24 Hour Services

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Curious how different hospitals operate. I know this will be based on size and what types of patients you see, but which of the following services does your facility offer 24/7?

[wanderlustnurse88, RN]

Small hospital (rural). 14 acute care beds and 8 bed ER. X-ray available 24/7 although after hours they are on call. No lab services but we can just our own basic labs on a system called Point of Care. We can do lytes, Cr, CBC, urinalysis, troponin, lactate, LFTs, blood gases, INR.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I work in a very large teaching hospital. Pretty much everything goes on 24/7.

[ohiobobcat]

The most recent hospital I worked in (I am a school nurse now) had 12 ER beds, and 24 inpatient beds, I think. They were remodeling when I left and I don't remember what the final bed count ended up being. The OR was 2 or 3 operating suites. And I think 6-8 beds on OB. A rad tech was on site 24/7, and we used Nighthawk radiology services to read xr/CTs. There was always an ER physician on site. Overnight, hospitalists were on call and the OR team was on call. Lab/phlebotomy and respiratory services were 24/7. Registration left at 2300, so the ER tech/secretary was responsible for registering the whole hospital from 2300-0600. We also had and "administrative coordinator" overnight. The "AC" is an RN responsible for bed management, going to pharmacy, paging the OR crew if needed, calling people to cover for call-ins on all units, extra help on all units if needed, transporting pts, etc.

The hospital I worked at prior to that was even smaller. Respiratory was on call after hours so we did our own blood gasses and nebs. If a patient needed to be on a vent, resp would come in to help stabilize, and then the patient was shipped. Radiology was on call, lab was 24-7. No house supervisor. There was 1 RN and 1 ED tech from 0000 to 0600 covering the 7 bed ER (with a physician). No OB (we delivered a baby in the ER one night!). I want to say about 20 in-patient beds (?) with 2 ICU-lite beds. This hospital had it's own ambulance service, too.

[RNperdiem, RN]

In my large teaching hospital, all of the above are open all the time except outpatient pharmacy. Not all of the cafeterias are open after hours. Some specialized radiology services are not staffed, but if a patient needs ultrasound or a hida scan after hours, there is always someone on call.

I was telling my husband that the computer equipment we use must be heavy duty. In most workplaces, computers get turned off for the night. Our computers, monitors and other equipment are never turned off. The hallway lights are always on.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

Technically everything is 24/7 at my large teaching hospital. But I've worked weekend nights for years, and it simply isn't true. Scans for dvts don't happen off hours unless ordered emergent. I've rarely seen an MRI get done on the weekend. I'll have to think what else...

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

In my large teaching hospital, all of the above are open all the time except outpatient pharmacy. Not all of the cafeterias are open after hours. Some specialized radiology services are not staffed, but if a patient needs ultrasound or a hida scan after hours, there is always someone on call.

I was telling my husband that the computer equipment we use must be heavy duty. In most workplaces, computers get turned off for the night. Our computers, monitors and other equipment are never turned off. The hallway lights are always on.

Our cafeteria isn't open overnight. Our computers reboot every night at 0300. Super fun if you're in the middle of charting or giving a med!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

It's 1am for our computer reboots. Save all charting by 0045.

[anon456, BSN, RN]

All but greeters and outpatient pharmacy. I work at a pediatric hospital in a large metro area.

My child once asked me if the light-up signs have on and off buttons, and that they shouldn't because we never close.