Ever feel like the med/surg unit is the hospital dumping ground?

[deespoohbear]

I was wondering if any other med/surg nurses feel like their departments are the hospital "dumping grounds?" In our small hospital, our M/S floor basically gets what the other departments refuse to take. Besides are regular inpatient med/surg patients, are department also does the outpatient blood transfusions and outpatient surgeries. We also get patients from the doctors' offices who come for IV replacement therapy if the ER decides they are too busy to deal with them. We get Hospice Respite Care patients. We get hyperemeisis graviderium patients because OB doesn't want them. They say they are "infectious." So, now the latest thing is ICU has decided they are tired of doing their 3 patients who come in weekly for Primacor infusions and are trying to give them to Med/Surg. The really aggravating part to this is that sometimes are 4 bed ICU has 2 nurses for 7a-7p, plus their nurse manager. Med/Surg usually only has 3 nurses for 21-24 patients. The ICU manager contacted the hospital DON. Now there is an inservice scheduled for Med/Surg are taking care of these Primacor patients. I know taking care of them is that difficult (they all 3 have infusaports), it is just the idea. The nurses on M/S have absolutely no say in what kind of patients we get. Heck, we even get suicide watch patients who are on every 15 minute checks. Yeah, right. I would hope our DON would look out for us for once, but I have this sinking feeling that our department is going to be stuck with these patients also. Thanks for letting me vent.

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

I have done hospital (med-surg) nursing for 10+ years and I feel the same way you do- especially about the ob pt's. It seems our OB floor won't take them unless they are crowning (too infecious, too complicated, we're too busy, we're understaffed) We finally got the day stay unit or ER to do out pt IV therapy- that was a real PIA. One guy was suspicious of shooting up via his heplock so we had to pull his IV and restart every time he came...

It seems to me that our ICU "hangs on" to pt's until something better comes in or their shift ends. It's like they only swap pts out. "Yes we will take your critical pt but we have to send one out" Soooooo, did that person belong in ICU to begin with or what? All of a sudden they are med-surg material because you're getting another admission? Or shift change is getting close, no need to keep pt's on the unit to justify our staff- send 'em out to med-surg!

Combine the direct admits, ICU transfers, OB run-off, ER admits, PACU and you got yourself a bonafide med-surg floor!!!

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

As a ICU nurse I do feel that the MS nurses are dumped on, which is why I am not a MS nurse. God bless all of you, I don't know how you manage. I have found that the types of MS patients are the hardest to care for, call bells on constantly, confused, combative, constantly incontinent. Visiting hours are also longer so you have to deal with many families. Because I realize this I always make sure when I transfer a patient that the bath is done, all orders taken off, meds reordered if not in their bin so the nurse will have them. I know those are small things but I do try to help both for the patient and the nurse. I just can't believe the ratio of patients to nurses in MS, it it truly awful. Many thanks to all you MS nurses out there.

thanks for your efforts to help!!!