(Newswire.net — July 14, 2021) — The latest available stats reveal that more than 17 million hospital visits, both ambulatory and inpatient, are for invasive surgeries. Are you having surgery soon?
Are you wondering who takes care of all those post-surgical patients? It’s a medical-surgical nurse working on the Med Surg Unit who helps with post-surgical patients. But there’s a lot more to the Med Surg Unit.
What is a Med Surg Unit? Keep reading for more information.
The Med Surg Unit
Med Surg stands for medical surgical and there are Med Surg Units in most hospitals. Patients in the Med Surg Unit suffer from a wide range of issues, co-morbidities, and complications and are often acutely ill. They’re often transferred into the Med Surg Unit from the Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, and other acute care units.
The unit also includes patients post-surgery. Nurses on the Med Surg Unit have a broad base of knowledge and are good communicators with exceptional organizational and assessment skills.
Common Patient Types on the Med Surg Unit
Although there are almost as many types of patients on the Med Surg Unit as there are people, there are some common conditions found in the unit. These include:
- Hip and knee replacements
- Amputations
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Advanced infections such as pneumonia
- Diabetes
- Sepsis
- Injuries from falls
- Respiratory diseases
- Heart problems such as congestive heart failure (CHF)
Many patients have at least one or more co-morbidities, such as a patient with an amputation who already suffers from diabetes. Medical-surgical nurses need to understand many medical issues to give their patients the proper care.
What Do Med Surg Unit Nurses Do?
The better question might be what don’t they do? Patient care and safety come first but that includes a myriad of tasks. Some of the daily tasks in a Med Surg Unit include:
- Wound care and dressing changes
- Assessing patient condition
- Administering medications
- using medication trolleys
- Checking vitals
- Updating records and charting
- Operating equipment such as IVs, feeding tubes, catheters, and more
- Taking blood and running blood tests
- Communicate and collaborate with the patient care team
- Family education and support
- Pain control
These are tasks found in many nursing positions but are a big part of a med-surg nurse’s daily tasks. The Med Surg Unit is a fast-paced environment.
Most med-surg nurses work long hours and take care of lots of patients. They must be knowledgeable about medications, chronic disease, and medical equipment such as that found at KMS Med Surg.
A med-surg nurse must be an effective communicator to deal with the patient care team. Patient care teams include the primary physician, internists, anesthesiologists, social workers, technicians, and more. Teams vary depending on the patient’s needs.
The Importance of the Med Surg Unit
Almost every type of medicine happens in the Med Surg Unit making it an important part of any hospital. As you can see, it’s a busy place full of dedicated healthcare professionals making a difference in the lives of their patients.
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