Floating from Mother baby to main hospital

[rachmbu]

Hi everyone,

I am a Mother baby nurse. Do you all float to the main hospital? Until now, we have always been a closed unit (except floating to the nursery). I have worked on this unit for over a year but used to work med-surg. The upper management made us an open unit during a period while we had no manager. I wouldn't be so upset about this except that they are only floating myself and 1 other nurse (because we "supposedly" have experience and the older nurses don't have to float because we have always been a closed unit and they don't have experience). Because of this, I am floating over there every other day I am scheduled. I don't think its safe for the babies for us to be floated to other floors with isolation. Nor, do I think its safe for my license as I haven't worked over there in so long. Also, when I ask for help (after floating to the main hospital) I don't get help from the other nurses and I feel like I am being thrown to the wolves. I am so upset, I don't know what to do. I feel that this is putting my license at risk.

[rachingram1220]

Hi rachmbu,

It sounds like they took 2 nurses and turned you into a Multi-Service Ward staff! You should definitely have competencies signed off on the Med-Surg Ward (like Mosby's or like when you went through orientation on any other ward.) This will cover your license. They should not be making you float that often without competencies signed off, even if you have experience! Floating once or twice can be fine, but if you are one of their regular staff…not having a training packet signed for that floor=not cool! It also sounds like the management knows you and the other nurse won't give them as much complaining for floating as the other older nurses would. What does it say in everyone's contract? Is everyone suppose to float? It might not be in the older nurses contract, just the nurses who were hired in the past few years. If it is everyone's contract, take it up the chain of command!

As for the babies, it should be ok as long as they aren't making you work on both floors during the same shift, especially if you use universal precautions. If you think something isn't safe, speak up and use the 2 challenge rule!

I'm currently a nurse supervisor on a Multi-Service Ward, while working 12 hours shifts as a clinical nurse. We literally have L&D on one side, and Med-Surg, Peds, Ortho and BH on the other! We all have competencies signed off for L&D (we have some specific L&D nurses, but the other nurses are ICU, Med-Surg and psych trained nurses who have been through some L&D training.) We also have competencies signed off for Med-Surg, Peds and BH-that way we all are covered and trained to take any patient we might get on the floor. If we do have an infected patient who is on some type of precautions (MRSA, C-Diff, pneumonia, VRE etc) we do not mix nursing/corpsmen (I'm in the Navy!) staff. The staff who take care of the infected patient, have nothing to do with any babies that shift. The next shift might be different, but we are really careful in making staff/patient assignments when there are patients on precautions and babies on the floor as well.

Main point: If you feel it is unsafe….it probably is, and that warrants you to speak up! Ask for training/competencies and then take it up your chain of command if things are not resolved. I hope this helps. Let me know if you continue to have trouble!

[allegra78]

Weve be having to float too. I think its an excuse by mgmt to keep from hiring staff to cover these units. We are sitters and pcas..and frankly we are all tired of it. No one cares about how we feel..our mgr is worthless and the staff is very unhappy. Im sorry..I used to be a pca when I was in nursing school....after finishing nursing school I worked on a surgical floor..notice these are mentioned in past tense. If i wanted to be a med surg nurse thats what id be working right now!! I have a real problem with that..and if we get busy..Im suupposed to go back and take care of moms and babies(with my mrsa infected scrubs)

[KristinaCalin, ASN]

This is a constant issue for Maternity nurses. I've been in the field for 25 years. We are expected to float all over the hospital....yet, when we are drowning, no one comes to help us. We are told, "Oh, we can't do labor and delivery. We don't have experience." Yeah, and I have NO experience doing Med/Surg.....but when the rest of the hospital is short, we hear, "A nurse is a nurse. Didn't you go to nursing school?" I respond, "Yes. 25 years ago and I've only worked in maternity since. So why don't you come work a shift on L/D and I'll give you 2 inductions? You went to nursing school....you should be able to handle it." Many hospitals seem to believe that the nurses who work Labor and Delivery are the "float pool" for the rest of the hospital.

You are correct to be afraid for your license. JCAHO has identified floating as the #1 cause of the deadliest mistakes that are made in nursing. If you refuse to accept a float assignment, most nurses are threatened with severe disciplinary action (however, almost every case that has gone to court, where the nurse has been fired for refusing a float assignment where he or she has not been properly trained, the nurse has won.....but during those years of litigation, the nurse is usually unemployed).

I've tried multiple times to get state boards of nursing and nursing associations to create an official statement, regarding floating nurses to unfamiliar units. Those who SHOULD be making a stand on this issue simply refuse to....or they give some sort of politician statement that could be interpreted a thousand different ways.

Honestly, we need to keep pressuring the associations who set the standards for nursing practice to take an official stance on this topic. Until they do, nurses will continue to be exploited and patients will be put in danger.