[spidermonkey]

Originally Posted by kadokin

But, why float an RN to a unit to take v.s. and give baths? Come on, is this REALLY cost-effective? BTW, our hospital experimented w/having non-nursing personnel as house supervisors for a time. The director of respiratory care felt any nurse could float anywhere at any time, because "a nurse is a nurse is a nurse". What a fool. Would he feel the same way about this if a psych nurse was assigned to care for his loved one on ICU? You folks need to stop and think about the VERY specialized knowledge that staff members accrue when they work for a time in a particular speciality. Yes, even unit clerks and CNAs know how to enter orders and report to their superiors in very specific ways that are critical to pt. safety in their speciality. Think about it!

I agree w/nursing supervisor-(Daytonite) in that basic nursing- BP's, assessments, etc. are not any different between units & can go a long way in easing the load on a short-staffed unit. The hospital I worked at expected RN's to float, b/c they did not hire LPN's, and had a limited number of aides. This hospital had a very low turnover rate & very high RN satisfaction, and I believe part of that was b/c we all worked together for the patients.

[allele]

We have a policy quite similar to Daytonite's....per diems always float first. They only exception is if they told the charge ahead of time that they wanted to be considered a 'no float'...then they were just cancelled and lost pay. If there are no per diems working that day, then staff floats in turn. We also keep a log. I work on a step down unit, so we're usually the first to float to ICU or medical tele, but we also go to med surg or rehab and OCCASIONALLY the emergency department, but no one is comfortable there so if we have to go to ED we go as a 'helping hands' only. Take vitals, help the nurses out, etc. Our unit actually tries to cancel nurses if they're not needed on a particular day and ask them to trade to a day where we may be short. It eliminates our floating to another unit AND another unit floating to us on an otherwise short day. (No one really likes floating to our unit). I personally don't mind when it's my turn. All units have always been very nice to me and fair with the assignments.....and I like the change once in a while and the different experiences I get. It all works out in the end, they use a fair system...and nurses can grumble if they want, but they can't deny it's their turn thanks to the log!!

[Marie_LPN, RN]

I take an occaisional float day.

Maternity, ICU, ER, Psych and OR/ASC staff themselves. Telemetry, Nephrology Oncology, etc. are the floors that floats work on.

[Marie_LPN, RN]

Do any of your hospitals staff in 4 hour shifts???

Ours does, not as a set shift though, that's typically what i'll take.

[Marie_LPN, RN]

I forgot to add that Maternity will take float pool nurses w/ prior Maternity experience for their postpartum unit.

[fergus51]

Originally Posted by spidermonkey

I worked in a small but extremely busy rural hosp. & we complained about floating- so admin. asked us to list the areas we would like to be cross-trained to. I chose ER, ICU, & Med-Surg. in that order. We still had to float, but since I worked PACU/OR & hadn't done Med-Surg in YRS, if I went to Med-Surg I didn't take a full assignment- and let me tell ya, they were thrilled to have any help they could get & were VERY appreciative. I wasn't expected to pass meds for 10 patients, but I could do anything else- assessments, admissions,etc. By the same token, when they came to help us, WE were very appreciative of them. (and we didn't make them take a vented pt or manage A-lines, IABPs, etc.) It kind of gave all of us a new perspective & appreciation for what the other person did. Nobody likes floating, but the fact that we were appreciative & willing to work w/each other went a LONG way in easing the discomfort of leaving our "home".

I think the fact that they were willing to train you to certain units is the key. I would happily cross train or take assignments in units I have prior experience in (like PP, L&D). I would not like to have to go to a pediatric unit or an adult med-surg unit without being cross trained since I don't have experience in those areas.