Imagine my Dismay.....

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

That's CRAZY!!! Made me tired just reading that! I don't know if I could have handled it or not, I haven't worked a floor in a long time - I transferred to our ER quite a while ago.

Y'all did an awesome job of helping each other, it sounds like. Impressive!

Anne, RNC

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

The only way you can handle this is team nursing. The "you take care of your patients, I'll take care of mine" mentality will not float in this situation. You guys really must have pulled together and had some great teamwork. Bravo!

dudette10, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

Sounds like the SNU is physically located in the hospital, correct? I have to ask the reason for hanging blood because it makes me wonder if these patients are on the proper floor. I often work our SNU and rehab units, and if I see an acute change or orders coming in that indicate an active "hospital" problem, I advocate for transfer to inpatient. It is a patient care and safety issue. Someone who has a suspected GI bleed deserves to be tele monitored and with a nurse who has a lower ratio.

kiszi, RN · Mar 15, 2014

I feel for you! The SNF I worked at used to hang blood.. until they cut staffing levels and changed the policy since it was no longer considered safe to monitor a blood transfusion and care for up to 13 other pts. Ya think? Acuity didn't change, mind you. No, we would just ship pts to another building for blood then bring them back. We did have 2 or 3 aides for 27 pts though. Ditto on floating to med-surg being a nice break. lol SNF nurses rock!

Dazglue, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

So I get to work yesterday...
I work on a skilled nursing unit...however we have sick peeps. We hang blood, IV meds etc etc..many times it seems like a med surg unit rather than a SNU....
So any way we have like 24 pts and 3 nurses and to my shock, only 1 CNA for the shift. These people are mainly post op knees and hips and need assistance for EVERYTHING. The call light rings constantly. So one tech for all these patients is well, not going to do much for our PG scores...
So I had a little tiff, got over it and set about my work.
To my dismay, 10 minutes in to the shift what do they do? They pull the one tech to a different unit...
This is day shift BTW and was a Friday with a zillion discharges and admits to boot.....
we made it and no one fell and no one died but we wont be getting any high marks for service.....
The other part of my little minirant is the lack of respect that SNF nurses get. We can and do all of the things you "real" nurses do. In fact when I float to a med surge floor I feel like I am on a vacation.
When the med surge nurses float to our unit they find a corner, fold up into a fetal position and cry incessantly lamenting that they will never be able to handle their assignment.....interesting yes?
Anyway......that is the end of my story lol

I think we work on the same unit! Lol. It wouldn't be a problem if this didn't occur everyday! Staffing calls for 4 cnas yet we only have 1 and they wonder why float refuses to come work in our unit!

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

Do you have any recourse when you unit is staffed well below your matrix? Who was the "they" that pulled the tech ..and was your manager aware?

I would always write an unsafe staffing report when staffing sunk to a new low. Then, when any stuff hit the fan.. there was at least documentation and could head off trouble for nurses on that shift.

I would never think of SNF nurses as any "less" than a real nurse. Your comment regarding med-surg nurses pulled to your area WAS interesting. Appears that you look down on them as not being able handle YOUR area.

Many nurses have difficulty being pulled out of their unit. It's a different world, with different responsibilities. Hopefully, in the real world .. you are more supportive.

Sounds like a very difficult unit, I have been there done that. Hoping it improves for you and all involved.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

I once worked in a hospital that included a SNU. It was on the same floor as med/surg. Patients could be transferred there after three days of acute care.

It always amazed me that we'd send these patients, across the hall to the SNU nurses, with all the acute hospital interventions and half the staff.

How does that make sense to anybody?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2014

Wow...go you!! That sounds awful. Hugs

nynursey_ · Mar 16, 2014

This sounds like my floor and I'm on a Med/Surg floor with the new arrival of geographic care. SNF sounds like a vacation to me!

generalRN2008 · Mar 16, 2014

Bloof should not be hung in SNF units. Check Medicare regulations on that. Good luck with staffing help

SE_BSN_RN, BSN · Mar 16, 2014

Yeah, I've been there!! Going through my LPN-BSN program, I'd be in a med surg rotation, and laugh about the nurses complaining about their 4 or 5 patients and having to give one a bath. Really? They have no clue. I also find it funny how we can spend lots of years in LTC/SNF and get turned away for a job in acute care. Boggles my mind. Where do they think we learned time management and how to get a med pass done on 28-30 people in 2 hours???