I have been an RN for about two years now. My fiance is in the military so we have moved around a bit. So in the last two years I have been through four hospital orientations. I understand that there is a nursing shortage, and during your interview, the nurse manager will say that her unit is always staffed properly, blah blah blah. "4-5 pts per nurse, one tech for every 10 pts." But as soon as I start my new job, same ol' ****. 6 pts a piece, lucky if you have one tech on the floor. im working on a medcine stepdown/tele floor currently. i was told the ratio was 1 : 4. and one tech for 9 pts. but this is not the case. im frustrated because i feel as if im not giving good pt care. for example, last night 3 out 5 of my pts were incont. of stool and i was not able to keep them clean and turned because so many other things were going on. there were only 2 techs for 36 pts, so i was basically on my own. it sucked, and i felt like crying. i really feel like giving up on nursing. is this really what i spent 4 years in school for and now $50,000 in debt? any suggestions, or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated.
Can any of this come back at the hospital if you were implemented in a law suit by a patient for any reason. I'm not a nurse yet and don't know the legalities of it all, but what is the hospital's responsibility in this. Lets start pointing the fingers at the staffing ratios.
sillymom
2 Posts
Can any of this come back at the hospital if you were implemented in a law suit by a patient for any reason. I'm not a nurse yet and don't know the legalities of it all, but what is the hospital's responsibility in this. Lets start pointing the fingers at the staffing ratios.