Not sure how safe??

I work in a busy tele floor now on days and been here over 1 year. I am per diem after maternity leave. I am starting to think I should quit. They have stopped using acuity for patients and it feels in safe . I feel very overwhelmed and scared I may make an error. I typically have 5 PTA of all acuity and it feels so wrong. Is this just nursing? Or my floor? Or my management ???

[Up2nogood RN, RN]

We rate our acuity but our staffing is based on # of pts not the units acuity. Of course that's not to say that I will get all high or low acuity pts when the CN makes out the assignment. You should have a variety of low/med/high pts. Do you have a tool that you use to rate your pts acuity and know how it's used?

Five pts seems like a lot for day shift on a tele floor, I usually have 5 on nights. Sounds like your unit has changed your pt ratios, not uncommon in this economy and in the hospital. You may want to try home health or mother-baby for a less stressful environment?

I work on a Med/Surge floor that has tele and also serves as a stroke unit. We usually have 6 patients on days, sometimes 7. I used to be overwhelmed, but I worked into handling that many without too big of a problem. You have to have faith in yourself and your abilites. Learn from those you work with that are doing a good job. I don't see any of us getting fewer patients . . . at least for the foreseeable future!

[AprilRNurse]

I work on a Med/Surge floor that has tele and also serves as a stroke unit. We usually have 6 patients on days, sometimes 7. I used to be overwhelmed, but I worked into handling that many without too big of a problem. You have to have faith in yourself and your abilites. Learn from those you work with that are doing a good job. I don't see any of us getting fewer patients . . . at least for the foreseeable future!

I think 7 patient's is unsafe. It leaves barely an hour per patient. What if they actually need their nurse? And if they don't...what are they doing in a hospital?

We work 12 hours shifts, so they all get 1.7 hours. Actually, the higher acuity get more, the lower acuity get less. It works out, but we all wish we could spend more time with our patients. I guess it is like kids with working Mom's . . . we spend "quality" time with them.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I work night shift at an acute rehab hospital and the number of patients that I receive depends upon the census for that day.

If census if low, I'll have 6 to 8 patients. If census is up, I'll have anywhere from 9 to 11 patients. With crappy ratios like this, I actually hope and pray that my patients go to sleep very soon after their night assessments and HS med pass.