Nursing Nightmare - Whats's the most number of patients you cared for by yourself?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, ED, Psych.

The most # of patients by myself

Med/Surg - 15

Telemetry - 8

Psych - 20 (Whole unit of adolescents)

Long Term Care - 40 (With another LPN and 2 CNA)

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Specializes in Hospice.

22, acute medical patients. 2 techs who were only allowed to do incontinent care and pass out food. This was standard staffing on night shift at that time.

14 acute end-stage AIDS pts ... no tech and the only other nurse doing 1:1 with a pt w/ acute, severe agitation r/t delerium

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical, L&D, Postpartum.

Good lord! That is a lot of medical/tele patients. Were you taking care of that many patients recently or was that a long long time ago?

The most I have ever taken care of by myself were 5 because it's the law! Med/surg patients that is.

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Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.

nine, as a bedside nurse in acute rehab....and I was the charge nurse for the evening...one was a readmission who showed up somewhere in the midst of the shift... I also had at least one nursing assistant's help.

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Med-surg: 6

Surgical ICU:2

Cardiothoracic stepdown:4

There is a reason I have stayed 10 years at this hospital.

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Specializes in Hospice.
Good lord! That is a lot of medical/tele patients. Were you taking care of that many patients recently or was that a long long time ago?

The most I have ever taken care of by myself were 5 because it's the law! Med/surg patients that is.

Are you asking me? That was acute medicine in 1975: patients fresh from ICU still on vents, IV's and IV meds mixed in the med room and run without benefit of pumps, several "tele" patients which consisted of portable monitors set up in the hallway and connected to the pt with a looooong cable. If I remember that night correctly, I had 2 crash carts open at the same time. No such thing as DNR, either.

And, no ... I didn't walk 5 miles in the snow to school :lol2:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Acute Rehab.

I was just wondering where it is "the law" that you only have 5pts on a medsurg unit? That is awesome! We have 8.

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

I know this wasn't "by myself" but it was a team thing with myself (the RN), my friend (the LPN) and 19 patients. Regular med/surg floor. I did assessments, meds, charts, she did basically all other cares. Neither one of us stopped all night. It was a quick night. We did have an aide we shared with another 20 patient assignment. It went as well as it did because she and I worked so synergistically. I used to regularly care for 10 telemetry patients with only a tech as assistance. It was always a very good tech who really did take care of feeding, toileting and taking care of all those non-essential things nurses wind up doing that takes so much time.

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60, on the night shift...long term care.......however many were only one step above a rest home.....with four aides.....

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Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management.

Worst evening shift ever, 13 cardiac tele patients, one CTD, and no one would help. The charge nurse had a team of 5 and the nurse next to me had three. I still have nightmares about that floor many years later.

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I was just wondering where it is "the law" that you only have 5pts on a medsurg unit? That is awesome! We have 8.

It's the law in California hospitals

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the most i ever cared for alone was 18 and they were long term care patients.The nurse i was working with called in sick.Hope i never have to do that again.

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