Med Surg floating to ICU

[lsyorke]

Does your hospital float med surg nurses into the ICU under the stipulation that "you'll only get easier patients". I'm in the float pool and this is occuring pretty frequently now. Initially it only happened if there where med-surg patients "hanging out" in icu waiting for beds, but lately there assigning us to ICU patients. I'm not comfortable with this situation and have asked for the hospital policy on it. Opinions??

[babynursewannab]

At the risk of proving how little I know about ICU, I have to ask. What's a UD bag? :uhoh21:

Don't feel bad. I work in the CVICU and I don't know.:chuckle Could it be "Urine Drainage" bag? If so, that's the first time I've seen anything but "foley" listed.

We could have a lot of fun making up possibilities!

-Alyssa, RN

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Can you float to ICU without an assignment, be an extra pair of hands, prime lines, do some of the paperwork, restock, be the door greeter? Be the turn Q2H person and do your rounds?

I used to float to ICU and loved it, then I transferred there and went through the orientation and got some idea of what I had been doing...I really didn't know that I didn't know so much. Didn't even make it through orientation and truly I wouldn't be interested in going back.

[suzanne4, RN]

Yup, bad experience this week. The nurses in the unit are usually pretty good about picking the "waiting for transfer" patients, but this one day has me looking at the whole thing in a new light.Thanks for the input guys.

Just because they are stable and have transfer orders, they can still go "sour" very fast, and if you do not know what to do, it will be your license on the line, not the facility's. To meet standards, you should be ACLS certified before even considering floating to any type of specialty unit to begin with or you are just looking for trouble.

[suzanne4, RN]

I have floated to ICU from my med/surg floor a couple times now. Although im not really comfortable with it, i will not take a vented patient, i will not be responsible for their monitoring and they know it. I have taken patients on monitors but one of the other nurses is responsible for all charting regarding cardiac monitors. As far as i see it i can monitor UD bags, IV's, give some iv pain meds, i can do a couple assessments,etc etc, but i wont do the things im not comfortable with. Im an extra hand, and thats it.

Once you are listed as the nurse for that patient, it is your ultimate responsibility. Doesn't matter that soemone is reading your strips, etc. Just means that you delegates that job to someone else, but you are ultimately liable. You are not just an extra pair of hands. I suggest that all of you look at the statutes from your BON very carefully.

If a legal problem occurs, they will also look at hospital records to see who had the assignment of the patient for the shift, not just who charted. Please be very. very careful.

[suzanne4, RN]

Can you float to ICU without an assignment, be an extra pair of hands, prime lines, do some of the paperwork, restock, be the door greeter? Be the turn Q2H person and do your rounds?

I used to float to ICU and loved it, then I transferred there and went through the orientation and got some idea of what I had been doing...I really didn't know that I didn't know so much. Didn't even make it through orientation and truly I wouldn't be interested in going back.

Sure, you can float without getting an actual patient assignment, but once you get that assignment, you have your license on the line. And you take full responsibility for everything that happens that shift on that patient, or for the hours that you are there.

[pricklypear]

Can you float to ICU without an assignment, be an extra pair of hands, prime lines, do some of the paperwork, restock, be the door greeter? Be the turn Q2H person and do your rounds?

This cracks me up! Only because it reminds me of something that happened at my last place of employment. I worked on a tele floor. One night we had a float from SICU come over. Obviously she had to prodded with a cattle iron to come, she had the worst attitude I have ever experienced. Anyway, she flat out refused to take a patient assignment. "I am an ICU nurse, I have no idea how to manage more than 2 patients, and I only know how to take care of surgical patients." So we said, OK, how bout if we give you an easy load of 4 stable surgical patients? (4 stable surgical = 2 unstable surgical in my mind!) This leaves the rest of us with 10 pts each, but it would be better than nothing. "NO"

Boy, I tried that when I got floated to CCU, and got laughed at.