nurse pt ratios for new grads

alvardalton · Mar 19, 2005

Hi, y'all. I have just started my new graduate program, and am working on med/surg cardiac unit. We get all sorts there as we take admissions from our smallish EC. It is normal for me to get five to six patients on a day, no EN, CNAs or NAs. The charge nurse doesn't take patients but will lend a hand, CN is a resource person, we have an educator who will help, a new position of senior nurse/educator on these shifts has also just begun. A night duty I was asked to do in my second week I was asked to take eleven patients. Consequently I also hate paperwork!. :angryfire

Hey, the best of luck to you. It is an awesome job, I love it!

mjbsn2006 · Mar 20, 2005

I really would prefer not to work Med-Surg for 1 yr, and just move to a speciality, but the hospitals where I am(small towns) don't have alot of openings in those areas unless you already have previous experience. When they hire new grads, 95% go to med-surg unless they were already LVNs/RN's in another area. I love the OR (& Day surgery), and would really like to work in that dept. I have always been interested in women's health( L&D/Mother/ baby). I have that rotation next semester, so I'll get to really see if thats what I'd like to do. I also get ICU experience next semester, I have never really considered working in that dept, but who knows I may just love it. I don't think I will ever try Pedi; I just can't deal with seeing the precious babies so sick. I think my experiences next semester will determine the exact speciality I will try to get into. I'm trying to stay opened minded and see what goes on in all areas of nursing before I make a definite decision.

Do you already know what specialty you prefer? Or do you want to do med-surg to try to decide what you like? I ask because I have always worked critical care (17yrs), and I would have hated to wait. The skills you think you mind need to hone can come in any unit (specialty) that you like. The most important thing is a good orientation experience. In my experience most in my class by the last semester knew what area they wanted. Maybe a little tweeking one way or another has keep me happy.

phoenix24rn · Mar 20, 2005

I graduated from nursing school at 2001, 4 months later I was working at a peds hospital in FL. I was fortunate that this was a teaching hospital because I felt unprepared after getting off orientation. I worked at night thinking the load of patients and work would be easier. Having 6-7 patients with a care assistant was common, sometimes I was taking care of up to 9 patients in the medsurg floor. I don't want to discourage you. I just wanted to let you know what it was like for me, because back then I had wished that someone had told me what to expect once I got out of school. I was nervous, scared, and intimidated. That was a long time ago, it could be better census and staffing now. The important thing is that you always ask questions when you're in doubt. There are no stupid questions. If you haven't decided where to work, consider writing down questions to ask the recruiter. You want to be happy with your choice. And finally, having a mentor goes a long way. :nurse:

sunshines66, BSN · Mar 20, 2005

I really would prefer not to work Med-Surg for 1 yr, and just move to a speciality, but the hospitals where I am(small towns) don't have alot of openings in those areas unless you already have previous experience. When they hire new grads, 95% go to med-surg unless they were already LVNs/RN's in another area. I love the OR (& Day surgery), and would really like to work in that dept. I have always been interested in women's health( L&D/Mother/ baby). I have that rotation next semester, so I'll get to really see if thats what I'd like to do. I also get ICU experience next semester, I have never really considered working in that dept, but who knows I may just love it. I don't think I will ever try Pedi; I just can't deal with seeing the precious babies so sick. I think my experiences next semester will determine the exact speciality I will try to get into. I'm trying to stay opened minded and see what goes on in all areas of nursing before I make a definite decision.

Is there any way you can do an extern program? Are there any tech or nursing assistant positions available? Sometimes if you do one of those they are more likely to let you into a specialty area.