Dialysis Staffing

[michigandialysis]

I am an RN in a chronic dialysis unit for the past year and have experienced short staffing, long hours and difficult PCT's to work with. Management seems uninterested in any complaints any of the RN's have. I am curious the ratio the RN's out there have at their units. Our unit has 16 chairs, full on both am and pm shifts, with only one RN and 3, sometimes 4 techs. Turnover is a nightmare, sometimes no lunch or short lunch in the late afternoon with 12-13 hour days. Every employee is sooo unhappy and we all threaten to leave...but with the economy, it is unsure if there are other jobs out there, so we all seem to stick it out, but are all frustrated! Any comments?:uhoh3:

[bleubob]

sorry to hear your stories. I feel SO lucky to be working in our facility that we get to take 30 minute breaks and lunch. Though Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays are considered heavy in our unit, still we manage to get it through. We have 16 chairs (2 are for hep B patients who usually show up often) and have around 1 charge nurse, and 10 RNs (no PCTs in my country). We might be having lots of nurses this time but we get to lose one or nurses in a month, we'll be experiencing the dillema too.

[sissib]

I feel for you. I worked in a Nonprofit facility. 28 pts, 4 rn/lpn's and 6 techs. There would also be a charge nurse to answer the phone and sit on her butt. I would have at least 2 UTI's per year. We did get our breaks and then if we got a chance we would run back to break room to take a drink or to bathroom. ONE bathroom for staff, that includes 3 biomed staff, usually a line waiting to get into br. Management won't even listen to complaints at all. I love dialysis but sounds as if they are all the same, with lots of problems and risks to our licenses. I am thinking about traveling that way I don't have to be in anyplace long enough to put up with the downside of dialysis.

[tinadr26]

wow, I feel bad for even thinking of complaining, I work in a full care unit ratio is 1 RN to 3 patients, no techs doing patient care, and one tech to do machines, remind me not to do dialysis in the States, a happy Canadian nurse :)