What is your favorite part of your job?

shannonrn02 · Apr 9, 2011

I believe that Med/Surg is a good area of nursing to start for a new nurse. You get experience in many different systems of the human body. In OB/GYN this type of nursing is very specialized and your focus will be only with pregnant moms and caring for the babies. If you choose to go to a different area of nursing later it will be like your a new grad all over again. This is only my opinion. The best part of my job are my patients. I love meeting new people and learning about their lives, but yes there sometimes comes tradedy such as a horrible diagnosis or death, but you could also have that in the OB side of nursing. Personally, I do not think I could deal with the death of a newborn. The least part I had about my job would probably be how some of the patients do not appreciate the medical personel and treat us like their at a spa. But you are going to have that anywhere you go. Hope this helps.

graceomalleyRN, RN · Apr 24, 2011

When I started school, I was only interested in Women's Health or NICU. If you had told me I would be working in Med Surge, I would've never started nursing school.

However, the current job economy has made even Med Surge jobs for new grads extremely competitive. My job in Med-Surge has made me so much more competent; I learn something new every night which will translate into ANY area of nursing I choose in the future.

In answer to your main question: having two different patients on the same night tell me that my "excellent" care made a huge difference to them and that they could tell I really loved being a nurse. Gave me goosebumps, and makes my $60k student loan a bit more palatable.

GirlDotson · Apr 26, 2011

Thanks for your response. I am looking at OBGYN or Med-Surge. I reckon since I m at the very, very beginning of this journey, I have plenty of time todecide which specialy I want to go into. I have enjoyed reading all of the posts! Thank you all!

GatorNurse10 · May 23, 2011

I agree - you are able to learn about a lot of different things in med-surg. Also, you really get organization & prioritization down!

For me the favorite part of my job is the patients. Granted, not all of them are favorites, however, I have had enough patients genuinely thank me for the care they received that it keeps me going back day after day.

AMCNurse · Jun 12, 2011

You really get your prioritization down in med-surg and sometimes patients really open up to you which is great.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2011

med/surg does help you prioritize and if a pt has medical issues, or needs blood, you can feel confident with transfusing.

Having worked both in my life, I love OB for the most part. My Pros: Babies, I love them!, easier on the back. Everyone is alert and oriented. Most pt's are grateful for your help. Cons: Some princess thinks they just delivered Jesus Christ and expects you to treat them as such. Can get repetitious. Dealing with the boyfriend/girlfriend and now baby dynamic. When babies die it's sad.

Med/surg: Pro's: Learn to multi task and organize. You learn a lot in both body and meds. You can usually transfer to another speciality with a med/surg background. Old people usually don't complain and are very appreciative of your help. Families can be a pain, but when you are really there for them at the darkest moment, they are so appreciative.

Cons: Freaking crazy at times. You play in poop and mucous. (ok, you get that with babies too, but it's cute poop, lol)

Some families think they are the only ones on the floor. Some days the floor looks like a nursing home.

Good luck!

goodoldroxie · Jun 13, 2011

GirlDotson - You will probably change your mind a dozen times while you are in school. That's okay. You need to experience all the different clinical settings and then you will make up your mind. That is what's so great about being a nurse. You can become a nurse and still decide what you want to be when you grow up. Good luck to you. You are embarking on a rewarding career.