do you know a hospital with good ratios???

[lee1]

Hi all, do you know a hospital that is practicing what is being preached. Decent ratios so that patients and staff are happy and well cared for? For example, anyone here have 1 RN to 4 pt ratios?? On their general med/surg floors??? How about 1:5??? Is it all RN or mixed with LPN???

I heard that Kaiser Permanante had advertised at one time this. Is it still true????

Do you believe that if ratios were practiced like this that more nurses would come back to hospital nursing?

Lee RN

[JMP]

I work ICU and it is almost always 1:1

I have done lots of homework in the patient ratio department, as I often think of coming state side, however, not too many IUC's have 1:1 by what I read.

Here is a link, Tucson, AZ 1:4 patient ratio for med-surg. Not that I am, or will ever be a med-surg RN, but if that is your department, Tucson is a beautiful place.

http://www.umcarizona.org/UMC/homepage.cfm

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

Community not-for-profit hospital

Med-surg AND telemetry: 1:6 on days. Not sure about nights; I think it goes up on Med-Surg 1:9 (but stays 1:6 on telemetry). 6 patients on Telemetry is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. We call it our Med-Surg with Monitors unit. And they are now going to take away the charge nurses on Telemetry (who currently have no patient assignment) and put in monitor techs instead ("all the other hospitals are doing it"...I guess we jump off the bridge if everyone else does it too). A 1:4 med-surg unit would be divine! Cannot imagine it here.

Our ICU "stated" patient ratio is 1:2 and we have a dedicated (no patient assignment) charge nurse. However, we take a lot of telemetry overflow so we may have 2 ICU patients and a telemetry. Or, joy of joys, you get to have all the telemetry patients that are stuck in the unit--and you could have 6 patients. Or you can have a mixture...1 ICU, 1 Telemetry, 1 Med-surg patient (as they have been reclassified but no beds available outside of the ICU). ANd then you get to transfer your non-ICU patients OUT when they absolutely need an ICU bed for some crashing patient and take an admission or two. It's getting crazy, guys & gals.

[majrn]

Originally posted by mattsmom81

I've read this term on the BB before but have no idea what it means...'splain please?

Pods are like team nursing, 1 RN and 1 LPN work together to care for a group of pts, 7-10 usually, RN does assessments and paperwork and doctor calls, LPN passes meds and does treatments. At least this is how it is where I work. Hope this helps

[susanmary]

Sending good thoughts, prayers and hugs across to you. We're here to support you. So very sad.

[Edward,IL]

Think to the future! Until noe, society has not had a clear idea re nursing.

We now have what I call "The California Standard". People know what is going on and similar legislation is being proposed in at leat 28 states. Hospitals that are willing to provide a positive work environment for nurses will, as was said, have nurses lining up to work there. Those that don't will be paying alot of money out in legal fees, damage awards for not meeting this standard which is quickly becoming common knowledge.

Just my opinion. Edward, IL

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

My hospital only has 14 acute beds so . .. .we usually staff with two RN's or one RN and an LVN AND two CNA's if we are full. That means 7 patients at the most (hardly ever happens) and our CNA's work as a team to get stuff done. We are so lucky. Our CNA's rock!

[Flynurse]

The ratios in the hospital where I work are messed up. One floor may have a 1:6 and another may have 1:12 ON THE SAME DAY! Don't know why...I don't question much since I'm a newbie.

[yodakelly]

when i worked on surgery stepdown/ telemetry, it was 1:4-5, sometimes 6 on a bad day/night, at times with no CNA; that was a hellish job some days. Now i work icu, so i'm used to 1:2 ratios. i work some extra agency shifts now and then, and recently got sent to the PCU, "progressive care unit," supposedly a stepdown from ICU-- had 6 telemetry patients all to myself. i earned every dollar of my agency pay that night.

nursing: patient ratios make ALL the difference. You can still have a bad day with four patients, but never as bad as with 6, 7 or 8!

[nimbex, RN]

our med surg is 1:7 now, step down takes 5-6, ICU is 2-3.

We started doing this crazy thing like saying...."NO", won't clock in........ then we're shutting down beds.

Hey 10 bed CCU, 4 RN's one of them a step down nurse with an IABP with a TVP maxed on drips only 5hrs. out of cath lab.... needed 6 nurses.... had 4.

That's why I'm drinkin' a LARGE glass of wine.