[JEANNE]

We are reworking our staffing policies and I am interested in learning what other facilities are doing in this area. Do you float to cover other units? if so is there a float premium and how much? Ir are you a closed unit and not float? What do you do if you want to float? Another issue is floating our staff to OB when thry are short, with some of us caring for infectious pts. What are you policies in regards to this?? Thanks for any help
If you wish to mail copies of your policies tome please send to:
Jeanne McDoanld,RN
AHC
PO Box 1002
Hwy NN
Elkhorn, WI 53121

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[Miss RNC]

Presently our med/surg nurses are being floated to critical care and step down units without any orientation to the unit at all!!
They tried to give one of our nurses 4 pts at various areas in the ccu. She was told that they were just floor type pts. EXCUSE ME, but in my opinion, if they were floor type pts, they would not be using up a ccu bed. They would be on the floor. These type of situations are dangerous. Thanks for letting me vent.

[dinirn]

Our hospital gives us no float premium, and little if no orientation to other units. Our hospital is also associated with a nursing home and they send us there as aids, worse yet now they started making us pass out meds to 40 pts we've never seen before, with different med sheets, and no orientation, does anyone know if there are any laws against this sort of thing, I live in Pa. thanks.

[Gerald]

Our Hospital has a "Relief Pool" that is specifically meant to replace sick calls. When we have all the positions on the floors and the Relief Pool filled,then this works very well. The problem right now is that we are experiencing an acute shortage of nurses, and have too many open codes all over. So the relief pool nurses end up replacing the open codes, and there is no one for the sick calls.