Coping with large patient assignments due to staffing issues

[Spretty]

Hello nurses!

At my hospital I am the chairperson of the process improvement committee. I haven't been a nurse for very long, but the committee was in need of some help immediately so I offered my time. But I need some help and ideas for running the meetings!!!

The most current issue my hospital is facing right now is staffing issues. Our census dropped so low over the past year that the entire place downsized, including nursing staff. We pretty much we're cut in half. But now that flu season is back we are facing desperate staffing problems. We are caring for more patients with less resources. We are all getting burnt out fast and the overall moral is very low.

unfortunately when talking to some friends at other hospital systems, this problem is not exclusive to where I work. Everyone pretty much has some sort of staffing problem, where the nurses are expected to do more with less.

My question is this: Nurse to patient ratios are not going to get better it seems. So how can we as nurses deal with a larger assignment? What can we do to improve the process for our own work day? What little things can help us do our jobs faster and more efficiently when we are under stress from having too many patients?

Ive be realized at this point complaining will get us nowhere. We have to start helping ourselves and thinking of ways to improve our care and our environment.

Can anyone help us out? We need ideas!!

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

If you have two patients who need a sitter and you're short, move them to rooms right next door to each other. This is what we did today.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

PERFECT example of management throwing the problem back on nursing.

"can you tell me how you could get a lunch break? ( vomit)

There is NO commitee, no process improvement ideas that will compensate for SHORT STAFFING!!

Tell adminstration to bring in agency to obtain safe staffing levels.

[DoeRN]

That's pretty bad for a PCU. I'm crunchy and grouchy with 6 PCU patients. And don't even look at me if you try to throw #7 in there.

I know you were looking ideas for the nurses to prioritize and how to handle that kind of load. There's no advice but for management to hire more staff, travel nurses, PRN staff. That's a sentinel event waiting to happen.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[bebbercorn]

I never accepted more than 5 PCU pts when I worked PCU... that is so dangerous. Get more nurses before a sentinal event occurs! I agree with above posters... full CNA and Clerk staff, agency nurses. Offer mucho OT incentives. Think of what it will cost your hospital not if but when a patient is hurt by this.

[november17, ASN, RN]

And make sure your people are writing variances for every single little thing that happens due to being short-staffed. It will encourage management to address the problem faster since they'll start to be held accountable for the breakdowns.

[RNperdiem, RN]

As the chairperson of the process improvement committee, you can start with an inventory of what power you do have.

It seems you don't have the power to increase/improve staffing. Can you get other departments to pick up some of the slack for nursing's increased workload? Patient transport for discharged patients? An IV team?

Do you have the power to write policy of what are considered appropriate transfers/admissions? Sometimes floors get stuck with inappropriate transfers because the ICU needed the bed.

Unless your manager and the manager above him/her is involved in your committee, I suspect you will not have to power to make larger assignments bearable.