Should a new nurse graduate specialize?

Town & Country · Apr 11, 2005

I would work on the floor for at least a year.

allnurses Guide · Apr 11, 2005

Actually there are many thread here about this subject. Not sure how to access them however.

I think that you should go where your heart is . . if you love surgery, then go for it. I truly think that working med/surg for a year is like an old wive's tale.

I have many friends who went directly into their specialty and haven't regretted it. One friend's goal was NICU - she was never a med/surg nurse but did work for a time as a post-partum nurse because there were no openings in NICU. It took about 3 months to get offered a job there. She has been there ever since.

I'm sure there are nurses who are glad they went to med/surg first. But you do not have to do that to be a good nurse.

Is your goal surgical nursing? Then go for it. You already have alot of background that will help you.

Good luck.

steph

fergus51 · Apr 11, 2005

I see no reason to do med-surg if your heart isn't in it. I don't think it's "general nursing", I think it's a specialty just like any other. I also think it's unfair to the staff to be constantly training new grads who are only there to put in their mandatory year of floor nursing. I went pretty much straight into a specialty and I have never regretted it for a second.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 11, 2005

If OR is where you want to stay, and you probably know it well, no need to go out of the area you're interested in.

I agree with Fergus.

Good luck.

bobnurse · Apr 11, 2005

I personally think healthcare is going to a "specialized care"..

20 years ago, you had hospital "wards" which had almost all types of patients....

Now you have a specialized floor based on diseases or illness........Like the cardiac floor, neuro floor, renal floor, and etc..........So if your gonna work dialysis.....then go learn dialysis.........If your gonna work OR, then learn OR.........

allnurses Guide · Apr 11, 2005

I see no reason to do med-surg if your heart isn't in it. I don't think it's "general nursing", I think it's a specialty just like any other. I also think it's unfair to the staff to be constantly training new grads who are only there to put in their mandatory year of floor nursing. I went pretty much straight into a specialty and I have never regretted it for a second.

This is a really good point - especially for where I work, a small rural hospital hurting for nurses.

steph

kitty=^..^=cat · Apr 11, 2005

If you're planning to work in surgery and have five years under your belt as a surgery tech, just stay there. You aren't going to miss out on anything too meaningful if don't do the year in med/surg. Considering that you're accustomed to the OR environment, med/surg would probably drive you nuts anyway.

Da Monk · Apr 11, 2005

My wife, also an RN, but who is unfortunately now disabled by chronic illness, was a psych CNS. She worked over 25 years in nothing but psych, both clinically and in management. I worked in OR, ED, MED-Surg, ICU, and privately for a neurosurgeon before settling into psych and completing an MSN in psych. She is not as "well-rounded" as I am, but she was the best damned group leader I ever saw. She never suffered any practice problems until she became ill and had to give it up. I know a lot of the differences in our respective knowledge bases are in the fact that she did not have the opportunity to see and do as many different things that I got to see and do so she wouldn't be a adept as I was at IV's, respirators and the like. I guess there are good reasons to support both sides, but I'm sure the answer lies within the individual. I do not know for sure, but I bet Dr. Gail Stuart did psych and nothing else and look what she's done for nursing.