Float Pool

westieluv · May 18, 2011

I have many years of experience working in a Med/Surg float pool. My main piece of advice is to be flexible, and to be ready to go wherever they send you and not complain if it's a unit that you're not fond of. I have seen a lot of float nurses who, even though their job description obviously means that they will have to go wherever the need is the greatest, get fond of one unit and expect to work there most or all of the time and then pout when they are sent to another unit. It frustrates the management, and it's wrong for them to expect to be on the same unit all of the time, since being a float nurse, by definition, means just that, that you will float to wherever you have to go and be expected to do a good job and have a good attitude about it.

I always liked being a float because it made my job more interesting. If I got tired of a specific unit (or a specific patient, if we're being honest here), then I was pretty much guaranteed that I would get a break from it/them the next time or two that I worked. Also, as a float, you don't get bogged down in the politics, feuds, or problems of a specific unit, because you aren't a part of that unit's regular staff. If I had to point out a down side to floating, IMHO, it's just that too, that you don't belong to any one unit so you kind of feel like you aren't part of a close-knit group. However, my experience was that the nurses on every unit were very nice to me and made me feel like part of the group, even including me in holiday gift exchanges, etc.

The last thing I would say is that if you are going to float to specialized units that you haven't had experience with since nursing school such as renal, cardiac stepdown, etc. then go back and brush up on those specific areas of nursing. It makes the job so much easier. Also, if they try to send you to a unit that you know that you aren't qualified to work in, which a respectable facility won't do, but you never know, places get short-staffed and do stupid things, then refuse to go, because your license could be at risk. One hospital where I worked had me floating to just about everywhere, but there were some units that I knew that I shouldn't have worked on, such as post-open heart, since I have no experience in that area and no critical care experience, and I should have had the backbone to stand up and say that I couldn't do it. If something happened to cause my license to be in jeopardy, I am the one who would have ultimately had to take the fall, not the hospital. I didn't stay at that job long for that very reason.

Good luck! I loved floating, and I hope that you will too. :)

jamesy7 · May 18, 2011

Thank you for the response, Westie! I was starting to get really nervous about it, but I am excited to get experience in the different units :)

larniegrl · May 24, 2011

Just be flexible. Have your own routine down, because you will most likely be on your own. I love float pool though. Usually always somewhere different and new patients every shift. For the most part all my assignments are fair, sometimes you have a LONG shift because the charge nurse doesn't take the time to balance everything.

People like a nurse that is easygoing and flexible. It makes all the difference in the world if your attitude is in the right place and you come ready to work. People are much more likely to help out if they see your are competent and a team player.

Also, don't accept any assignment that is outside your scope of practice.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · May 24, 2011

I worked in the float pool a few years ago for a few months I loved it! The flexibility was great, I loved going around different floors.

I could stay out of the politics and just do my job!

Some days I would float the same place twice and that was a bonus to pick up the same patients again.

I would do it again in a heartbeat