Yes or no?

LilgirlRN, ADN, RN · Dec 18, 2001

PS...

If we have someone who is going to be late, or someone who calls in and cant be replaced, we close some beds for safety's sake...maybe you can do that.

CEN35 · Dec 18, 2001

well........it's 8:37am......i did get to leave about 4am. it slowed enough to get out fortunately. by time i got home and showered and hit the bed it was 5am........up withthe kids at 7:15 :eek:

in the meantime......the hospital will use agency. the problem is as of 11/04, they capped the agencies and said take it, or leave it. well they left it.....and unless they are one of the people under contracted through the end of january, nobody will come to our system. so that will get worse.

trust me...if the hospital would pay double time, which would be the same rate as agency now........there would be a line.

lilgirlrn - closing beds? not to be sarcastic here at all so don't be offended. having cva's, copd'ers, chf'ers, and mi's walk in through the door.....we can't park them in the waiting room untoil a used bed opens, while others are available in the er. if something happens? we would be ******. when on divert, some squads refuse to go anywhere else.

it gets even better.....we have people that refuse to go anywhere else. the hospital pr is let them come if that's the case. it's all ****.

anyways, kinda looking around for a change eventually. at least i know there is something there for sure, because by the start of summer i am figuring to go prn and try the travel thing out over the summer for sure, if not sooner? we'll see how things go from there.

i have the sister in law coming to watch the kids for a few hours so i can get a little more sleep!

night night everyone! :)

me

LilgirlRN, ADN, RN · Dec 18, 2001

I work in an ER just like you do, we have the same kinds of patients to walk in too. I work in a small ER, 14 beds..day shift has 4 nurses, a tech, a secretary and a charge nurse. If push comes to shove charge will take patients. If someone calls in sick, we close non-essential beds, such as the ENT room, we have 2 pelvic rooms so one of those goes and then 2 other small rooms. If things go to hell in a handbasket, open the rooms. I know some nurses would rather have all the patients in the ER rather than have the non-emergent ones wait in the waiting room, I say let them wait, triage nurse can check on them. Diversion works the sameway here too, fi the patient is hellbent on coming to see me, they come. This usually works for a while in the morning and then sometimes we can persuade someone to come in. We have an oncall nurse, do you?

CEN35 · Dec 18, 2001

ok a 2 hour nap.....and i am ready to go!!! :) not!!! :eek:

me :)

Mijourney · Dec 21, 2001

Hi CEN. Glad you got to go home. Hang in there as long as you can, but keep your eye peeled for other alternatives. I agree with other posters who indicate that it's not worth your health to go through what you did. As you wrote, hopefully you will have rare instances in which you have to work as you did.

Stargazer · Dec 21, 2001

Was struck by this:

When on divert, some squads refuse to go anywhere else.

That's crap. If you don't have the option of closing to ambulance traffic, then they can't box you in with no staffing alternatives. Your ED medical director, man or woman, needs to grow some cojones and advocate for your staff with both the hospital administrators AND with the medical director for your EMS system.

Hope you catch up on your sleep soon. Stay safe.

LilgirlRN, ADN, RN · Dec 22, 2001

Same goes in our ER, if the patient insists on coming to our facility, they come to us, diversion or not. We kept an MI in the ER for 28 hrs this week until a CVICU bed came available. :/