Med-Surg Nurses Week Spotlight: Dr. Shara Rhodes

Monday, October 28, 2024

We asked the AMSN Members why and how they celebrate Med-Surg Nurses Week. Here's what member Dr. Shara Rhodes DNP, RN, NEA-BC, MEDSURG-BC, NPDA-BC®
had to say about her love for medical-surgical nursing:

AMSN: What do you love most about being a medical-surgical nurse?

Dr. Shara Rhodes DNP, RN, NEA-BC, MEDSURG-BC, NPDA-BC® (SR): What I love most about being a medical-surgical nurse is the ability to both develop a wide range of skills that I am great at while also identifying those skills that I am exceptional at performing and really perfect my craft. Working in some areas can lead you to be weaker in certain skills just because your exposure is so limited but in medical-surgical nursing, you’re exposed to such a broad range of experiences that you get to really understand where your strengths are and capitalize on those, while still being able to get better in weak areas. A perfect example for me was managing chest tubes. I’m not the expert at it but with repeated exposure, I’m able to maintain a level of competence that has allowed me to be stronger than my peers in practice areas outside of med-surg. Another example is complex wound care. It was something that I might not have been exposed to outside of med-surg but when I was given the opportunity to perform complex dressing changes I found that I absolutely LOVED it and so I took every opportunity to become the expert.

AMSN: What encouragement/message do you have for the AMSN community celebrating Med-Surg Nurses Week this year?

SR: 2024 is the year for us to help everyone fall in love with medical-surgical nursing with purpose and intentional recognition of the many faces of medical-surgical nursing. We can partner with physicians, ancillary services departments, clinical education and leadership to amplify the great work being done in medical-surgical areas. I challenge each of you to discover the personality of your unit, what makes your floor different from others, and show the rest of your hospital what makes you…You!!