What does a medical surgical staff nurse do?
Medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical surgical staff nurse resumes:
- Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
- Provide comprehensive nursing care to a variety of in-patient medical, surgical and telemetry patients.
- Coordinate and provide direct patient care for cardiac/telemetry, surgical, orthopedic, respiratory, geriatric and pain management patients.
- Obtain CPR certification for the first time.
- Assist with patients that have acute active GI bleeding.
- Administer rapid response and cardiac arrest care as a part of resuscitation team.
- Skil in bedside monitoring , 12-lead EKG, and all types of ventilator support.
- Work as float nurse on various medical, surgical and ICU floors while completing BSN.
- Work as staff nurse in 18 bed combine medical surgical ICU at level 1 trauma center.
- Admit patients for various outpatient and inpatient surgeries as well as admitted patients in a GI setting.
- Analyze and document EKG monitoring.
- Participate in and direct massive resuscitation efforts.
- Provide direct nursing care to patients, including daily monitoring, recording and evaluating of medical conditions
- Demonstrate perfect knowledge and understanding of telemetry monitoring and ECG, computerize unified system of telemetry monitoring.
- Serve in rehabilitation and Medical/Surgical units
Medical surgical staff nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of Medical Surgical Staff Nurses are proficient in Patients, CPR, and Acute Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Medical Surgical Staff Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 34%
Assumed charged nurse's roles as directed Responsible for medication administration/patient care/documentation Provided care to patients with varied medical and surgical diagnoses
- CPR, 10%
Served on Code Blue Team and interim Floor Charge Nurse, CPR and ACLS certified.
- Acute Care, 7%
59-bed long-term acute care hospital providing specialized care for medically complex patients requiring a prolonged hospitalization and rehabilitation.
- Acls, 5%
Completed ACLS /Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification
- Direct Patient Care, 4%
Provided direct patient care through administering medications, performing dressing changes as well as numerous other nursing responsibilities.
- Telemetry, 4%
Provided patient care in the general Medical/Surgical Unit observing patient progress with medications, treatments telemetry monitoring and rehabilitation.
"patients," "cpr," and "acute care" are among the most common skills that medical surgical staff nurses use at work. You can find even more medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a medical surgical staff nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a medical surgical staff nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "maintain open communications with staff nurses and nurse manager. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical surgical staff nurse duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." According to a medical surgical staff nurse resume, here's how medical surgical staff nurses can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "leveraged compassion in facilitating pain management and completing prescribed treatments including dosage changes, iv therapies, wound care, and ambulation"
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for medical surgical staff nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a medical surgical staff nurse: "oriented newly hired rns to unit and hospital policies and procedures, and evaluating skills. ".
Emotional stability. medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities often require "emotional stability." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." This resume example shows what medical surgical staff nurses do with emotional stability on a typical day: "provide emotional support and patient teaching to patient and significant others. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in medical surgical staff nurse job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what medical surgical staff nurses do. Medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities rely on this skill because "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." You can also see how medical surgical staff nurse duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "gained organizational skills and provided care to patients requiring a broad scope of nursing care. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities. Much of what a medical surgical staff nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of medical surgical staff nurses: "demonstrated competence in physical assessments, medication administration, manipulation of invasive monitoring devices and nursing outcome documentation. "
The three companies that hire the most medical surgical staff nurses are:
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Compare different medical surgical staff nurses
Medical surgical staff nurse vs. Nurse extern
The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a medical surgical staff nurse are more likely to require skills like "acute care," "acls," "good interpersonal," and "family education." On the other hand, a job as a nurse extern requires skills like "direct supervision," "medical-surgical," "patient safety," and "compassion." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Nurse externs tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $39,085. In contrast, medical surgical staff nurses make the biggest average salary, $58,385, in the health care industry.The education levels that nurse externs earn slightly differ from medical surgical staff nurses. In particular, nurse externs are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a medical surgical staff nurse. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical surgical staff nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical surgical staff nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "good interpersonal," "chf," "disease processes," and "surgical procedures." Meanwhile, a registered nurse charge nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "bls," "rehabilitation," "resident care," and "compassion." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Registered nurses charge nurses may earn a higher salary than medical surgical staff nurses, but registered nurses charge nurses earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $68,929. On the other hand, medical surgical staff nurses receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $58,385.In general, registered nurses charge nurses achieve similar levels of education than medical surgical staff nurses. They're 0.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for medical surgical staff nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Medical surgical staff nurse vs. Telemetry registered nurse
A telemetry registered nurse is a healthcare professional who specializes in caring for patients with heart disease or other medical issues that require continuous telemetry monitoring. Telemetry registered nurses are required to read and monitor the output of electrocardiograms (EKGs), which translate the heart's electrical impulses into a readable rhythm. They must respond to patients who are experiencing cardiac pain and perform various diagnostic tests. Telemetry registered nurses must also assist doctors with different procedures and treatments for cardiac issues.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from medical surgical staff nurse resumes include skills like "telemetry," "staff nurses," "medication administration," and "infection control," whereas a telemetry registered nurse is more likely to list skills in "bls," "quality care," "rehabilitation," and "compassion. "
Telemetry registered nurses make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $78,819. On the other hand, medical surgical staff nurses are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $58,385.Most telemetry registered nurses achieve a similar degree level compared to medical surgical staff nurses. For example, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical surgical staff nurse vs. Registered nurse med/surg
The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health. Entry-level registered nurses often rely on standardized care plans and medical procedures and make scientific-based nursing judgments. On the other hand, intermediate level nurses are more skilled in developing care plans that meet client needs. Requirements to become a medical-surgical nurse include a college degree in nursing, excellent assessment and observation skills, and patient education skills.
Types of medical surgical staff nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
