Each year, we celebrate Medical-Surgical Nurses Week, Nov. 1–7. This is a time to revel in the specialty of medical-surgical nursing and consider the part of nursing that brings you joy.  After working as a clinical nurse in an academic medical center for 5–6 years, I was considering my career options and what I would do next. At the time, I was considering transferring to the intensive care unit (ICU) or maybe even to an ambulatory clinic. As I was discussing this with one of my friends, who had worked in the ICU, she gave me some advice I have carried with me throughout the years. She looked at me and said, “You talk way too much to work in the ICU.” She went on to explain that many of the patients in the medical ICU are intubated and restrained and did not interact with you the way patients did when they were in the acute care setting. I had to consider my friend’s comments and think about what it is that brings me joy in my day as a nurse. Needless to say, after contemplating my next career move, I did not go to the ICU. I stayed in the acute care setting, as my joy was in talking with patients and progressing their health to a safe discharge. Now I find my joy in being an advocate for and helping to grow the specialty of medical-surgical nursing.

AMSN has a few offers this week to encourage participation in Medical-Surgical Nurses Week.  We will have social media posts you can follow on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Use the hashtag #MSNW23 on your personal platforms and post your unit celebrations! We had the first annual Medical-Surgical Nurses Week essay contest this year. The winner (and all submissions) will be featured on the AMSN Blog. Tune into the Med-Surg Moments Podcast this month! I was interviewed by our lovely podcast co-hosts and enjoyed being part of this fun group! On this podcast, you will hear new patient-care practices, industry-expert interviews, and stimulating stories from every nook and cranny of the nursing community. And lastly, between Nov. 1–8, you can use the promo code MSNURSES23 to take 25% off the Behavioral Health Program Certificate and/or Clinical Leadership Development Program (CLPD) courses. Check out these items and more on our events page.

I hope each of you will be able to celebrate this week and take a moment to spread the word of medical-surgical nursing as a specialty throughout your organization and nursing community. Enjoy this recognition for the work that you do each and every day to care for our medical-surgical patient population.