Going over grid...........

workingforskies · Jun 23, 2008

Does your facility have a staffing grid? Do they ever disregard it? How do you handle it? Supervisor KNOWS the floor is busy. KNOWS we are short staffed and just keeps pushing admissions. I've filled out unsafe staffing reports and it doesn't seem to make a difference. DON has been notified, no changes made. We were two admissions over grid last night and I left feeling like a rag doll after such a miserable shift.
:crying2::crying2::crying2:
I have been through the same situation at a previous employer. Grid staffing, unacceptable staffing levels, endless and utterly fruitless discussions with the bosses. In the end, I decided my time would be far more productive and enjoyable to just smash my fingers, one at a time, with a hammer. So I left.

RN1989 · Jun 23, 2008

This is everywhere. Little you can do about it except to stand up and become politically active to try and change things. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best if you decide to join the rest of us rabblerousers.

Ahhphoey · Jun 23, 2008

Been there, done that with the staffing grid woes. In fact at my current job, we are constantly short staffed, but because it is ICU, we have no choice but to take the patients. Our staffing not being according to the grid is because we just don't have the staff though. If there is no nurse to come in, then really you have no choice. If there is no nurse because management has said you can make it without another nurse, than that is a whole other can of worms. I look at it as someone needs to care for the patient regardless. If the floors and ICU's refused the patient due to lack of staff, then the patient remains in the ER or PACU or wherever, where they, too, likely are dealing with their own staffing issues because patients are not leaving these areas. I'm not taking any sides because I've been on both as a staff nurse and as a bedflow coordinator trying to find beds for these patients. Just remember there is another side to the situation.

saphyre · Jun 23, 2008

Been there, done that with the staffing grid woes. In fact at my current job, we are constantly short staffed, but because it is ICU, we have no choice but to take the patients. Our staffing not being according to the grid is because we just don't have the staff though. If there is no nurse to come in, then really you have no choice. If there is no nurse because management has said you can make it without another nurse, than that is a whole other can of worms. I look at it as someone needs to care for the patient regardless. If the floors and ICU's refused the patient due to lack of staff, then the patient remains in the ER or PACU or wherever, where they, too, likely are dealing with their own staffing issues because patients are not leaving these areas. I'm not taking any sides because I've been on both as a staff nurse and as a bedflow coordinator trying to find beds for these patients. Just remember there is another side to the situation.

I do understand both sides of the situation. My biggest issue is that our facility cancels staff. They scrape by with bare minimum coverage and over load us. When I call for extra help, all I hear is "If we had someone to send, we would have already". There seems to be no planning for emergencies or high acuity. While I understand that the ED may be trying to clear pts out, management also needs to understand that they are creating very unsafe situations by going over grid on a floor that is crazy busy to begin with.

Ahhphoey · Jun 23, 2008

I do understand both sides of the situation. My biggest issue is that our facility cancels staff. They scrape by with bare minimum coverage and over load us. When I call for extra help, all I hear is "If we had someone to send, we would have already". There seems to be no planning for emergencies or high acuity. While I understand that the ED may be trying to clear pts out, management also needs to understand that they are creating very unsafe situations by going over grid on a floor that is crazy busy to begin with.

Oh, I see. Yes, your management is creating a dangerous work environment by cancelling staff to save money. This may bite them in the end when poor morale leads to increased turnover and thus more money spent on recruiting and training new staff members.