Floor Nurses

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

It would totally depend on the hospital, our facility for instance has very very little turn over. Many times when someone leaves floor nursing it is only to go to a different floor.

Have that be one of your interview questions, ask about turnover. If the hospital has low turnover that is defiantly a selling point.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Mar 3, 2008

many variables - including individual needs. 12-hour shifts were too much for me.

RNperdiem, RN · Mar 3, 2008

I left because after giving all the nursing skill I had to give, skipping lunch, leaving late, getting pulled in all directions and constantly being interrupted, having my interruptions interrupted, I could not give my patients the level of nursing care I wanted them to have.

I would feel ashamed when a family member would come to visit and my patient would be slumped down in the rumpled sheets.

I worked on a medical floor with predominately elderly people from nursing homes. Most people required total care.

had six patients and the amount of help from aides varied depending on the number available. An aide pulled to be a sitter meant the others took on more patients.

When I started dreading Monday from Friday when I worked 7-3 Monday to Friday, I knew it was time to move on. I gave med-surg a little over a year.

MedSurgeNewbie · Mar 3, 2008

Some of us are still on floors, I might be in the crazed minority - but - I do enjoy the crazy ride of med/surge its never the same day twice it will challenge you if you have a good group it can be fun.. If you decide to hit the floor just be ready to ride it -laugh a lot- ask for help and give it and it will all get done..

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

It really depends on the facility, but in my unit it has to do with the butt kicking pace and the fact that our unit is a stepping stone to ED and ICU.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

understaffing which effects patient safety, lack of break time, no lunch break. no time for bedside nursing

grantyRN06 · Mar 4, 2008

I would say it depends on the hospital and the type of floor you are on. On my unit it is extremely face paced..they told us in Jan. alone we did 600 admissions!!! So you can only imagine. Some nurses have stayed 2-5 yrs and there are a few that have been there for 25+ yrs. Basically the reason for leaving is being burned out...constantly running, poor staffing at times and the acutiy of patients is extremely high. Like MedSurgNewbie said no day is ever the same. I also work on medsurg and I take it one day at a time and the staff I work with is wonderful. That makes a big difference. I love the madness.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2008

I left because after giving all the nursing skill I had to give, skipping lunch, leaving late, getting pulled in all directions and constantly being interrupted, having my interruptions interrupted, I could not give my patients the level of nursing care I wanted them to have.
I would feel ashamed when a family member would come to visit and my patient would be slumped down in the rumpled sheets.
I worked on a medical floor with predominately elderly people from nursing homes. Most people required total care.
had six patients and the amount of help from aides varied depending on the number available. An aide pulled to be a sitter meant the others took on more patients.
When I started dreading Monday from Friday when I worked 7-3 Monday to Friday, I knew it was time to move on. I gave med-surg a little over a year.

Agree with the above.

In addition, the M/S nurse gets little respect in the media and often from other health care workers for her/his hard work.

I got floated in one place to 3 different units in 12 hours, on one shift. Between admits and transfers, I took report on 20 different patients. As luck would have it, within the first two hours on the last unit, one of my dementia patients coded when I was moving him - no warning, just sudden slump and no pulse. I call a code, and flat the bed. The team and MD get their and start throwing questions at me, wanting the bullet. And I have to pull out my sheet and read....leaving a lot of "I don't knows". Afterwards, I hear a lot of comments about M/S nurses.

When I work speciality units, it is easy for me to know the life histories on my 4 BMT patients and I am given plenty of time to know my speciality and their details, and discuss with other HCWers. I know my docs and the staff. That doesn't happen in M/S, too many MDs, too many specialties, too rapid turnover, too much floating.

Often other units are given preference in issues, because they are ER or ICU, and M/S is not given the credit that it should be for it's difficulty.

In addition, we have no control over many issues. The other day, I was giving a tube feed in an iso room. I get a call that I am getting a patient and getting report. I am expected to drop everything and take it IMMEDIATELY because it is from a "preferred" unit. I explain to give me about two minutes, so I can decon and get out and get something to write. Within less than 30 seconds, I get a phone call that I will get take report NOW!!!!!

I get out of the room to have a name give me a name .....and nothing more....no report, doesn't know diagnosis or age....nothing. For this, I stopped my tube feed, left my patient that needed me to finish teaching her and deconned....for a NAME. And by the way, I still got a complaint written on me....it went nowhere.

Yet, I can have a patient placed on vent and crashing, and I will have to wait an hour to give report to the ICU, because the nurse is awway and no one is available. I then find that he was eating lunch....do you think I have had lunch? Or for that matter, will get lunch at all that shift.

Too many shifts with no lunch, too many management morons that want us to memorize customer service phrases, cut back our staffing, yet want perfect Press-Gainey scores and ding us if we clock out more than 4 minutes after our shift.

grantyRN06 · Mar 4, 2008

OMG how did I forget about that!!! Yeah medsurg gets dumped on all the time..but we are extremely hard workers. And the report thing..yeah they call and call and when you can't get to the phone because your tied up your nurse manager calls because they say we are"refusing to take report" then when you get on the phone the NURSE KNOWS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND DOESN'T HAVE THEIR PAPERS TOGETHER.....and then the pt. doesn't come until 4hrs later!!! So I guess my hospital isn't the only one:)