Floor nurse, please forgive me.... - Page 6

ED nurses, please forgive us periop types for sometimes swooping in and stealing (or at least pressuring you to hurry up and hand off) the pre-op patients from you during off hours and weekends. We just want to get the ball rolling and get back home so we can get some sleep before coming back. Please don't confuse our blank stares for hostility when it's just that we've been awake for 24+ hours due to getting called back before we can get home, get in bed and fall asleep.

There's not a single "easy" department in the hospital (I will confess that the PACU can be one of the easiest at times, but that can change in a heartbeat). The staffing is generally based on having just enough people to (usually) get the job done safely. Sure there can be some quiet times in departments like the ED and PACU, but they average out with the times of sheer pandemonium.