Help Please!!

In our ER the report is called over the phone and an RN (and RT or a tech, if needed) transport the patient upstairs.

As far as an ICU nurse coming down to transport a patient, that would most welcomed at my ER, but I don't know if my hospital is considering that or not. I would love it, for obvious reasons. I can be away from my other 3-4 patients (for up to 20-30 minutes sometimes) that could be anything from a febrile 10 month old, a guy with N/V/D X 2 days, or a nursing home resident w/ suspected hip fx. These patients need close monitoring and a nurse that isn't gone for a long period of time. If the charge nurse is available in the ICU to watch the nurse's other patient, I would love if the ICU would come down and get the patient.

What I hate is when I'm transporting a patient from room 40 to the ICU and I hear the call on my Vocera (it's a walkie-talkie type device we wear around our necks), "New patient in room 40, EKG needed STAT". I'm like, "Well, I hope that's getting taking care off.." lol

It works well as long as the two departments communicate, ER is not shoving patients to ICU when it is unsafe to take them and ICU has learned to be a bit more conscientious of the needs of ER in moving patients out as soon as possible.

so, what's the point of the Intensive Care Unit then?

ER is not shoving patients to ICU when it is unsafe to take them[/b]

So funny to me...so when is it "unsafe" for the ED to take ambulances? (this coming from someone who works in an ED that does not go on divert) How the heck am I going to "shove" a patient up to ICU anyway? So I can take them up without a phone report that gives hx back to birth? Hmmm I guess I have some pent-up frustration over this topic. Ya'll just stay up in your little ICU with your "safe" controlled environment and stay out of my organized chaos because you don't belong here.

Hey, we are being too hard on nrsang, she just told us how it is for her, and I can see why they wouldn't want the responsibility of going down to the ER given the staffing situation.

I think as ER nurses we should stand behind MS and ICU coworkers that draw the line on patient loads. The ER can't close their doors, for obvious reasons, and that will never change. BUT if those upstairs are committed and stand their ground I have to applaud them and hope a little of the trickle down theory comes into play. If we undermine their efforts we suffer as a profession. The most effective show for the public is an ER stacked to the rafters where critical patients are kept alive, but less urgent patients wait, and wait, and wait. We have chosen the front lines, and it's a tougher job as far as juggling who is critical and who isn't, but that's our part of the battle. Holding their ground on safe ratios is a battle more effectively fought by our upstairs coworkers. You all know that if they gave in TPTB would be more than happy to double their load, and come back to the ER asking why WE couldn't care for a third critical. If we've just forced the ICU to a 3:1 ratio we'd have not a leg to stand on.

Keep the drama, the stretchers in halls, the huge wait times, in the ER where the public is there to see it. And TELL families that more patients on the nurses upstairs IS unsafe, back them up. It's easy for the public to see we're run off our feet, let them know upstairs is just as stressed.

:dpffffffffffffffffffffffft