What is the best unit to work in? I am in Medsurg right now but starting to get burnt out

The Operating Room or Perioperative Service. I have been an OR nurse for over 40 years. I have moved within the department to PACU during a time of burnout, but did return to the operating room. The changes in technology that I have seen and learned from have been amazing and always keeps me wanting to lear more.

Yes med surge can definitely burn you out. At this point almost anything bedside can burn you out to be honest. But there are units we’re you can have some flexibility in the work load maybe you can try PACU or the Cath Lab/IR were you have 1 to 2 patient at a time not 7 to 8 or something. And you don’t stay with them all shift procedure done then you ship em to their unit lol. Good luck!

1st off, pat yourself in the back for doing medsurg - gives you the basic experience as a nurse. And depending on what your priorities are
Clinics- regular/same hrs no wkends no holidays
OR- less bedside or short patient interaction, but $$$ for on-call shifts if your up to it☺️
If you still want bedside/patient interaction still there’s ICUs depending on your interest. More complex patients and clinical judgment/eye will add to your experience.
Whatever area you choose will always be good as long as you have life and work balance and personal fulfillment. All the best on your specialty. You got this!

Every unit has it challenges. I’ve worked in the ER, OR, ambutory/recovery unit. I’ve done work force health and safety. However, I’ve ended up in endoscopy. So far so good. Hope this helps

Try working inpatient hospice.. it is a different kind of nursing but very rewarding for someone that is getting burned out on nursing..you can thank me later

I alwys been in med surf or telemetry.my friends love Pacu

Orthopedics

I worked medsurg for 25 years and decided to change to cardiology. It rejuvenated me . So much to learn and very interesting. That was for five years. Next I went into case management. I tried mother baby, then rehab which I loved for seven years. I transferred to oncology where I found my nitch. Stayed there until retirement. Take the risk and try a new area. There is so much to learn!!

My answer will have a lot of variables to it. First off how new are you to nursing? When did you graduate? How long have you been working med surg? My advice to any students I mentor is this: work the floors first, do NOT specialize in any one area for several years. Working the floors gives you massive organizational skills, the ability to prioritize your work and you have a great appreciation for the floor nurses when you leave that area. What do you like to do? I worked orthopedics for several years before moving on to med surg. I was feeling burned out and during an evaluation my supervisor suggested I move to ICU/CCU. I was mortified! There was no way I could do that, but I gave it a try and loved every minute of it. I was working nights so I had to learn from the nurses around me and not depend on being able to call a doctor for an answer. Keep in mind this was in the 80's when LVN's were allowed to work in the unit. I have never wanted to work anywhere else but because of my stupidity, I failed to go on to school for my RN. I can function as one but don't have the letters behind my name so I have limited myself. Never quit getting more education! Anyway find what you love but give yourself plenty of time to work different areas. Not everyone can deal with brains and guts, so not everyone can do ER or ICU. I don't do pedes, its just not my thing but I am capable of working everywhere else except OB. Get a lot of background experience then specialize. I graduated from nursing school in 1978 so I've been doing this for a while. Best of luck in your career.

A great option would be to speak with your Director or HR about job shadowing in various departments to see what makes you excited about caring for your community. I worked MS for about a year before I specialized in Women Services, which was my passion. Others need some opportunities to shadow to discover their passion and/or what works best for their lifestyle.

I think working nights can be easier. I needed a break and switched to nights and I love it

I would say Behavioral Health.

I have been a nurse since 1986 and have worked many specialties and different shifts. I currently work in Interventional Radiology and love it! It's a small "closed" unit so we can't get "pulled" to other units. It's strictly days but we are on call after the last case and on weekends. We of course rotate so right now I'm on call every 6th week night and 6th weekend. We only get called in for emergencies. It's a procedural unit so like OR, we only have the patient for as long as it takes to do a procedure and it usually doesn't last more than an hour or so. We are responsible for the conscious sedation so we are ACLS. We do procedures with all the different radiology departments. CT, MRI, US, Nuclear Med and regular Radiology. Look into it. It's never dull. Most patients are very thankful for our "nursing" compassion during their "scary" biopsy or cholecystostomy drain placement .

What type of med-surg pt did you like the best? You went home most days smiling about the days work? That’s the one!!!

As you can see, there is no one best unit. Some people love the ED or ICU; those two units would be my nightmare. I love neuro rehab; we have float nurses who come time to time and some absolutely hate it and others loved it so much they actually signed on to work on the unit. Some people really want patient interaction, others don't want to interact with patients and prefer the OR, lithotripsy, etc. Other people find that nonpatient care roles that utilize nursing knowledge works for them, such as care coordination, utilization review or nurse navigator.

Nearly everyone has to start out in medsurge at the bedside. After you get some experience under your belt, you can ask yourself what you like and don't like and that may help you decide (such as hours, weekends, patient care or not, hospital or not)

they all have a potential for burn out. just try to move around if possible and maybe you will find a department you enjoy and can stay with.

The Operating Room. Most hospitals have some type of transitioning program, ex: a bridge program, that you should be able to apply to.

I always loved the cardiac stepdown unit or telemetry floor.

afhfjvdbksjghmsaghfvmdsxxgkfvfbxuhvfydhagvfhdgf
hdafkvfdga xvkfdagvbkfjncvhj bfhdbvhnhfjdhvjfdjbhvmbfmdjvbfdxbhvbfdhgvbfvbbvfhbvfhcdbvhljfbdhlvfdhgbvfds

Do you work in a large hospital or a smaller community one? If you are in a larger hospital with a lot of different services, you may find transferring to (or bidding on a position, if unionized)to a PACU (post anesthesia care unit) might be a good change. Also, if you are willing to leave the hospital where you work, outpatient surgery centers are also a good option. Be aware that pay is often less than inpatient nursing so checking within your current facility for other jobs is always the best place to start.I hope this helps.

Windy
RN 12 years

I don’t know but I work cardiac and love it!

OB is a good fit for medsurg nurses looking for a change

ICU would be a good next step. A med surg ICU would be a good transition

Look at what you like, for example of you like cardiac you could look at the cath lab.

Specialize in something that's not a common skill; let new grads do med-surg..

I work in the O.R. and love it! It is a unique skill set, but we do still use critical thinking skills and only have one patient at a time. Also, many ORs offer 8 and 12 hour shifts which is nice. You do have to take call unless you work at a day surgery center.

ICU