Am I a woosy for feeling 5 patients is too much on a medsurg floor

[PaperPushingRN]

Like I stated in the title, I feel 5 patients on day shift on medsurg is too many. I feel like I am in a constant marathon from the time I hit the floor!! And it is STRESSFUL!!! Am I alone in this?......

[guest769224]

Other hospitals, including my current one, take 3 in ICU. I have never worked where there was a nursing assistant in ICU,

You routinely take 3 ICU patients each shift? They are big time taking advantage of the nurses and overworking them. 1:2 is the national standard for ICU and how it should be, especially with that high acuity. I'd refuse, and find a new job.

[beekee]

You routinely take 3 ICU patients each shift? They are big time taking advantage of the nurses and overworking them. 1:2 is the national standard for ICU and how it should be, especially with that high acuity. I'd refuse, and find a new job.

I don't disagree, but I get 6 and we routinely take ICU transfers from outstate hospitals. ICU there, med surg for me. So, it totally depends on acuity. If they truly require ICU level care, then sure, not appropriate.

[neonn965]

First of all, it depends entirely on the acuity of that particular patient set. If they are all independent w/ no IV access, then no that is not too much. If they are all total cares w/ a lot of LDAs, then yes that is way too much. Second, I will never understand justifying inappropriate ratios with examples of other even more inappropriate ratios at other hospitals. Third, generally speaking, to provide what I would consider excellent nursing care I think anything over four patients on any unit is too much. After that, it just becomes a matter of what gets prioritized and what aspects of nursing care fall to the wayside.

[cyc0sys]

I have 25 Pts and 2 CNAs. I work at a Rebah/LTC.

I have 10 Rebah'ers. 3 are 3 days postop CABGs, 2 are 5 days postop TKR, one on 24hr IV Vanco/Piper, 1 w/ a peg tube q2hr bolus feeds, 1 w/ a wound vac, 3 brittle diabetics (one of them Coded right when I came on shift) Those 3 are recovering from falls or uti's and will D/C home.

The remaindering 15 LTC'ers are bed or chair bound. Demented from the pleasant range to the terminally agitation with combativeness. Most are incontinent of B&B. All require 1 to transfer. 3 are hoyer lifts. 2 are actively awaiting celestial discharge by MS04.

I'll trade you any day.

[chocoholic999]

Nurse Aiken published a study about this years ago:

http://dpeaflcio.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2003-1-The-Aiken-Study.pdf

basically, 4 patients is a safe med/surg patient load. Beyond that it gets deadly.

Every time I was assigned 5 or more patients, I faxed a copy of this report to staffing office. Didn't change my assignment but I let them know I was accepting the assignment despite my objections based on patient mortality rates. I had a company bigwig tell me "we are okay with our death rates. We factor any malpractice suits into our profit margin."

So yeah, reasonable for the hospital. But not for you or your patient.

[BlinkyPinky]

Do you get woozy when you are working? Like dizzy/nauseated?

Or did you mean "Wussy?" Every time I see your title, I think you're about to fall out. ha ha

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

A co-worker of mine (110 pounds 5ft) was punched by a 6 ft 250 pound man while performing bedside care. This happened on an oncology floor. He punched her so hard that she blacked out, and only remembered waking up on the floor. After that she switched to being a wound care nurse. She was dissuaded and not supported by the hospital so she could take time of to heal her injured back (use workers comp). She continued to work and was a nervous wreck. This man was known to be difficult. He frequently cursed the nurses out. He laughed about what he did to the nurse. We normally had 5-6 patients (onc/med-surg). The acuity of all of the patients was always high. I worked there for a year. Working in the inner city, I worked with the sickest of the sickest patients.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I remember those days. My shift was 3 am -11 pm but I and everyone else left at 3 am so we could get everything done.

[babatee, MSN, RN]

5 patient's on a med-surg floor? That's great. Most places I have worked in the past have a 1-(6-8) ratio.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

I have 25 Pts and 2 CNAs. I work at a Rebah/LTC.

I have 10 Rebah'ers. 3 are 3 days postop CABGs, 2 are 5 days postop TKR, one on 24hr IV Vanco/Piper, 1 w/ a peg tube q2hr bolus feeds, 1 w/ a wound vac, 3 brittle diabetics (one of them Coded right when I came on shift) Those 3 are recovering from falls or uti's and will D/C home.

The remaindering 15 LTC'ers are bed or chair bound. Demented from the pleasant range to the terminally agitation with combativeness. Most are incontinent of B&B. All require 1 to transfer. 3 are hoyer lifts. 2 are actively awaiting celestial discharge by MS04.

I'll trade you any day.

Did we use to work together?

[amzyRN]

Try to go to the ICU, most states have an understood ratio of 2:1 max.