ED staffing ratios

[EDRN522]

To everyone working in a facility where the ED has a set nurse to patient ratio, how do you make this work? Are the ratios maintained when there is a sudden influx of patients? Patients kept in the waiting room longer?

[CTFD_RN, BSN]

We are assigned 4 rooms and if it gets bad then we also have a hall pt. Ideally we would be 3:1. We have a flow system where we "pull to full" and then start triaging and protocoling out of the lobby.

[SDboyy]

All patients are triaged. 1s and 2s are usually one to one. All others 1 to 4. Charge is not assigned patients and if 1s and 2s come in, charge takes the previous patients temporarily. If no rooms or not enough nurses, patients wait in triage. Generally ratios are honored.

[amyjm333, RN]

We staff 1:3. But when we get a truly emergent patient our zonemotes absorb our other two patients while we are 1:1. Charge also helps out wherever anyone needs it. And we usually have a throughput RN as well who helps by discharging patients, catching nurses up when needed, cleaning rooms, etc. We have amazing teamwork in our ED.

[msulliv4]

i just started this week at a busy urban ED and on a typical day shift we've had as many as 10-15 patients per nurse. i am a chicken with my head cut off and cried twice on my last shift.