Straight to the Good stuff

[Canadian Dude]

So I am half way through my nursing program and all I hear is "you need experience in Med/Surg before you go anywhere else." My first year clinical rotations were med/surg. I see what RNs do there, and I don't feel particularly stellar about going back to that. My question is: have any new grads or experienced health care professionals had success cracking into specialty nursing (specifically critical care/emergency) without that year or two of general experience first?

I really want to get to the good stuff, and am motivated to do what is necessary to reach my goals. At the same time, I also understand that this is not an easily attainable goal.

I have come up with some strategies to help prepare me in view of my goals. What I am planning on doing is (1) shadowing an ER nurse I know here in the BC lower mainland for the remainder of my program on a weekly schedule (hopefully get a nice referral), (2) take my specialty nursing electives in critical care and cardiac arrhythmia interpretation (9 credits worth), (3) get my BCLS and, hopefully, ACLS, (4) complete my final preceptor in Emergency (Metro-Vancouver has three placements, or I could go elsewhere in the province of BC as available), (5) register for emergency nursing journals, and (6) have relevant research experience (not sure how necessary this one is).

As a side note, if you are wondering where I am scholastically, I am reasonably strong and well differentiated, having done focused studies in such fields as micro/immuno, cardiology, and hepatology. In addition, I try to make a point of being strong in linking assessment and interventions to Dx/pathogenesis, Hx, Rx, etc during my clinical rotations and pre-clinical research.

Any further suggestions would be appreciated, especially from seasoned ER nurses who know what it takes to manage/work in a critical care setting. Moreover, any helpful tips about qualifications I should look into or knowledge & clinical skills to work on/focus on throughout the rest of my school tenure would be greatly appreciated.

What I am essentially looking to do is attain the skills now to the best of my ability that most new graduates do during that first year of nursing. I have two more years in my clinical rotations combined with working as an employed student nurse to reach this goal. It seems time management is a common theme with another large portion relating to linking assessments and clinical data (e.g. lab values) to appropriate levels of acuity, intervention, and treatment.

I don't want to wither in Medical/Surgical!

CDN

[CoffeeGeekRN]

I graduated last May and went right into the ICU. My school spoiled us by telling us that we don't have to do a year of MS if we don't want too. Many of our instructors even went into the specialty of their choice right after graduation.

However, if the economic situation in Canada is as it is in the US, then you may have a hard time finding a position in any setting. A few of my fellow graduates still haven't found jobs and would be grateful for any position offered to them.

[Jules A, MSN]

When I graduated we had our pick of specialities right after graduation. I don't think the new grads in my area are quite as lucky now although I haven't heard that they aren't finding jobs, just maybe not their first choice. I don't regret starting in my speciality and although I am deficient in typical med/surge skills I haven't ever needed them on my job. As an older person I feel comfortable saying that I have no intention of ever doing that type of work anyway. Good luck.