POLL: nurse-to-patient ratio

[j0yegan]

I know there are different acuity levels, but on your floor, what is the nurse-to-patient ratio? I just want to add them all into a visual-friendly poll.

(If you work with "couplets", include mom and baby as one patient).

[Seasoned]

YEA!!!

[bamaguy1989]

I work med/surg. Average is 4 to 5 patients per nurse. Have had bad nights where we did have to go to 6 or 7. Hopefully that will not happen again since our hospital is beefing up the PRN staff now

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

NICU. Most assignments are 2-3 infants each. Of course you get the occasional super-sick kid who is 1:1.

[j0yegan]

Google Congressional Bill H.R. 1907.IH

Soon it will against the law to be out of compliance with the minimum nurse staffing requirement.

An excerpt from the bill:

“(A) One patient in trauma emergency units.

(B) One patient in operating room units, provided that a minimum of 1 additional person provided that a minimum of 1 additional person serves as a scrub assistant in such unit.

C) Two patients in critical care units, including neonatal intensive care units, emergency critical care and intensive care units, labor and delivery units, coronary care units, acute respiratory care units, post anesthesia units, and burn units

(D) Three patients in emergency room units, pediatrics units, stepdown units, telemetry units, antepartum units, and combined labor, deliver, and postpartum units.

(E) Four patients in medical-surgical units, intermediate care nursery units, acute care psychiatric units, and other specialty care units.

(F) Five patients in rehabilitation units and skilled nursing units.

G) Six patients in postpartum (3 couplets) units and well-baby nursery units…”

Write your congress representation to support the bill ASAP. Thank and join the ANA (American Nurses Association) for working on this issue and getting nurses this far!!

:yes:Yea, Baby, Nurse Power!

Awesome. I will find their email address and send an email! Thanks!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Acute inpatient rehabilitation: 1 nurse to 7 patients if we are fully staffed. Ratio will go up to 1 nurse to 12 patients if we are short-staffed. The specialty hospital where I'm employed will not use agency or travel nurses under any circumstances, yet they cannot retain staff nurses due to the uncompetitive wage grid and poor working conditions.

[j0yegan]

Last month, I posted a link to a proposed bill that will fix the ratios.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-issues-patient/safe-nurse-staffing-908167.html

Please visit this link to send a letter to Congress so we can help get this much-needed bill passed!!! Share this with everyone you know, too!

[1fastRN]

Emergency Trauma Department. No ratio.

Whatever is in the department divided by the amount of nurses we have. I'm on nights and we're always short. Lately it's been 5-8:1 with a mixed bag. If one of your patient's is very critical, they'll try to skip you. But lately the volume and acuity is so high it's rough. Last night I had 7 patients, one was admitted to SICU and the other Step-down. Literally running in circles.

We're supposed to max out at 10:1 but I had 11 one night.

[arobins72]

Med/tele, most often 5. Sometimes 6, but if we have 6 we get 2 aides, a unit clerk, and a task nurse who does our blood sugars and discharges.

[KJ87, BSN, RN]

1:22-30

I hate it.

[jojo489]

1:20 or 1:30 if we have a call off and can't pull. It's a sub-acute rehabilitation unit which means I have everything from s/p surgery to tube feeds to dementia all one one cart, all with varying acuity levels.

California ED

Pt:RN ratios as follow...

Typical = 4:1

ICU players = 2:1

Unstable = 1:1 or 1:2

{Ratios are maintained through lunch by dedicated relief nurse}