Nurse-Patient Ratios on East Coast

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Specializes in ICU, ED, Trauma, Transplant.

A fellow nurse has relocated here (West Coast) from the East Coast, and we work critical care together in a pretty large hospital that serves a lot of the state (meaning, we get our fair share of exciting cases). This nurse (lived and worked in NYC) once told me that it's very typical for nurses in East Coast hospitals on med/surg floors to have 5 to 6 patients on days, while night shift has up to 10, "and they're really sick patients. Like, way sicker than the patients that are on the med-surg wards here. The only reason anyone would be in the ICU is if they're vented. As soon as they're extubated, they're transferred to the med-surg floors." As far as ICU goes: "No one-to-one patients over there like here. Everyone gets two patients, no matter how sick they are. They're all vented and basically circling the drain."

I just question what this particular nurse told me, because not only is she well known for having an ego the size of the Good Year blimp (very knowledgeable and skillful, and don't you forget it!), many of us who work with her could definitely see her embellishing a bit to make herself look even more knowledgeable and skillful.

So... my dear allnurses... does any of that ring true for any hospitals on the east coast? If so, you all are pretty much demigods in my eyes. But if it's not true, that's great too because I'll be less terrified of relocating to NYC. :lol2:

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Specializes in ICU, medsurg/tele.

yes sadly that is true. the med surg floor i work on has a max pt assignment of 8 on nights. its a CVA and respiratory floor with a lot of ICU transfers. VERY unsafe. Way too many unstable patients.

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Specializes in ICU.

Yup, it's a little true. ICU is rarely 1:1 unless on an IABP where I am. it's 2 or 3:1. Med surge is days, 5-7 and nights 8, sometimes 9, although not always that sick. Tele is days 5-6, nights being 6-7. Not that great. I live in the NYC metro area. My dad went on vacation to CA and had an MI out there. He wa sin the ICu post cath and called me and said "you have to come out here, the ICU is 1:1 and they just have to deal with me!" Tempting....

I think however CA is the best state because it is regulated nicely by Arnold Swartzenager(sp?)

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Specializes in Respiratory.

I am an LPN on a LTACH vented floor in MA. I typically take care of 4 pts on 3-11, while most of the RNs get 3 and complain about it. On a lucky rare night I can have 3 if our census is low.Some nights I will have 5 if an RN gets an admission, which he/she then would get one additional pt for a total of 2 for the night. I rarely see 6 patients, but sometimes it happens. My pts are generally stable and are usually the chronic patients (ones that are not getting better but their families either gave up visiting or are just waiting for them to die). The RNs get the more complicated pts. We sometimes do not get a CNA and have to turn, clean and flip our pts, do vitals and CBGs on our own....there are generally 3-4 med passes during the shift, and the RT gives the resp meds...

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Same here in TX... I work a tele/step down and we have 4-5 and sometimes 6 on days with 5-6 and rarely 7 on nights. Lots of sick pts and post heart caths. I once had a "seasoned" nurse tell me that the pts on tele use to be ICU and the ICU pts used to be "gone"... not pleasant but probably pretty true, shows how far we have advanced...I think!

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Definitely true in NYC. It can be overwhelming. In Rhode Island, I saw 1:1 in the ICU and I was amazed.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, Peri-op, Home health.

It's true. As a new grad in Long Island I was on a med-surg/tele unit. I had 8 patients on day shift, every one of them on a monitor. These were post-op CABG, cath, vascular, etc.; after they left ICU or step-down, of course. It was totally overwhelming but NY does not have a nurse-patient ratio.

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Sad but true.When I was a new grad I worked in med surg neurology where I had 10 patients on the 7pm-7am shift.

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What a rip off. Hospitals are always trying to find ways to cut corners and treat nurses as they are nothing.

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Specializes in Oncology/Hematology, Infusion, clinical.

I say more or less (mostly more) true here in FL.

I'll add that, sometimes, in order to send one of my pts. to the icu, they have to have coded and been intubated. And it is not for a lack of patient advocation on the floor nurses' part.

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In Alabama (well, particulary my hospital that I work at ) the ratio in ICU is no more than 2:1. In the CVICU (Cariovascular ICU) the ratio is 1:1 and then they are sent to ICU and sometimes in ICU the ratio is 1:1 if the pt is very critcal. On the Progressive floor it's usually 3 pt's and one RN always has 4 which is swapped on a daily basis. Telemetry and med-surg? 6-8 pt's. 7-8 is rare on days but not on nights when staffing is an issue.

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I work in magnet hospital NYC metro.. med/surg is capped at 8 but can be pushed to 9 if we have call outs without coverage.. the patients are getting sicker and older too -_-

ICU has 2:1 but pushed to 3:1 if again, call outs..

So maybe just 1 number exaggeration on your friend's part and I love calling myself demi god! WoOT!

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