What's it like to work in post-op, medical, and/or surgical?

[hkneurorn]

Hello,

I'm a nursing student and I'm hoping to work as a CNA while I am in school. A hospital I want to work at is hiring CNAs for the post-op, medical, and surgical floors. I was just wondering, from your experiences, what responsibilities and tasks you have to do on each respective floor and how different those tasks will be? I'm just not sure which floor I want to apply for. Thank you!

[JDZ344]

Post op is probably the busiest, with lots of vitals, patients unable to do much as they are groggy/disorientated from the surgery or in pain. Post op patients are normally 1:1 until they return to the floor from the OR, I'm not sure what CNAs would be doing?

Both medical and surgical are equally busy.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I guess it depends on the typical patient population for that unit. Post-op, elderly, hip replacement patients are much heavier than the typical 20-30 something-year-old lap chole patient.

[Proud.2.be.RN, ADN, RN]

I currently work on the med/surg floor at the local hospital. fairly small hospital, about 25 beds on the med/surg floor. some duties include taking vitals as needed, bathing, toileting, turning patients, charting, stocking supplies, assisting RNs with certain things (foley insertion, changing bandages, ect.) we also set up the rooms for any admissions.

[ahya]

Depends on your type of surgery ward my previous experience was post orthopedics so a lot of Balkan frame, trapeze set up and post op pain meds, narcotics and pca and of course the assess every 30mins for compartment syndrome, resp. dep. etc all those post op complications and if your lucky enough you could meet a ER complication and have a code but the loneliest part if your patient pass your entire shift without even returning to your hands and be transferred to ICU.

so many more but some things are better left unsaid you'll get there and it's sure worth the wait I guessXD

[havehope]

I work on the Medical-Surgical/Telemetry floor and that is where the post-op patients come to. Working at a hospital is very different from long term care facility. I love working at a hospital because, you learn so much. You will be doing baths of course on the total care patients (I have many one or two a shift) and I set those that are self care up. Toliet the high fall risk patients, do vitals, feed individuals (usually one or two), vitals for those coming from surgery or getting a PCA pump etc., walking people out that are being discharged, setting rooms up for admissions, bloodsugars. You will be assisting the nurse with whatever she/he asks for. I find with hospitals nurses are willing to do teamwork and work together. At the long term care facility I worked at a lot of nurses wouldn't do any thing a CNA had to do.