Nurse patient ratio

[RebecaRN]

What is the nurse to pt ratio on your inpatient psych unit? Mht to pt ratio?

[DistrictNurse19]

We have an adult unit with 57 patients. Nurses take anywhere from 12-17 patients--way too many but we are so short-staffed. Our adolescent unit has 23 patients, each nurse has 7-8 patients each. We are lucky to have 4-6 MHTs...it gets really bad if we have a few 1:1 pts.

[RebecaRN]

That is a very high nurse to patient ratio! What type of unit is this? Depression, older adult, or acute? I'm also wondering if this is short term stay or extended? Thanks for the information- my unit isn't seeming so bad right now!

[Novo]

4:1 sometimes 5:1

I hope DistrictNurse is well compensated for taking on 12-17 patients.

[TXMedPsych, BSN, RN]

The question is not just nurse-patient ratio, but is it team nursing? With an LVN/Med Nurse and 4 MHTs 12-17 is yucky but not awful. Many psych units in general hospitals do not have LVNs. That leaves primary/total care nurses. That ratio is ungodly with that kind of set up. Not good for the nurses and most definitely a long way from therapeutic for patients!

[KayFuryPsychRN]

Each RN on DAY shift gets 3-5 patients. MHWs take 4-5 and rns will have all their pts to cover meds for, but just the med cover. LPNS get 3-5 pts. Only RNs get admissions. Our unit is adult, and we often get felons, the "hospital-or-jail" patients, the sex offenders, murderers, full on violent patients etc. Nurses are always getting hurt.

[KaffeineFiend]

Crisis unit 21 patients = 1 nurse and 2 MHT during the day, at night only 1 MHT and a float between the 3 units

[RebecaRN]

This is a crisis unit? Oh my.... hope you never need the 2nd nurse to pull meds or call the psychiatrist when things go bad.

[Mandychelle79, ASN, RN]

4:1 total ratio, 2nd nurse usually when over 10 pts on days/Eve's. Minimum 3 staff

[KaffeineFiend]

We do a lot of running when things go down. When it comes to an ETO we call the on call Dr as were pulling the meds.

If a nurse from the other units is available she'll run over to help the other staff with the patient while we're in the med room.

I've always felt understaffed (I think we often are as nurses) but never realized how bad it is until I started reading posts like these about ratios.

[MMC.RN]

I work on a maximum security forensic psych admissions unit with approximately 20 patients. We will typically have 1 nurse (sometimes 2) and anywhere from 4-6 techs depending on acuity.

[Msmedic68w, MSN, RN]

I usually have 17-21 pts. Most has been 25. I will usually have 2 techs, and lvn and myself, the only RN. But that's a UHS facility for ya..