Where to go after med/surg?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey guys! I am a new nurse who has been working on a med/surg floor for 6 months. I don't hate it... but I know it is not the career I want to be in forever. I'm trying to think about my future and where I want to specialize after a year or so of med/surg nursing. Hoping to brainstorm with some fellow nurses!

Things I like:

  • focusing on one patient at a time. Right now I juggle 5 patients at once, usually without a CNA on the floor. I just hate feeling like I have to apologize to my patients because I'm not giving them the level of attention I want to be giving them.
  • working nights. I'm a night owl and always have been. My husband works nights as well. I wouldn't mind doing day shift if I was passionate about it though.
  • charting. I honestly wouldn't mind a job that is a lot of paperwork! It can get exhausting trying to people-please for 40+ hours a week.
  • adults/teens. I don't do well seeing acutely sick people between the ages of 0-12! God bless every peds nurse.

I have considered: IV therapy (I love doing IVs and love the idea of going down a list and seeing one patient at a time). Wound care nurse (same reasons as IV therapy except w/ wounds). PACU (although I hear you have to have ICU experience before doing PACU, I enjoyed this rotation in nursing school). OR (again, one patient at a time I would love it!). Hospice (I love easing patients/families during end of life, and the spiritual aspect of it all is great). School nursing (also enjoyed my school nurse rotation in nursing school, loved the amount of paperwork/planning involved!).

If you can add to my list, it would be much appreciated! Even if its a long shot, just trying to consider my options. Thank you!

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

I think it might be hard to choose a specialty in advance, because there may be a dearth of opportunities in those areas. Some of the areas I would have liked to explore offered no opportunities - employment or educational.

But at least you have an idea of what would most likely suit your temperament; that's a good start. Now just keep an eye out for any opportunities that may present themselves. It might be something you could never have thought of, yet turns out to be the perfect fit for you.

Life seems to resist meticulous planning so might as well relax and keep your eyes and mind open. Bet something interesting comes your way in due course.

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Specializes in PACU.

Things I like:

  • focusing on one patient at a time. Right now I juggle 5 patients at once, usually without a CNA on the floor. I just hate feeling like I have to apologize to my patients because I'm not giving them the level of attention I want to be giving them.

As far as level of attention you want to give to them...I'm not sure we ever do this as a nurse. I've left a patient in home health, after going over the hour visit time, still feeling like there was more I could/should do.

I do understand the frustration, but you can focus on one patient at a time. The time you are in the room with that patient. Take a second to say hello, ask if they need anything else, touch a hand/arm. This contact doesn't take long (I know the floors can be crazy, I've done it before) but it can give both you and your patient the "feeling" of more time because you gave the one on one attention while you were there.

And make sure you differentiate in your mind the level of attention you want to give to them and the level of attention their condition warrants. Because no matter where you work, those two ideas compete.

I'm sure others can give you advice abut specific areas... I just want to make sure we are all realistic when we are looking at the big picture.

Sometimes it takes a few different areas to find the speciality where you feel you can give the most value. Have fun with the adventure, you'll find it.

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Life seems to resist meticulous planning so might as well relax and keep your eyes and mind open. Bet something interesting comes your way in due course.

Yes! I definitely don't want to meticulously plan anything, and I'm very open to many different options. In fact my goal with this post is to see what options are even out there. I don't want to limit myself, but I am hoping to specialize in something. While I've learned a lot in 6 months of med-surg, being a jack-of-all trades and master of none isn't my style.

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As much as I love anonymous strangers telling me how to do my job AND how to live my life all in one public forum, I'm not currently concerned about those matters. I would actually just like to know what kinds of nursing specialties are out there that may possibly be in the realm of my interests, as clearly stated in my original post.

The other day someone told me she worked as a telephone nurse from her own home... I had no idea that was a thing! It made me realize I've seen only a small percentage of what's out there in the world of nursing. That is why I came here. Not to be told I don't know how to do my job or live my life.

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My opinion is that no matter where you eventually end up, you can never go wrong spending as much time as you can on med surg. The organization skills, the different kinds of patients you see all are really important when you move on.

I've worked med surg for three years now, I have known since I started that I wanted to work ED eventually. I also know that the more time I spend on the floor, the better ED nurse I will be.

Talk to other nurses in your hospital. See if you hospital allows you to shadow in other departments.

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