Staff in ED/ICU

Shanimal · Nov 3, 2018

My hospital ED/ICU are a joint unit. Currently we are undergoing a staffing crisis and increase in workload due to increase in number of ED visits and increase in pt acuity.
Has anyone gone through the process of trying to prove that staff patterns are not adequate for the acuity of the unit? Any suggestion on tracking tool for data? Approaches that would best?

I once worked in a facility like this. When I attempted, along with my nursing and physician colleagues, to provide evidence to administration why severe nursing staff shortages were unsafe in emergency and critical care settings, our concerns were brushed off (though not without a smile and thanks for our input LOL). It's a cynical thing to say, but there's some truth to it--money talks. The hospital execs didn't start to listen until they were forced to pay out tons of money for travel nurses and "consultants" to come in and make the same recommendations we did from the get go (figure that!).

So you can certainly try the same route we did--do a lit review with recommendations for staffing, and have the backing of other nurses and physicians. But there's no guarantee they'll listen. I suspect more than likely the problem will continue to get worse before it ever gets better, so you have to decide if it's worth sticking around to find out. Good luck!