assignments based on Patient Accuity

suzanne4, RN · May 12, 2005

Actually, most facilities do................you shouldn't be given four patients who are what we refer to as "completes" in your assignment, and another nurse only given one...............you can have the same number of patients, but they should be divided on how sick the patient is and how much care that they require, not just be actual room numbers. At least this is the way it should be done.........

Alrn · May 12, 2005

Actually, most facilities do................you shouldn't be given four patients who are what we refer to as "completes" in your assignment, and another nurse only given one...............you cna have the same number of patients, but they should be divided on how sick the patient is and how much care that they require, not just be actual room numbers. At least this is the way it should be done.........

Thank you.

where can i obtain a list that is used to determine acuity level for patients?

Alan :)

suzanne4, RN · May 12, 2005

It is up to the facility to decide which system that they wish to use. There is quite a variety out there available to administration.............

Alrn · May 12, 2005

It is up to the facility to decide which system that they wish to use. There is quite a variety out there available to administration.............

Thanks for the reply

I am heading a committee to make the decisions and we need to look at a few systems that are in use. You indicate that there are a variety out there. It would be greatly appreciated if you could you tell me where I might obtain somewhere I might obtain some. .Thank you! Alan

suzanne4, RN · May 13, 2005

Can you be more specific as to your patient population. Most of the systems that I have seen and used are based on the type of unit, age of patient, etc..

Let me know, then I can come up with some suggestions for you...... :)

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 13, 2005

I wish. Perhaps you might ask this question to be moved to the general board or repost it there. This board is really for introductions and you might not get many responses. :)

Our assignments are not made by acuity in that we all are going to be assigned six or seven patients in a district. The charge nurse attempts to make sure the nurses don't have a bad assignment.

But not done by acuity.

suzanne4, RN · May 13, 2005

Every facility that I have worked in over the past five years or so, has had some type of acuity system that we were responsible for documenting on for the anticipated needs of the next shift. This is what the staffing office, as well as supervisory personnel bases the number of nurses assigned to the unit on, as well as actual patient assignement.

I have seen forms done on paper/pencil, as well as different computerized versions. The facility that I am at right now uses a computeritzed system. It is used on every unit, general floors as well as NICU, and PICU. The acuity points are assigned differently as to the unit..................

Mulan · May 13, 2005

Acuity????? What's acuity??????????:rotfl:

Sorry can't help you. Where I work the assignments are done according to numbers not acuity.

estrogen · May 13, 2005

YEAH...acuity me... We just all get six in a row. If there's more staff, LPN's get six, RN's get the open beds for poss. admits (how fair is that when there aren't any admits?). The floor is simply devided into equal sections regardless of acuity.... That's why often one nurse may be running her rare off all night while others are bored out of their minds...

SharkLPN · May 13, 2005

Our facility uses acuity to gage staffing needs. Of course, the way ours eventually is measured and calculated is faulty, ie: Tuesday's night staffing is set according to Monday nights acuity, and not the acuity from Tuesday day. Monday night could be a low acuity, Tuesday day discharges them and admits a bunch of high acuity, total care patients. And we're still staffed as though we have the low acuity folks from the night previous.

This sounds bad. It's really not, as we're never staffed according to acuity anyway - it's just another headache piece of paperwork we're expected to do. :rolleyes:

Oh, and our assignments are never acuity based, though nicer charge nurses planning the assignment will refuse to dump all the total cares on the LPNs. :yeah:

suzanne4, RN · May 13, 2005

We work 12 hour shifts, and we would be doing the anticipated acuity for the night shift, and they will be doing one for us.

We are staffed on the complexity of the patient and how busy that they are.