Specializing

How do you feel about specializing right out of nursing school? Do you think Med-Surg experience is necessary? I would like to specialize in OB or the OR.
In my opinion, get medsurg experience first. I didn't get that straight out of school because I took a coordinator type position and when I became a floor nurse I had learn all those skills over again.
FYI, Med-Surg is a Specialty, just as OB, OR, Peds, LTC, ER, Critical Care, Oncology, Infusion, Home Care, Wound Care, Case Management, etc... I say cast your net wide; Med-Surg is a good start; I also know of Tele nurses who transitioned into L&D rather nicely. It depends on: location, job climate, if you desire to have to relocate if you can't get a position in your local area...a lot of those variables in where you START; it may mean many roads to Rome; which for you is OB or OR.
I don't see a problem with specializing right out of school. Many people will tell you to get one year of medsurg experience, but I don't think its' necessary. To each its' own.
I've been a nurse for just over a year now and during that time, I've had four job offers in four different specialties. I declined each offer because I still feel there is a lot more to learn and experience on my floor--from pneumonia, ACS, renal, psych, to critically ill patients. Instead of making a potentially regrettable decision, perhaps you could do job shadowing in your preferred specialty a few different times to see if that is what you'd like.
I started in ICU, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is hard but doable. I would say you don't have to have a solid med/surg foundation at all, but it might be helpful if you are really unsure of what you want to do in the future.
Med/surg *is* a specialty.
I don't think specializing is bad as long as you are able to hone your skills. You really need to be somewhere where you do tons of ivs, catheters, assessments, etc.
1. I believe med/surg is a specialty.2. While it is good to get experience in med/surg because it offers the most opportunities for jobs, it is not necessary for compentance in all other specialties.3. Much of the answer to your questions depends on how you feel about med/surg. If you like med/surg and that experience would be relevant to your long-term career goals, then by all means, get general med/surg experience. But if you really don't like adult med/surg, then starting our there as a new grad could be a big mistake as i may get your career off to an unpleasant start.If you would be miserable -- don't do it. But if you could be happy there and it would be relevant to your long-term goals, then do it.
In this environment just getting a job will be a blessing- but if you have a choice base it on what kind of relationship you would like to have with the patient. Do you want to have a long term relationship then Nursing Home may be for you, do you need "resolution" then don't go into infusion or ER. Do you like to see things get well? Perhaps wound care clinic or same day surgery or L&D?For myself I started in a 24 hour infusion center/urgent care then went to community nurse/midwife, then teacher, and now med/surg. it is no big deal to jump into one then go to another. Stay curious, open and humble, teachable. You will see a lot in med/surg but the level of stress, pill pushing, multi-tasking in-out isn't a requirement for laying the foundation for your nursing career.
Hmm, I agree with the above, except for the part about infusion nursing. I definitely developed relationships with my clients, as their plan of care was very goal oriented and tended to be over the course of 6-8 weeks. Some clients were even repeat clients, like those with CF, MS, or cancer.
I went straight into Peds when I graduated because I knew I NEVER wanted to care for adults.
My two cents: take any nursing job that you get offered. If you are able to choose then I seriously envy you because in my area- unless you are the one of the seriously lucky 18 out of 1000 new grad BSN applicants that were invited for the versant interview (I'm sure much more applied) and got the job, then you're pretty much destined for home health or LTC (which is also getting harder to enter, sadly). If you know what specialty you want to go into early, and have the choice between the med/surg specialty (it really is it's own specialty) and a specialty you are more interested in - I would probably say go with the specialty you are drawn to. Having med/surg experience doesn't always guarantee a spot in a different specialty later on. Many nursing specialties in my part of the country (including med/surg) are looking not just for acute care nursing experience prior to applying - but prefer experience within THAT SPECIALTY. In my specialty med/surg might make working with the patient's physical complaints and conditions smoother - but many that came here from med/surg were just as unprepared for it as new graduates right out of nursing school. Every area of nursing is different and every area is going to take orientation time and has a learning curve. A nurse that is advanced in med-surg isn't considered an expert when they switch over to Psych, L&D, OR, ICU ect. They will take their invaluable med/surg skills with them but they will still have to learn the ropes to become an expert in their "new" nursing field. Just like if I went into med/surg - I'd take my psych skills with me, but I would definitely have to learn med/surg skills to be a proficient beginner med/surg nurse.