Help! Staffing Crisis

[cassey]

We are having quite a nursing shortage on our 42 bed medical unit. With the "busy seaon" just around the corner...we are very concerned about what to do with our staffing shortage. We use a team approach with RN's, an LPN and CNA's. We have discussed working 12 hour shifts which is not ver popular, rotating shifts, closing beds, and advertised in all the major newspapers. Our staff is stretched to their max. We have all be working about 20 hours over what were are hired for. I'm afraid our patients are feeling the extra stress. (Not to mention the staffs families, when they get to see them.) Please throw out any suggestions you have for us--we are in a staffing crisis and are in need of advice. Thanks so much!

[66nurse]

I wish I could schedule 12 hour shifts for my staff. My past experience with this topic is: once the nurses start working 12's they do not ever want to go back to 8's. Allow more time with families and the ability to actually work elsewhere if you need to. Some of my oldest nurses on the night shift work 6 12's in a row and then have 8 days off. A vacation every two weeks - not bad. Down side is you actually need more staff to cover 7 days - 24 hours a day when you switch to 12's. In regards to your shortage - even though expensive, we are using flyers to cover some of our vacancies while we train new grads.