I have never even seen an Acute Medicine floor, but I have an interview soon and was wondering if anyone could share stories or advice on what to expect? I wanted to start in Med Surg for a general foundation, but I'm pretty sure that it would have been more competitive so I picked Acute Medicine. Not sure now if it was the right thing to do, but here goes nothing! Thanks in advance!
BluegrassRN 1,188 Posts Has 14 years experience. Apr 13, 2011 In my hospital, instead of med/surg, we have separate medical and surgical floors. So on my acute med floor, we get everyone who isn't a surgical candidate, but doesn't need to go to step down or ICU. Meaning my pts might be in with a CAV/TIA, uncontrolled DM, renal failure, dehydration/nausea/vomiting, allergic reaction, uncontrolled HTN, chest pain, syncope, pneumonia, exacerbation COPD, etc, etc. I have pts on tele, dialysis (performed off unit but within the hospital), pts with wounds, and detoxers. Pretty much a little of everything. I love it. You will learn to prioritize and manage your time, you'll see a wide variety of conditions, and you will learn so much.Good luck with your interview.
sogreenrn 47 Posts Apr 13, 2011 BlueGrassRN, Thank you so much for your speedy response! Based on what you're saying, I think it will be a good fit for me!
P_RN, ADN, RN 6,011 Posts Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89. Has 30 years experience. Apr 13, 2011 Everything.
Caffeine_IV 1,198 Posts Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice. Has 7 years experience. Apr 13, 2011 My hospital is like BlueGrassRN described with separate medical and surgical floors. We get a lot of the nursing home patients and people with chronic problems as per the description. We don't do telemetry though.You will see a lot!
RNperdiem, RN 4,580 Posts Has 14 years experience. Apr 13, 2011 Medicine floor minus the surgical. Expect a lot of frail elderly patients, chronic conditions. You can give several things for past medical history in report. For example: "Mr. X has a past medical history of CVA, CHF, DM type 2, chronic renal failure...".You will get an excellent foundation in time management and in working with CNAs. I found that in acute medicine, you really depend heavily on CNAs to help with feeding patients, turning and assisting to the bathroom.
