Question

LasVegasRN · Jul 29, 2002

I'd say med-surg. I've worked that, ICU, home health, and hospital discharge planning. Out of everything I've done, med-surg was the hardest.

incognito · Jul 29, 2002

LasVegas RN,

Thanks for responding. Interesting. What made it the hardest for you?

LasVegasRN · Jul 29, 2002

Having to juggle ALL those patients on one side of the floor with little help. The whole issue of people sitting on their duffs with call lights going off. Having to call physician's for orders and THEY are mad at YOU for not being able to write at the speed of light and almost as if you were the reason they had to admit the patient in the first place. All of the BS you have to put up with from other nurses because you are so stressed trying to make sure you get all the meds passed, care done, and calls returned because you are so short staffed. Not to mention the DUMPING that happens from other floors.

I left med-surg to go to ICU to escape that madness.

fergus51 · Jul 29, 2002

Oh, noooooo! Not that pi$$ing contest again!!! I don't know why nurses can't understand that each area has its own challenges and rewards.

I currently work L&D, and sure, there are challenges in that area that aren't in med-surg. BUT- med surg has its own set of difficulties that L&D doesn't. I hated med-surg, mainly because of the insane nurse to patient ratios, and I don't like dealing with sick people every single day. I found it really draining.

MQ Edna · Jul 30, 2002

Hi! I've also been a Med-surg and ICU nurse, and I've floated just about everywhere. I've done some LTC (early in my career) and now I'm a CNS. I'd have to agree that med-surg was the hardest, for a variety of reasons: A wide variety of patients with a wide variety of needs and sometimes multiple complex diagnoses, high nurse-patient ratios, more newbie staff members who need understanding a support (usually a little under their belts when they get to the specialty units, though that's not definite these days). Most of all, the fact that med-surg definitions of "busy" don't get the respect that specialty units get. If an ICU asks that an admission be held because they are "busy", the assumption is that a crisis is going on. A med-surg unit stating that they are 'busy" often means the "routine" things such as umpteen 9:00 meds, an incontinent patient, another one who needs a foley, three who need to be turned, a feeder whose tray is getting cold...all important and time consuming things, but things that don't get the respect they should from other hospital areas. If only we could all just be kinder to each other...:kiss

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 30, 2002

It never helps to debate who has it "hardest" or "easiest".....it changes on each given day and I believe we ALL work VERY hard most of the time. I refuse to get into such a petty debate with any other nurse. It is so unprofessional and so useless to me.

CEN35 · Jul 30, 2002

personally, i think everybodys job is harder or more stressfull than someone elses.

that is not sarcasm either.

i think that certain jobs, are harder in certain ways. whether it's because of the need for an undaunted ability to be organzied and efficient to keep your head above water, or being left with nursing judgement on what to do, or start with a critical patient or two. what makes a persons job hard? physical labor? mental strain? stress?

the only thing we can all account for is one thing, in our field jobs being "hard", is d/t a lack of administrative support and appreciation. patients families are always right, and we are always wrong. it doesn't matter how busy, understaffed or over crowded your place had been.

nurses are always the first thiing thought of, when it comes to budget cuts, and how do we do the same with less people? that makes everybodys job harder.

just a thought........ me :)

LasVegasRN · Jul 30, 2002

My apologies, I have multiple duplicate posts when the website was having problems yesterday, sending request to moderator to delete the extra's.

CEN35 · Jul 30, 2002

too funny lv!

Mattigan, RN · Jul 30, 2002

When I worked med- surg it was the hardest, then I worked peds and it was harder then I transferred to NICU and it was harder. I am now Peds again and I don't know what I was thinking...it is the hardest. What CEN said.

LasVegasRN · Jul 30, 2002

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes
It never helps to debate who has it "hardest" or "easiest".....it changes on each given day and I believe we ALL work VERY hard most of the time. I refuse to get into such a petty debate with any other nurse. It is so unprofessional and so useless to me.

Smiling - I thought it was a legitimate question incognito was asking. I didn't take it as a means to debate whose job is harder! I believe each specialty area has it's own difficulties and challenges and working in one doesn't make a nurse less "tough" than one working in the other. Med-surg, to me, is the proving ground where all of us build our foundation. Almost like "boot camp" in the military. Some of us like the boot camp experience and stay, other's go on to become pilots, paratroopers, infantry, or seals. It just depends on where you want to be.