How often do you work short?

[lalalalexi]

I am set to graduate with my RN in May and I currently work on a busy surgical floor as a tech. I have worked there since July. Lately I hate my job more and more and my morale has been low because I would say 3/4 of the time when I come into work, we are short at least one tech and I get more patients than I honestly can handle some nights. I run my butt off and feel like I dont do as good of a job as I could because I'm so busy and I often find myself not being as nice and patient with people as I want to be simply because I'm so stressed and busy. I am wondering how often nurses find that they are working short on their floor. I know it's something that seems so simple, but I am questioning how happy I will be working in a field where I am forced to pick up the slack all the time and then not be able to do my job effectively and not be proud of the kind of nurse that I'd be. What are your opinions about this? Is working short a pretty typical thing?

[flightnurse2b, LPN]

we work short everyday.

administration doesn't consider it short.

they have a special grid they use, regardless of the acuity on the floor.

so many patients=so many nurses and techs. if we don't have the numbers by midnight, someone has to go home.

[Alibaba]

I work nocs in a nursing home on a floor with 102 residents (capacity is 110 but the least amount we've had since I have been there was 98).

Every bloody night, we get 4CNAs and 2nurses. This with 10 residents on feeding tubes and a bunch of the alzheimers/dementia patients that are up all night getting into trouble. Oh,,,and don't forget the 50 residents on the get up list for the Cnas, and the treatments, medpass and accuchecks, skin assessments, weekly summaries etc etc etc.......and pleeeease dont mention changeover days where only noc shift does the MAR reconcilliation.

Almost every night I clock out and I swear am not coming back to that he** hole. But I put on a smile the next night and do it all over again. What is wrong with me???

Basically, I work short every night on this job. Thank GOD for Prn and agency jobs that help provide a different perspective on things. (Like grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence)