Who does your pt assignments?

[Little_Mouse]

Just curious, since I always thought that the charge RN is "supposed" to do the assignment since they are the person knowledgeable of all the patients in the unit.

At my previous job, the prior-shift Charge RN did the assignment, but at my current location, they make the STAFF RNs do the assignment. Then the next shift comes along--both CNAs and RNs can be heard COMPLAINING about the assignment--"That was my patient yesterday!" "OMG that patient is so HEAVY!"--and mistakes to be found--"You're giving me TWO isolations?!" and of course: "Who did the assignment?!!" Eventually, things do get sorted out, but on an uber busy day, the assignment may not get done until 10min. after shift started...and even then people will find something needing to change or mistakes needing to be fixed. It eventually gets figured out, but omg, it's annoying...

How is it on your unit?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

This is long term care, so it's not as hectic, maybe, as acute care. Plus, we have the same staff work the same hall all the time.

On our rehab side, the nurses and aides are assigned to the same one of 4 halls each time they work, unless they do OT or switch days. In other words, Nurse and Aides A have Hall A, Nurse and Aides B have Hall B, etc.

The patients change of course, but the staff stay still. We are free to trade but both parties have to agree to a trade. If an assignment seems really heavy compared to 1 that is less so, the Charge Nurse can and will move assignments a little to try to accommodate the unevenness.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

The charge nurse for the shift makes the assignments.

[MJB2010]

Sounds like you work where I used to work! lol Seriously the Charge should be doing the assignments for next shift to make it fair. When the staff RNS did it on my floor, god help you if you got floated to us or were an agency nurse you would get stuck with the WORST assignment. I think you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the float and agency nurses. It was a lot of fighting, whining, and complaining. It was ridiculous. The assignments were never fair.

[divaRN*]

At one of the hospitals I work at the charge nurse makes the assignment. At the other, everyone picks their assignment before our shift starts. While this is good if you want your pts back from the day before, it lets the lazy ones get the easy patients all the time. And if 2 RNs want the same pt it usually goes to whoever has more seniority. I like when the charge nurse makes the assignment, this is the fairest way because they take pt acuity into account. Now that does not mean it always works out.

[itsmejuli]

Our unit is divided into 5 room assignments. The full-time nurses and aids always get the same assignments, the part-timers don't. So as a part-timer I get to know almost all of the patients on the unit. It works well and nobody complains.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

We have two halls on my unit. One LPN does one ..the other LPN does the other. Never an issue there. I am also part time so I am sometimes on another unit. I do know all the patients in the facility because of that lol.

CNA assignments are different and can be complicated sometimes. Theres 2 CNAs per hallway. If one CNA has two admissions that night. We will give 1 of those admission to the other CNA in that hallway. If there is a male CNA .. I know which residents would come up to me screaming their head off because they don't want a man. Which is completely understandable. Theres also switch-arounds involved when that happens.

[honeykrown, MSN, NP]

the previous shift RN does it at all times

[loriangel14, RN]

Usually the Charge on the previous shift but sometimes if she's busy someone else will do it.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

As charge nurse, I make the assignments for my shift. I try to give the same patients if possible. We have LPN's on our shift, also, so I give each LPN an RN to do their physical assessments on new admits, and to give their push meds. I base this also on what patients will be getting blood, etc., as our LPN's cannot give blood. I divide who is on the code team, based on their license and ability. Nobody ever complains, so it must be working out okay.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

The oncoming charge. They will give you the same patients if you have same ones there again.

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

the charge nurse from the previous shift makes the assignment for my med/surg job. For my L&D job, we meet at the beginning of shift and pow wow and decide who we want/request patients. Typically if we've delivered a mom/baby from the previous shift, we will take them post partum and pick up 2 more mom/baby couplets. If we've done post partum for the past few shifts, we switch to labor. It works really well.