I am very torn on what type of unit I want to start out on. I have heard from a few nurses who really suggest at least a year of med/surg before going into a specialty. I really loved my labor and delivery rotation. I also love working with kids. So I don't know if I do end up doing med/surg for the first year...is it wise if I do peds or should I do adults? I just want to become the best nurse that I can and want to make wise career decisions. Anyone have advice??
Amanda
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November 30th, 2007 at 9:45 am
you should do the med/surg, especially the medical side. Medical knowledge sets you up to work anywhere.
Another way to look at is this… Surgical patients often have or develop medical problems, whereas it is not so often that medical patients develop medical problems.
If you want to work in maternity, then you need to know about adult health. Maternity patients can develop DVT’s, PE’s. Maternity patients can get quite a number of medical problems.
Working with children is again different, but sound adult medical knowledge can be adapted to fit in with children.
Stick with the med/surg first. Give it a good two years, then you can go anywhere
nursingaround.blogspot.com
November 30th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I whole-heartedly agree. A year or two of med-surg (primarily medical) will give you a solid foundation to build a life-long career on.
Too many nurses jump quickly into a specialized field and after a few years feel STUCK because they don’t think they can go anywhere else, and they aren’t happy. So they quit and give up nursing.
The beauty of nursing is that there are so many fields to choose from, and if you have a good solid foundation and skills set, you can move easily from one to another to suit your needs.
Nursing school only teaches you the basics. You have so much more to learn. Give yourself the best opportunity to maximize your exposure before you go into a specialty.
Kathy Quan RN BSN
http://TheNursingSite.com
November 30th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Hi Amanda – I am a nursing student who was recently able to attend a 1 hour class with Dr. Angela Barron McBride, one of the major players in the field of nursing. This question was asked of her by a student who wanted to do L&D, and Dr. McBride suggested that this student do what she was passionate about – namely, Labor & Delivery. If you do not feel strong in your Med-Surg background, then that is something to consider, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to do 1 or 2 years of Med-Surg if you are going to be miserable doing it. Your patients and your fellow staff members will see it in your performance & your attitude.
I have met several nurses who are lifelong L&D or post-partum nurses, and they are happy in their decisions. I also know nurses who have made the switch to Med-Surg after working L&D without previous Med-Surg experience and they have been fine – their orientations might be a little longer, but they were able to make the change. Hope this helps.
December 1st, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Hey there. I agree with the two who said to stick with med-surg. I am a nursing student who will be graduating in December and I was in the exact same boat as you. I really loved the NICU, but felt that if I had a stronger medical background I would be better suited to take that position in the future. The skills you learn in a med-surg setting are skills you can take with you to any unit you go to. I think having a strong foundation is important and I see always helps decrease your chance of making a major mistake, a bad call, or overlooking something critical as a result of lack of experience. I recently took a position on a medical telemetry/heart failure unit. I dont plan on being there the rest of my life but I think I should take the time to learn cardiac telemetry now, as well as really get a good understanding of disease processes. Of course working with kids will be a whole other ballpark but I really think its to my benefit to do this. Even if med0surg isnt your thing I think think you will be miserable. I fyou love nursing and have a good attitude I think you can see the good you are doing in every situation. Also working with adults first can improve your communication skills. Just remember when youw ork with kids you arent just working with the kids, you are responsible for dealing with the parents too… and i dont know if you have ever had to calm a worried parents, or an angry parent but it can be tricky. So basically the med-surg would be a good idea, you could still take a shot at yoru specialty peds area and do very well. New grads do that all the time and succeed. It just depends on how confident you feel going into that kind of setting right off the bat.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
If Peds or OB is what you love, then do it! You don’t have to suffer for years on Med/surg if it’s not for you! If you get into Peds or OB and you don’t like it as much as you thought, you can take a refresher course or something at a community college and try something else!
Everyone says do Med/surg but I am doing a short stay/chest pain unit instead. I really don’t care for the traditional med/surg floors. That’s just me though. I hope you are happy with your choice!
December 5th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I am a NICU nurse, have been for almost 2 years now. I suggest starting in the area you are passionate about. I got the same lecture and advice you did about doing Med/Surg first…I HATED med/surg in school- so I avoided it. Amazingly I was able to get a job right after passing my boards in a level 2 NICU. I was thrilled. I started in Post-partum/newborn Nursery. They gave me a very thorough orientation and then moved me to orient in NICU. You are going to hear mixed opinions on whether to start medsurg or start in your field of interest. You will definitly learn a lot from Med/Surg that will be valuable to you in L&D, but at the same time if your L&D orientation is good, you’ll be fine. And the seasoned nurses will be a huge help to you. I know I didn’t want to go through orientation in Med/Surg, then have to do it all over again when switching to a specialty, and who knows if your speciality area will have openings in the hospital you work med/surg at, etc… You’ll enjoy your job more if you start in the area you enjoy. Good luck to you!
December 8th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Ditto above. Do what you feel passionate about. Just make sure you look carefully at each hospitals orientation programs. You’ll have a miserable time in a crappy OB orientation or med/surg one for that matter, than a thorough, hand-holding trauma ICU program. Also, make sure that there are alternatives before signing on–like the hospital helping you to transfer to another unit if you hate it. Sometimes the personalities you have to work with spoil the perfect job. Remember, there’s lots of hospitals with all types of units in this wide, wide world–some need nurses so bad that they will gladly orient you to your hearts desire.
December 8th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Start out doing what you want to do… I know too many friends who once becoming RNs have went to Med-Surg because it was what they were told to do, and they burnt out quickly. In less than a year into nursing, they switched to the jobs they intially wanted, and are LOVING it. One important thing to remeber is that you need to do what you want to do and ENJOY it…because if you don’t you aren’t there for the right reasons… I graduate in May with my BSN and I have every intention on starting out in critical care/trauma. I know its what I was meant to do! Good luck!!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
i think that the thought of having to do med/surg first is a very old school way of thought. start where you love it!! if you don’t love the unit and patients you are working with then your patients will not get the best care from you. you will learn all the skills you need where ever you choose to start. and i beleive that ICU’s and specialty units are great to start on because you will develop more sensitive, more critical assessment skills. so do what your heart desires!!!
December 12th, 2007 at 4:22 am
I have been a peds nurse for 3 years. I have always been a peds nurse. If peds is what you want to do don’t waste your times on adults. They are NOT the same. Taking care of adults is nothing like providing care for pediatrics and you don’t need to waste your time doing it if you don’t want to. Anytime you change specialties at any time in your career there are going to be things you don’t know. That is why they have orientation. Don’t waste time. Do what you want to so you’ll actually LIKE your job! Good luck!