Float ICU RN to Med-Surg?

[mturner88]

Today I was told that i had to float to med-surg from icu. I refused the assignment due to safety reasons. Futhermore, the did not offer any orientation nor did the want to send me to a tele floor. Ive never been a med-surg nurse and feel that its out of my scope to work with 7-9 patients. Now the hospital cancelled my contract and i think this is beyond unfair. Thoughts?

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

roser,

I agree with you. The OP felt it was unsafe and from his/her post, the OP is intelligent and capable of standing of for herself. I'm just wondering if the wording could have been different so that the facility wasn't so defensive by canceling her contract.

Saying that the floating assignment WAS in her scope and not dangerous, is impossible to say. She's the one that knows her experience only.

In the future maybe putting a clause in contracts saying specifically what types of units she can float too? Also, her asking for a few hours/a day of orientation is not unreasonable at all.

Also, relating to others talking about their ratios, anyone taking care of eight or more patients is risking their license. I would not be proud to say that I took care of that many.

[whatever...]

You are getting paid right? Then do your job.

[ctnurse420]

Where the heck are you getting 12 patients? That's absurd!

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Where the heck are you getting 12 patients? That's absurd!

*cough* starts with an H *cough* with a C in the middle *cough* ends with the first letter of the alphabet *cough*

FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE BABY!!

[Good Morning, Gil]

I don't see her being inflexible. She did what she thought was right and safe. If she has done nothing but ICU for several years, then she would be unprepared to work in M/S with several patients (with no orientation). She told her employer that she would certainly be amenable to the idea if she were given a brief orientation to m/s, but it sounds like they refused. It does seem like travel nurses are expected to float everywhere and do anything, though. Maybe travel nursing just isn't for you? (I've never done travel nursing, but usually, flexibility and being comfortable with doing just about anything is the name of the game).

I'm an ICU nurse, and if we are assigned to float, they float us to other ICU's in our hospital. This makes sense to me. I wouldn't mind being floated to m/s, but that's probably because I'm newer in critical care, and have recent experience taking care of several patients at once. Several years from now, I probably would feel less confident handling multiple patients, though I would still do it if assigned to float (since I'm already oriented to the hospital, etc and would feel safe), but everybody has their own comfort level. If they asked me to float to L&D or PICU, I'd say no as that is a completely different patient population. You take care of M/S patients in the ICU prior to their transfer, so it's possible, etc. If you felt you'd be unsafe doing your job, then you made the best decision.

Best of luck in finding a new job. If you're travel nurse, you're probably experienced, so I hope you don't have too much trouble. If you're thinking of traveling again, maybe clarify this with them in the beginning? Ask for orientation (a brief one, a few days or so) on the m/s unit if you will be floating there. This shows that you're willing to float to other areas, and that you are looking out for your patient's best interests.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Could you have in your travel contract "will not float to other assignments"?

Just a thought......