Unit now overstaffed, and we keep getting floated

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

i hear ya, we have 1 nurse still to come to nights, but she will make 19 total nurses on nights...some nites we have 7 scheduled, and our staffing grid doesn't even go that high, it stops at 6 for 30 pts, and we NEVER get that high, due to isolations, privates, etc....we are getting low census left and right and LOTS of people are ticked off. However, I volunteer every now and then even if it isn't my turn, because I work 2 jobs and can go through to make up the hours I lose at my primary one. you do what you can, cause eventually you will be back understaffed.

KIMRNNYC · Jun 14, 2009

Everytime we come in now, someone is floated. First it was all about overtime, but now that our managers hired so many new grads, we are now overstaffed and experienced staff get floated. Is this a normal thing?
The bad thing was, I got floated, took a heavy load at the other unit, then got pulled BACK to the unit and had to take new admissions -- seems rather unfair and I felt very overworked. What is up with all of this?

I hate, hate this too! How do they consider this safe for patient care? I am looking for a new job because this just happened to my floor. I didn't get hired to work in the float pool. They get a lot more money than floor nurses. Good luck.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

I wish I would get floated more. I hate the unit admin stuck me on for the summer. I absolutley hate it!

NICUQueen · Jun 14, 2009

Being floated was one of the main reasons that I retired when I became eligible. I worked in the NICU for nearly 20 years and hated being floated to adult units.

Who would want a baby nurse taking care of them?

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

When the ICU staff quit en masse one year, we were used to staff the ICU for about 4 months, insisting that we were getting folks who were technically tele patients. We all hated it except one RN, who liked it -- until the day that the three "tele" patients they gave her all crashed, one after the other.

Man, I hope she had insurance.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 14, 2009

they used to do this to me at my old hospital -- at most of my old hospitals, actually. i used to hate it when they'd float me to another unit to do charge . . . because lpns and travelers can't do charge. they staffed their unit with lpns and travelers and had to have an rn floated in every night to do charge. that sucked big time!

sparta802 · Jun 14, 2009

Our nurse manager also hired several new grads- and we don't really need more nurses right now since we don't usually have a full census, plus we have lots of pool nurses to fill in. The new grads unfortunately become resented since they're taking away shifts on our units and then the nurses who have been there for years (and who had to train these new grads) get pulled. Of course, it's not the new grads fault- it's managements.

I agree with the other post about how we should get paid more if we're pulled to a different unit. Pool nurses make more, so should we. There should at least be some sort of bonus if we get pulled.

If only managers would listen...

nursalicious · Jun 14, 2009

Oh, I know what you mean. I'm a staff nurse in a 28-bed combined Med/Surg/Cardiac ICU. Not only has our patient census been low, we are also overstaffed. The new director who came on in December hit the floor running with a hiring frenzy. I don't mind taking a turn floating every once in a while, but some of the staff nurses with seniority who are being made to float are livid. We are either floated to COU or PCU and having 4 patients in PCU is actually quite difficult (for me anyway) when you are used to caring for only 2. :bugeyes:

I would much prefer being called at 5 AM and given the choice to be on call, cancelled or floated. Otherwise, I want float pool pay. Just my :twocents: .

2BSure · Jun 14, 2009

they used to do this to me at my old hospital -- at most of my old hospitals, actually. i used to hate it when they'd float me to another unit to do charge . . . because lpns and travelers can't do charge. they staffed their unit with lpns and travelers and had to have an rn floated in every night to do charge. that sucked big time!

holy cow!