How much ancillary help do you get?

gwenith, BSN, RN · Sep 29, 2006

Iwork on a neuro trauma unit. This has been my first nursing job out of school. We're working without a tech and recently sometimes without a secretary. This is a HUGE medical center and we serve a tri-state area. It would be great if we had someone to deliver and remove trays, take off orders and answer phones and help with turns and basic hygiene.
Just curious if this is just the way it is on most ICUs.

It isn't that way here - sounds like you need to do a submission to management i.e. no phone calls per day 10 - 20 av length of time per call 10 minutes = 100 - 200 minutes time lost per day (approx 1.5 - 2.5 nursing hours per day lost in non patient related activities. What you have to be careful about is in showing that this is to feed back to improve patient care - not to feed back to reduce number of nursing hours required per day.

JenSICU_CCRN · Oct 6, 2006

Iwork on a neuro trauma unit. This has been my first nursing job out of school. We're working without a tech and recently sometimes without a secretary. This is a HUGE medical center and we serve a tri-state area. It would be great if we had someone to deliver and remove trays, take off orders and answer phones and help with turns and basic hygiene.
Just curious if this is just the way it is on most ICUs.

Heck no....thank God for our unit. I work in a very busy Trauma/SICU in a tri-state area as well. We have a PCA (unit secretary/CNA) 24 hours a day unless there are 3 or 5 patients. At 5 patients we have 3 nurses and no PCA and at 3...2 nurses and no PCA. If we can justify the need, then we are allowed to have the PCA anytime....like last week, we had 5 patients and worked with 4 RN's and 1 PCA...we had a 1:1 patient (CRRT, 9 drips, CCO PA Cath, 5 chest tubes, etc) so it was justified. Our nurse manager NEVER questions our justifications. We have wonderful support, and patient safety is the priority. I agree with the above poster about justifying why you need help. Oh, and by the way, I work nights and our staffing pattern is the same for both shifts, so don't let management stiff you if you work nights....ICU patients need the same at night as the day.

Jenny

GrnHonu99, RN · Nov 30, 2006

I work in a huge neuro ICU. On my floor alone we have 72 neuro ICU beds. There are more but I cnat remember how many more beds there are. However, my unit has 36 beds and there is another unit exactly like ours on the oppisite side of the floor. Soooo...for 36 beds we have 2 HUCs and usually 2 PCTs. Im amazed that we even have PCTs. I havent ever seen PCTs in an ICU before but I am sooo glad for them. They are so overworked, they go to scan with almost every nurse, take o ut all the linens and trash, help change EVD bags, draw labs, prep for EVD placements....Theyalso help turn/bathe a pt if a nurse asks although we almost always bathe and turn our own pts. I sure do wish we could have more PCTs, 2 for 16 nurses is not enough!!!