Texas Nurse:Patient ratio

[Tatet98]

Hi there! Im an RN in amarillo Texas working for northwest texas healthcare system. I was just wondering what is ur usual nurse-patient ratio in the medsurg area? i would like to address this question to texas RNs. I am currently working in the surgical-trauma floor and we usually get 6 patients a nurse without any techs or any help. Im asking this question because im thinkin this load is not even legal considering the high acuity of patients. I dont think texas has a defined nurse-pt ratio as considered to other states though, im not sure. Most of my patients if not all may have PCAs or epidurals and have q 2 hrs monitoring or q 1 hr if neuro case. I would greatly appreciate inputs as many as i could get. Thanks a lot..

The reason why im here is because im a foreign nurse and they sponsored us here through an agency. We have 3 yrs contract and im just happy that im about to finish few months soon. theres probably about 40 of us RNs here and were all running away as soon as were done.

[Tatet98]

bump bump bumop

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Actually, 49 American states do not have any defined nurse/patient rations.

California is the only state in the union with legally mandated ratios for acute care facilities.

[Tatet98]

Actually, 49 American states do not have any defined nurse/patient rations.

California is the only state in the union with legally mandated ratios for acute care facilities.

i think ur ryt.. thanks a lot

[RN1989]

Texas does not have any laws regarding what ratio is legal or illegal.

The ratio you are describing is a typical, middle of the road ratio for TX. There are places that have ratios of 1:5 on med/surg units, and others that are 1:8-10. There is no guarantee that you will have an aide with any of these ratios.

You need to realize that if a hospital brings foreign nurses to work at its facility, there is usually a problem. Otherwise they would have plenty of people willing to work there and would not be relying on foreign nurses. The problem may be the pay scale, the job requirements, the pt ratios, the way the staff are treated....hard to say but there is almost always a reason that local nurses are unwilling to work there.

I am finding many foreign nurses are expecting very low patient ratios due to promises and claims made to them that are not true. You need to realize that this country is in economic troubles and the ratios are only going to get worse due to changes in the reimbursement for care that are effective October 1.