Oncology Patient Ratios

[kelliegbsn]

Hi all,

I have looked at many posts on the site with this subject and cannot find a specific answer. So here is my question...

I work in an acute care inpatient hospital. I am a night shift nurse in the Oncology unit. I am trying to compare my unit with other units with the same patient population. We do not have BMT but we do hang chemo on both days and nights.

Our staffing has been recently changed and not necessarily for the better of the patients. Also does anyone have articles about oncology staffing specifically? According to our p & p we are to be staffed based on acuity but all I ever hear about is the number of patients.

OK so here is the specific criteria I am trying to get answered.

Inpatient only, oncology with non tele med surg overflow, no bone marrow transplant, chemo is hung, we also have day stay patients for chemotherapy treatment as well.

Anyone with that same criteria please share your staffing guidelines so that we can continue to provide excellent care to our beloved patients.

Thank you.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I'm on a BMT floor, and we have 1:2 nurse patient ratio, plus a charge nurse who doesn't take an assignment, and generally 1-2 aids.

From what I hear, the other oncology floors are generally 1:4 patients. This is on nights.

[skygirlhil]

Blondy,

May I ask where you work? Or in what state? Thanks!

[Sailingshoes]

ONS (Oncology Nursing Society) does have guidelines you may want to check.

ons.org

[rissa2007]

i work on the same type of floor (oncology with nontele med srug overflow). we have 2 nurses one cna and our assignment ranges from 6-9 patients

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Another reason other states should follow California lead and mandate safe staffing ratios. Here in California it was getting horrid before the safe staffing ratios law and nurses were leaving the hospital settings in droves b/c the workload was oppressive and unsafe and nurses here were really at the end of their collective ropes.

[janellewhalen]

I used to work on an Oncology floor in NC. It was.. no tele, no BMT. And each nurse had 6-7 patients days OR nights. CNA's had approx. 12 patients each. But then we had a "chemo nurse" who's job for the shift was to give everyone's chemo.

[debbieGa]

I work on a Peds Heme/Onc floor in Florida. We staff 4 to 1 unless we have chemo and higher accuity pts then it is 3 to 1. We also have a BMTU and that is staffed 2 to 1.

[cafecreme]

I don't understand how you could get your paperwork done or computer charting done, let alone give decent or even barely acceptable nursing care for 6 patients.

[beckabeckahi]

It's 6-8 patients where I work, days or nights. It's too many patients.

[yateja2]

I work on a hematology oncology floor with telemetry available as needed, many pt's in neutropenic precautions, there is 3/4:1 on days and 4-5:1 on nights.

[spark617]

I work on a heme/onc/BMT unit with tele and also med/surg overflow, and we take six patients each night. It sometimes gets to be a little too much, especially for a new nurse like me.