Medical Surgical Nurse – Career and Education Profile

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Medical surgical nurses, often called just surgical nurses, work with patients before and during surgeries, as well as provide after-surgery patient care.

Job Responsibilities

As a medical surgical nurse, your main task will be to assist the medical team operating on a patient. This task starts with duties such as explaining the procedure to the patient and assisting the patient in preparing for the surgery (which could include eating a special diet or shaving certain areas to prepare for incision). During the surgery, you’ll service as an extra pair of hands for the doctor and may run errands, monitor vital signs, sterilize equipment, or update the family on the procedure in the case of major surgery. After the surgery, you’ll provide care for the patient including changing the dressing on wounds, helping the patient manage pain, and more.

Salary and Career Options

According to reports, medical surgical nurses can expect to make between $49,000 and $66,000 annually. The exact amount you’ll make depends on a number of factors, such as your location, your employer, and your educational level. You can start working in medical surgical nursing as an LPN, but RNs and advanced practice nurses can expect to earn more money and more easily find a job in the United States. As a medical surgical nurse, you can also transition into become a nurse anesthetist eventually, which is position where you can expect to earn well over $100,000 annually.

Educational Requirements

You can get started as an LPN if you want to work in a surgical environment, but many open positions require at least an associate’s degree. Many nurses move from working in critical care environments to working in medical surgical nursing, and after you gain experience you can take the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses exam to get certified in this type of nursing.

LPN to RN College Programs

While several schools have online nursing degrees available, few offer LPN to RN programs. What's the good news? We have listed some accredited schools below that do offer the program in addition to schools with other bridge programs available. Find out more information and contact each school by using any of the links below.

Indiana State University—Indiana State University offers a robust online program designed for LPNs wanting to become registered nurses and earn their BSN degree. Since ISU's credits transfer to over 80 campus majors, this is an ideal program for people wanting to open opportunities for their career down the road.

The College Network—The College Network is a partnership with several universities and organizations like the National League for Nursing that focuses on online education and programs, with several courses for nurses or those interested in a nursing career. Specifically, TCN helps students prepare for their PN and RN licensures and move on to earn graduate degrees.

Other Nursing Degrees

Walden University—Walden University is typically a graduate school with several masters and doctoral programs available, but they do have BSN and RN to MSN bridge programs available. Walden is based out of Minneapolis and offers several options in transferring your previously earned credits to and from (or even within) the school.

Kaplan University—Kaplan University is one of the nation's largest and leading online educators and offers several bridge programs for registered nurses to earn their BSN or MSN degree. If you have previously earned credits, Kaplan makes it easy for you to transfer to any one of their undergraduate or graduate programs.

Herzing University—While Herzing University does not offer an undergraduate nursing degree, it is a great choice for working nurses wanting to pursue leadership positions in Nurse Education or Management. With over 10 campuses and 45 online programs available, Herzing has a massive network that makes it easy to transfer to or from the school.

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