Is this understaffing (or is it me?)

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I recently interviewed at a 120-bed, LTC facility. 118 beds are currently occupied; 16 are a locked Alzheimer's unit and the rest are two wings consisting of fifty + residents.

I would be working weekend option on nights.

I asked about the staffing and was told that on my wing (50 + residents), there would be a nurse (me), and 2 nurse aides.

That's it.

I feel that is ridiculous.

They should have a med tech. How in the world do they expect ONE NURSE to pass meds, PROPERLY assess, document, do Medicare charting, handle INCIDENTS (what about treatments??), and all the myriad things that pop up DURING TWELVE HOURS?

Giving meds to fifty + residents and everything else? Not to mention PRNs...

I dunno, but it seems to me they need at least a med tech........what do you all think?

Right now we have 83 of 95 beds filled. Maybe 5 of those beds are bed-bound.

PJ

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We have ninety beds with a census that runs around 84. We have a sup and four nurses along with 10 aides for 3-ll and a half unit assistant. We have a sup, two nurses and five aides for 11-7. On days we have two unit managers, four med nurses, a treatment nurse, two unit clerks and twelve aides and two restorative aides and one and a half unit assistants.

:uhoh21: I wish my staff wouldn't complain about our numbers!:crying2:

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I recently interviewed at a 120-bed, LTC facility. 118 beds are currently occupied; 16 are a locked Alzheimer's unit and the rest are two wings consisting of fifty + residents.

I would be working weekend option on nights.

I asked about the staffing and was told that on my wing (50 + residents), there would be a nurse (me), and 2 nurse aides.

That's it......................what do you all think?

Well! I work nights in several nursing homes (aged care) as an RN.

106 beds 4 nursing aids + me (RN).

128 approx 4NA + me.

156+ 5NA and me!

65+ 3NA and Me!

Yes the work can be very full on some nights. The NA's on the whole are very good. I do try to find time to work with them on the rounds but mostly I am caught up in pills, potions, lotions, paperwork and dressings - yes I did say night duty!

The worst part is the pay - lot less than in General or Psych nursing in a Hospital!

Mister Chris. :uhoh3:

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hello all, i am new to allnurses. I currently have 4 more classes left for my BS in health science but i plan to attend nursing school in the spring. I've been reading the posts for several days now and it has helped me answer some questions that i had. But as for the 50 patients per 1 nurse, that is crazy! I work in a hospital here in Miami and it is usually 1 nurse and 1 cna per 5-6 patients. I couldn't imagine anything more.

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Wow, I don't know how LTC nurses do it. 50 plus patients to oversee....I imagine all you do all shift is put out fires and do paperwork. I can see why these homes go to medaides...the nurse doesn't have time to get the routine meds passed.

I imagine having good CNA's is what can make or break a nurse in LTC...you rely on them so much by necessity.

My hat's definitely off to those of you whose love for the elderly keeps you in such tough conditions.

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Our facility has about 110 beds, and we are practically full right now. Our staffing is this:

7-3 shift: 4 lpns, 1 tx lpn, 12 cna's, 2 rehab cna's, rn(mds) lpn (mcare coord) don, adon, rn supervisor

3-11 shift: 4 lpns, (sometimes only 2 or 3) 6-8 cna's

11-7 shift: 2 lpns, 6 cna's

Even with all this staffing, dayshift runs ragged...what with all the family, doctors, etc. calling/visiting + visitors, too. Then add in the "call-ins" on all shifts, it's rough. we have 2 main nursing stations, and on the night shift, sometimes 2 nurses will split the 11-7 shift for one station....1 stays until 3 am and 1 comes in at 5 am. Not much fun for the other nurse left in that lone supervisory position for that small time period. I always wonder what will happen when the are catastrophes at opposite ends of the building!:uhoh3:

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My experience is that most places are well staffed only in the best case scenario...in other words, IF everyone shows up, IF your staff all do their jobs well without constant supervision, IF there isn't a full moon, IF there are no residents going bad, IF there are no new admissions, IF there are no visitors coming and complaining about their relative's care, IF you aren't interrupted with a phone call every 15 minutes. Those IF days almost never occur. Most days you run yourself ragged and you consider it a good day if actually acheive decent nursing care.

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My experience is that most places are well staffed only in the best case scenario...in other words, IF everyone shows up, IF your staff all do their jobs well without constant supervision, IF there isn't a full moon, IF there are no residents going bad, IF there are no new admissions, IF there are no visitors coming and complaining about their relative's care, IF you aren't interrupted with a phone call every 15 minutes. Those IF days almost never occur. Most days you run yourself ragged and you consider it a good day if actually acheive decent nursing care.

IF ONLY! Have experienced many years of nursing (35+) and still waiting to hit the real no-IF day. :uhoh3:

Best time, and probably the only time to experience no-IF days, is when you are away on leave somewhere on a beach into your second glass of bubbly.

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I think the criteria for determining staffing should be based on patient safety (including patient acuity) and whether or not the staff gets work done consistently on time. If there are med errors, falls, tx being missed, etc. then there is not enough staff. I have never worked in LTC but that sounds like too many patients for one nurse.

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Specializes in Home care, assisted living.

In our assisted-living home we have 45 residents, 15 of whom are in a secured Alzheimer's unit (dementia wing).

We have 1 or 2 med techs and 2 other CNA's on the 7-3 and 3-11 shifts. Typically, if there's one med tech, they are assigned to pass all meds and be the CNA for the assisted-living halls. If there's two med techs, one of them passes meds for the residents in the dementia wing. On 11-7 we have 1 med tech and 1 CNA (who works on the dementia wing).

In the morning 11-7 is to have all residents on the Alzheimer unit dressed and ready for breakfast. In assisted living 4 residents need to be dressed, and several others need us to wake them up. All of this must be done by 7 AM, because breakfast starts at 7:15 in the Alzheimer unit and 7:30 in assisted living--crack o' dawn, folks! :eek:

Does anyone know the requirements for staffing in assisted-living homes in Georgia? We're staffed pretty well right now because census is up, but in the past we've had problems with short-staffing.

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on 11-7 shift we have 1 LPN no RN and 4CNA's for 60 patients.

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Specializes in ICU, Agency, Travel, Pediatric Home Care, LTAC, Su.
hello all, i am new to allnurses. I currently have 4 more classes left for my BS in health science but i plan to attend nursing school in the spring. I've been reading the posts for several days now and it has helped me answer some questions that i had. But as for the 50 patients per 1 nurse, that is crazy! I work in a hospital here in Miami and it is usually 1 nurse and 1 cna per 5-6 patients. I couldn't imagine anything more.

The 50+ patients, 1 nurse, 2 CNA's ratios that people are talking about is for nursing homes, not hospitals.

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