Nursing Nightmare - Whats's the most number of patients you cared for by yourself?

12 dialysis patients with another LPN - this was NOT the norm, but our tech got a call 10 minutes into the shift her husband was in the ER with chest pain, so we didn't have a choice.

ER, travel assignment, 12 patients (beds), 4 of them ICU/ vent or trauma.

11 patients on an acute care unit on nights. One other RN, the "charge", but she also had 11 patients of her own. No tech or ward clerk. One of the patients started yelling her room-mate was going to knife her. The room-mate, an 80-year-old woman, produced a knife she hid from her dinner tray and said she reckoned she would knife her room-mate sometime during the night. I had to put the "knifer" in a wheelchair and take her with me all night, parking her in the doorway of whatever room I went to so I could watch her, because there was no help to be had and I couldn't get restraints as she was believed to be too feeble to actually do any harm. I have learned never to trust the feebleness of a patient. Dawn finally came and everyone survived.

77-79 Nights, Charge LPN:
26 Medical Patients w/ 2 aiides
8 ICU w/1 aide

79-82:Nights, Charge LPN, 1 aide
14 Telemetry/Resp step down pts
by 82 with vent pts got second nurse, no aide

82-92 now RN charge
Telemetry/Resp step down
4-6 vent dependent patients; w/ 3 RN's staffing 14 beds

87-92, 3-11 RN Per diem
32 SNF pts w 2 aides

Started home care per diem in 85; went FT 96, Carried 32-36 pt case load

I used to care for 71 patients by myself (no other RN or LPN, no medication aide, and 2 CNAs) on night shift at a nursing home last year.

For the past few months we have been taking care of 100-110 residents with 2 nurses and 6-8 CNA's on 2-10 shift. They keep promissing a third nurse but it never seems to materalize. This includes 8-10 g-tubes, several with IV's, lots of accu checks and insulin, breathing treatments, etc. Long term care is not what it used to be, we are getting people right out of ICU these days. I have decided they don't plan to get any more help as long as we keep doing the work of three for the price of two. Why would they! I have had as many as 60 all my responsibility! The company I work for is known for being cheap and no giving a d--- about their employees.

In a large county ED with 400 patients per day, you took care of all of them. There was no such thing as a nurse/patient ratio.

I work a tele floor. currently. I personally have had up to 10 on 2nd shift. I regularly have 8 on nights. When I was oreinted I saw 2- 4 hours blocks where the RNs had 13 on 2nd shift. I came VERY close to quitting without ever finishing orientation. This hospital doesn't believe in ratios. I keep hoping IL will pass a law out lawing this practice. I think until they do the hospital will keep doing this. Also the aides on the floor regularly have 13-15 pt each on 2nd and 20 on nights.

Worked day shift on Med-Surg. Between floating, admissions (we did the complete admission packets), discharges, and postops going / coming to & from surgery, I stopped counting at 20 patients one day.

And I quit as soon as I had another job.

30 hematology/bone marrow transplant patients with one aide with a bad attitude. Everyone had at least q 4 hour antibiotics (most had several antibiotics), blood transfusions, Amphotercin and the BMTs were in Isolation requiring a 1 minute scrub each and every time we entered their room. It was a nightmare!