Nurse/Patient Ratios

EJSRN, BSN, RN · Mar 10, 2009

The new job that I am working at we have 9:1 at night. Its a med-surg floor.

Homesteader2B · Mar 11, 2009

My facility is LTC and Sub-acute/rehab. On the LTC floors it's about 1:30 and on sub-acute it's 2:31 plus a nurse at the desk to do admissions. Right now the census is low but those are the max number of patients. The LTC floor is not easy, especially having many patients with behavior issues, half the floor is diabetic and having to constantly redirect the wanderers to keep them out of trouble.

diane227, LPN, RN · Mar 11, 2009

I tell you what, some of you need to go to the media to let your community know what kind of care (or lack of ) they are going to get if they come to your facilities. Since I have been on this site I have been shocked at the numbers of patients that some of you all have to take care of. This is something that needs to be taken into a public forum. These staffing standards should be reported to your board of nursing and to your state department of health. This is a MAJOR safety issue. You guys are really placing your license at risk. I work med surg also, 34 bed unit, medicine and orthopedics. Our ratio is 1:4 or 1:5. I am the charge nurse on 3-11 and I NEVER ALLOW them to give me more patients than we can deal with. No nurse on my shift will EVER take more than 5 patients.

I am interested to know what states you work in and if your facility if for profit, not for profit, or public facility. Feedback Please!!!

swirlygirl · Mar 17, 2009

I work on a surgical/telemetry unit and it's 5:1 on daylight and 3-11 with 2 CNA's. I work nightshift and if the floor is full it's 7:1 with 1 CNA. It's extremely busy!! If we have a patient that needs a sitter, our CNA has to do it. There have been many nights that I've come in at 7p to have 6 patients right from the start - with 4-5 of them being fresh post-ops. We've complained to our manager since she's the one that decides the staffing ratios and she "claims" that she's unable to change it. Oddly enough, she's the one that changed our ratios twice in the past 6 months. I guess she can only make them worse, not better. She says it's all due to our unit's budget - so I guess money comes before patient safety?

angelstrings · Mar 19, 2010

This thread is so scary!

I'm a new grad. When I first started, we were getting 6-7 patients per RN. Now we get 5-6, which is so much better. But any night we're dealing with patient's who are confused and fall and hurt themselves; patients with blood sugars in the 50's; patients with blood pressures in the 70's-80's; patients with heart rates in the 150's; patients getting blood; and tons and tons of telemetry calls. All of these things are happening simultaneously. It never fails to amaze me. This is a renal/dialysis floor that handles tele and detox patients. I feel so overwhelmed all the time, literally.

I am saddened to see that patients are treated the same as any other commodity. My mother works at a deli, and she's always telling me about how management won't hire new help no matter how busy the store is. But it's one thing if you don't get the right flavor fried chicken, and quite another if you as a patient don't get the right care that could literally save your life or kill you.

In nursing school we spoke of patient advocacy, nurse advocacy, the 5 rights of medication administration, and compassion. In the real world, with people being treated by the business institution the same as coffee makers or any other marketable object, how can any of these sacred (and they ARE sacred) principles be fully realized and consistently practiced?

I'm not happy. I've only been a nurse for a few months, and already I'm burning out. What can I do to help change things?

mc5814 · Mar 22, 2010

The hospital where I work has a union so we are pretty lucky with rations 1:5 on days, 1:6 on nights on med/surg., telemetry is 1:4 days, 1:5 eve, 1:6 nights. Seems like we are always short on nursing assistants though. Ratios are much better than what I hear about other hospitals in the area that are non-union.

NurseStephen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 23, 2010

I work on a 40 bed Med/Surg floor. If I am doing primary care it is 1:5 usually 1:6. If I have an LPN it is 2:10 but normally 2:13.

My extremes. 1:7 by myself. 2:14 with an LPN.

My floor is notorious for being a "nursing home" unit to where it is not uncommon for me to have 3/4 of my patients being total care.