Anyone else slow?

Published

Seems we have been very slow lately and I hate it! Usually we don't stay slow long and it should pick up very soon. I hear a lot of nurses say it's just the time of year. So do your units seem to get slow at certain times of the year? Seems like the time of the year shouldn't matter.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB/peds (after gen surgery for 3 yrs).

LOL, I remember when I worked in OB, we were ALWAYS busiest in late August-October. Christmas and cold weather month conceptions.:kiss ..so, count back 9 months and you have....um, beautiful, gorgeous late May-June....:w00t: maybe people were outside enjoying sports and flowers and not procreating then. :idea: What do you think of my theory?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You can have some of our babies. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU;CCU;Telemetry;L&D;Hospice;ER/Trauma;.

It has been subdural month in our ICU....and pnuemonia....and ruptured everything....bowels, aortas, appendices, ugh...

We are never ever slow....the bed isn't cooled off before another person is laying in it....

sometimes, I will have started with two patients or three....discharged two....and received two more!.....

IT is normal at our ICU to be this busy..

The only time we are quiet is during the Jewish High Holy days...most the docs observe....so I am looking forward to Passover!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Level III NICU.

I'll send some of our babies your way! We're a 40 bed unit, we haven't seen a census below 35 for weeks. We got up to almost 50 last week!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

Slow? What's that?

We're always busy it seems. Summer is a bit more busy because of the heat (110+ degree summer days) causing premature births for some women.

I can't remember the last time we were below full capacity though. Always lots of business.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

Yes! Our unit has been slow for the last couple of weeks. Luckily for me and other nurses as well, I'm off on FMLA caring for my hb who had surgery last week. I had to dock one day, and now my leave has kicked in. I live in California, so we do have paid FMLA for 6 weeks a year, but can take up to 12 weeks off.

Other nurses have docked two or three days, taking vacation time for the hours.

I just checked in, and our census is on it's way up. Hope it stays that way after I get back to work.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

We have a big census and a bigger acuity! I don't know what it is in the past month or so, but all our vents are terrible kids! We are having a run on gut problems too! We were almost at max yesterday.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
:lol2: Not us! Haven't been slow since November. Babies don't have calendars in there. :p
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Not slow here in cali, we have been running about 5-6 over capacity for a year. At one point we were 50% over our max. capacity. WE have rented vents and monitors and there are babies everywhere. We have taken over a ortho floor as well as our own. One day the only monitor I had left to use was our transport cart. We send them out if we can but these women just keep coming in our doors and delivering more babies. The night I was going to use the transport cart for a monitor I looked over our unit and got scared I did not know what was going where with lines and machines everywhere, I told the oncoming charge nurse if I was a float nurse coming in I would turn around and go home telling us we are nuts. It was hard for me to tell what went where and I put it together. Every shift I am off, and I could do extra hours on, I get a call asking me to come in to work. Just here waiting for it to slow down.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Our census and acuity is low right now. A month ago we were bursting at the seams, running 3 or 4 over capacity.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU- now learning OR!.

We are bursting at the seams also! We are down 5-7 nurses on some shifts and have had to pay double time, pull from the pool, etc.

Very scary stuff! I feel like I am doing DOUBLE the work when I work with someone from the pool....watching over them, etc. They never seem to know that an IV is WAAAAY out or that it is NOT okay for a preemie to get cold! (that is a whole different thread....)

Where are all of these kids coming from?!?!? ;)

Jenny

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion