At the time of her high school graduation, Marge Seaverson had signed up for nursing school only to find out there were no slots open until December.

"In the meanwhile, I got a job, met my husband Leon and started a family, so it was some time before I got back to nursing," she laughed. "Still, I had always wanted to be a nurse. So, in 1991, I received my ADN from Blackhawk Technical College in Beloit."

After accepting a position as a med/surg staff nurse at Beloit Memorial Hospital, Beloit, WI, Seaverson found her niche.

In 1998, with support from nursing leaders at the hospital, she earned her BSN degree from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, and, in 1994, she passed the certification exam in med/surg nursing.

"Our nursing director was encouraging us to demonstrate our competency through certification and the hospital agreed to pay for it, so I studied and passed the exam," she said. "It wasn't easy, but I felt great when I passed, and I've maintained my certification ever since."

Specialty of Med/Surg Nursing

Today, Marge Seaverson, BSN, RN,C, is a well-respected staff nurse on the med/surg unit at the same hospital and a passionate advocate for the specialty of med/surg nursing.

"When I was in school, my instructors told all of us med/surg was a great place to start," she explained. "They said med/surg nursing would teach us what nursing is all about, and we'd learn a little of everything as we developed and perfected our basic skills."

Seaverson is quick to correct any misconceptions about her chosen field.

"Every now and then, people say to me, 'You need to specialize outside of med/surg to be a real nurse and be recognized,' but that's just not the case!" she said. "I'm still a med/surg nurse because I enjoy my patients.

"If you specialize in a cardiac unit, your specialty is hearts; if you go into maternal/child health, you focus on mothers and babies; if you're in the ER, you fix patients and send them home or admit them to the hospital," she continued. "But med/surg is a fascinating clinical area where you expect the unexpected and life is never boring. You need a very wide range of knowledge and skills - to master a little bit of everything."

Valued Preceptor

Seaverson is a valued preceptor for novice nurses who come to Beloit Memorial fresh out of school.

"I've trained new grads for years, teaching them the basic skills and helping them understand the dynamics of the nurse/patient relationship," she said. "I remind them, 'This is a person, not a disease or a surgical procedure.'"

Seaverson stresses the importance of individualizing the plan of care for each and every patient.

"What works for one patient doesn't necessarily work for another with the same diagnosis," she said. "While vital signs and lab values are important, you can't lose sight of the person in the bed. You need to really look at the patient, and listen to what he's saying - or not saying. These are real people with lives and families outside the hospital, and we have to respect that individuality."

Teaching and mentoring are not the same as doing.

"At times, it would be so much quicker for me just to take over a nursing intervention or make a decision for the new nurse," Seaverson said. "But they have to work their way through these situations, with appropriate support, or they'll never become good nurses. I encourage them by asking questions, but I never let them flounder. There's a fine line between giving them autonomy and sending them into a situation that's over their heads."