical or hating your clinical.
Can someone share their experiences in Med-surg with me or going right into a speciality area.