Our units acuity is at an all time high.

Published

Specializes in General Surgery.

Title says it all. It is so damn stressful. The last time I left work it left a super bitter taste in my mouth. Now to think I have to troop through three more days of it. Sigh.

Just venting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

We have been slammed full all...summer....long! Slap full and did I mention low staffed hospital wide! I work the next 5 of 6 days and just want to crawl in a hole somewhere and hide.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hang in there, guys. :sorry:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in General Surgery.

Thanks for your support. We'll make it through it. Just breathe. Just gotta breathe.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Ours has been climbing as well, but patient flow and TPTB don't want to shell out the bucks to staff us correctly. Couple that with house wide staffing shortage...well, just keep singing :

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency/ICU.

Same here. Strangely high acuity this summer, especially an up-tic in sepsis cases. I've noticed an increase in patients that are healthy with no complaints the day before who come in with sudden pain and turn out to be septic.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Our acuity has been very high too. The way we have to split the assignment each day is crazy. Every nurse pretty much has to walk the whole hallway as one end of the hallway has a very high acuity. That group has to be separated. There is honestly too many patients that have to be separated from each other than there are nurses.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I also have to add that I wish we could staff by acuity. It would make things so much better.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in General Surgery.
Our acuity has been very high too. The way we have to split the assignment each day is crazy. Every nurse pretty much has to walk the whole hallway as one end of the hallway has a very high acuity. That group has to be separated. There is honestly too many patients that have to be separated from each other than there are nurses.

Wow... sounds like my unit. I'm over walking such far distances and never knowing if it's my patient calling when we don't have a secretary to tell us.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in retired LTC.

Summer was always the worse time. Staff take vacation so low staffing.

If poss, pts put off elective things (because of kiddos, spousal avail, weather, etc). All adds up to miseries for nsg staff.

It's a yearly cyclical thing. Wait for it - same Bat time, same Bat channel for next year!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Is it low staffing because people are out or because the hospitals will not pay to hire enough staff? Just curious.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Is it low staffing because people are out or because the hospitals will not pay to hire enough staff? Just curious.

It's a combination of both, more so the latter the part. Hospitals are very cheap trying to save money even when its hurting the business.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion