Going to a 4 to 1 ratio!

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I have been feeling the need to find another job because the floor I work on is fast, high-stressed, and very physically demanding. Our unit gets hip and knee replacements, all other othro. surgeries, GI surgeries, thoracotomies, amputations, fem-pops, and urinary procedures. All of my patient usually have multiple tubes, various complex medical conditions, and fifty percent are on telemetry monitors.

I find myself having to do the job of physical therapy due to the fact that most of these patient's have orders to be out of bed TID, orders to ambulate and/or walker training. It can be very frustrating because I have not been given any formal training in patient transfers, other than what was taught in a book or what I found out by asking the physical therapist to show me. As a side note, I do not know why our hospital does not have PT on the week-ends unless the doctors specifically orders it.

I have become very skilled in multiple areas and I have seen, done, and been apart of some amazing things, but the patient load of 5-6 patients was begining to turn me into the nurse I never wanted to be. There has also been a high turn over of nurses on my unit because of the difficulty of the unit. I am one of three that have been there the longest, and I have only been a nurse for nine months. But, just when I was ready to turn in the towel and hand in a letter of resignation that would have been peppered with a multitude of four letter words, I got some incredible news. Just found out that my floor is going to go to a 4-1 ratio!

I feel so happy about this. So it looks like I will be staying.

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Congrats! Looks like others were having the same problem as you and admin listened!

BTW...sorry about my reply to you in my thread, I thought by your name that you are still a student.

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Congrats! Looks like others were having the same problem as you and admin listened!

BTW...sorry about my reply to you in my thread, I thought by your name that you are still a student.

Not a problem. I need to change my name to "hyperRN".

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.

For a minute, I thought you were complaining about 4 to 1.

That's good news though.

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Not a problem. I need to change my name to "hyperRN".

*giggle* Makes me picture Supernurse flying around in a blur!!

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