floats in er

Sarah, RNBScN · Sep 29, 2003

We have 4 full time floats ER/ICU and 2 part time floats. They adjust well to whatever area they are in.

Sounds like you had a really bad shift. Hopefully it will be better next time.

Sarah

neneRN, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2003

Maybe this is why we don't let anyone float into our ER...likewise, we don't ever float outside our area!

dprayvd · Sep 30, 2003

aaaaa

CougRN · Sep 30, 2003

IMO ICU and ER are too different to have floats. Both are highly specialized and require different skills. There is just different mindsets in the two departments.

As an ICU nurse we concentrate on so many small things because that's what we are required to do. As an ER nurse you get so many patients that you have to do other types of prioritization. Both are highly trained but they don't mesh well with floating.

I would be lost in an ER right now. So I'm sorry this happened to you. It's not that he/she is a bad nurse. Just a different mindset.

Medic946RN · Oct 27, 2003

We occasionally have float positions in our ED and it works out great. The work gets done quickly and efficiently and if one nurse gets tied up on critical case the float usually helps lighten his/her load. Our staff is augmented by some of the best ED techs I've ever seen but you can really notice the difference when you have extra pair of RN hands available.

V. Nightingale · Oct 28, 2003

I think it often has to do with the float nurse themselves. The ER where I used to work occasionally used a nurse from the flex pool or floated one from another floor. We tried to give them a quick orientation and the easiest patient assignments, and to help out as much as we could to keep them from getting buried. Some did great, some of them sucked. The ones who did well were usually excited about getting to work in the ER; the ones who stank were usually mad about being pulled out of their comfort zone.

Mostly, I think it's better not to use float nurses in the ER. The pace is too fast and the work is just different than anywhere else in the hospital. Same thing for the ICU. It's not really fair to the patients or the nurse to throw someone into a brand new situation and expect them to carry a full load, and that's too often how things happen. Where I work now, the ER nurses are totally dedicated to the department and do NOT get floated; likewise, if we're short handed we know that no one is going to be pulled to our department. It puts a lot of pressure on our staff sometimes, but we know that every nurse there can carry a full patient load without someone looking over their shoulder.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2003

It was really rude of that nurse to float to your unit and tell regular staff they need to prioritize. I'm sure regular staff knows what they need to do better than someone from another area does.

Also, the posts in this thread so far really illustrate the fact that every area of nursing is getting so specialized, it's a tough situation for many people when they float. Used to be med-surg was considered "general" nursing.

But when I was in med/surg float nurses from other areas really were not sure of what to do.

I have even seen an ICU nurse who took a job at a LTC facility because she said she wanted "less stress" in her life. She was a good nurse, but LTC had changed so much since she had done it. She was totally shocked to find out the nurse to pt ratio was one to 65!

She became disgusted and went back to ICU.

The old adage of "a nurse is a nurse is a nurse" no longer applies!