Med/ Surg Patient to Nurse Ratio

[pilpusher]

I work a realitvly small KY Hospital. We have two acute medsurg floors each with 33 private beds seperated into 4 wings. There is a central desk were the unit secetary answers lights and enters orders. Each wing has a small room with a counter, med cart, computer, shelving full of supplies, patient fridge, icemaker... you get the picture. Each wing is designed in such a way that you may not see any other nurses that day. I was recently speaking with another nurse who had returned home from travling these past 7 years. "I ask him how are the other hospitals? Did you like them?" He looks and tells me straight up that in the 8 diffrent facilitys that he worked at across the country, our small facility had THE highest ratio he experienced. I was amazed and I wonder.. is that accurate? What are your ratios?

Here is where i work: 8:1. RN, LPN.. whatever. 8 patients, 1 license... unless your the unlucky nurse of the day that gets the wing with the extra room.. then its 9:1. So, that is 33:4. .. it could be all RN or 3 LPN and one RN... but that doest matter because each wing has everything you need.. you don't really see your coworkers.. your nurse aide can make or break you in terms of care. aide ratios are 8:1 from 7am-3pm.. then they drop to 16:1 . No charge nurse.. no IV team, admit/discharge team.. whatever kinda teams we don't have 'em. we do it all. Oh and the rounding with a purpose.. was just implemented..

[hdhnurse]

rural hospital ......medical surgical unit that has everything. (peds, geriatrics, tele, post-op, criticals, etc,) Our ratio on days is 1:6-9 nights 1:8-9 primary care...one aide at night for as many as 20 patients. The ratio for aides on days it about the same as the nurses.

On a daily basis we will have cardiac drips that should be monitored closely, tele patients with active chest pains, occasionally ventilator patients. Its a total hodge-podge free for all when it comes to the acuity of the patients.

Admin. recently took away our charge nurse and incorporated charge nurse duties into our daily assignment. One nurse may be assigned to relieve the HUC for lunch and breaks another is supposed to do assignments. We are still paper charting.

Another bright money saving idea admin had was to close the outpatient clinic down a few days a week. Guess where all of the outpatients have to come to get their treatment? You guessed it....our med-surg floor. So it is common for me to have to drop everything I am doing for my patients and do an outpatient iv antibiotic or blood transfusion.

Surgery is not allowed to have overtime so any surgeries that run over will be recovered on our floor also.

Then they tell us we have a bad attitude!!!

[MereBuffNurse, BSN, RN]

We usually have 6:1 RN or LPN, sometimes 7:1. I work night shift, so we are lucky IF we have an aid (it's 1 for 20 patients), we have no secretary, IV teams, admission person, etc. We do it all.

[chelleanne]

hdnurse,

Your place sounds just like where I work! It can be frustrating and trying at times.

Chellebop

[V-Neck T-Shirt]

Seasoned: I Googled, found, and read the bill. Very interesting. From my phone, I couldn't search and figure out when it will be voted on. Do you know? Thanks!

[Seasoned]

Hi. Not sure, but make the congress representative for your district do the research work. Contact your rep's office frequently to keep tract of the progress on the bill.