Overworked?

Bala Shark · Nov 5, 2006

In California it is state law that RNs, LVNs working in hospitals only can get 5 patients..So the ratio is 1 nurse to 5 patients..I feel that is not overworked at all..Wished that came to SNFs also and other areas..

mel1213 · Nov 5, 2006

I dont know if I would say overworked more so than understaffed. I work in a nursing home facility and have been an LPN for a year and a few months. I have 26 patients in a wing to be resposible for. So yes sometimes I feel overworked for I cannot fit everything in eight hours. But as my boss always says it is a 24 hour facility you cannot do everything!!!!

It is hard to spend time with any of the residents because you have so much responsibility. But it all comes with the territory of being a nurse.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Nov 5, 2006

I dont know if I would say overworked more so than understaffed. I work in a nursing home facility and have been an LPN for a year and a few months. I have 26 patients in a wing to be resposible for. So yes sometimes I feel overworked for I cannot fit everything in eight hours. But as my boss always says it is a 24 hour facility you cannot do everything!!!!
It is hard to spend time with any of the residents because you have so much responsibility. But it all comes with the territory of being a nurse.

If you have an employer that is supportive, then, I think it would be easier to handle, than to have 40 patients to yourself with no clue or time to handle emergencies. I am glad that they seem to be supportive of you, and thanks for sharing your insights. :0)

pagandeva2000, LPN · Nov 5, 2006

In California it is state law that RNs, LVNs working in hospitals only can get 5 patients..So the ratio is 1 nurse to 5 patients..I feel that is not overworked at all..Wished that came to SNFs also and other areas..

That is the ideal situation. I don't hear of this ratio in other states. What I am thinking (based on what another poster mentioned here months ago) is that there may not be a nursing shortage in the amount of active nurses, but that they are leaving the bedside. I work as a vaccination nurse on weekends, and the RN I work with told me that she works in a group home. She said that it is less money, but also less of a chance for her to lose her license.

sweetielin · Dec 8, 2006

yes. more and more every week. we do team nursing at my hospital. typically, i have 15 patients but there are times when i have had up to 23. if there are more than 17, there are 2 rns instead of one. it's hard getting it all done lots of times. po, sq, im meds, accuchecks, dressings, g tubes and bolus feedings, caths, plus we have to check all the orders before our med pass. that can until 8 or 9pm. sometimes even later. then our cnas are busy with all the total cares so in the midst of this, having to taking people to the bathroom before they will take their meds. no acuity is ever taken into account. on the weekends, we don't have a ward clerk so any admissions that come we have to do all the paperwork. weeknights, we have a ward clerk until 11pm. if it wasn't for the help of my coworkers, i would have left a long time ago. when i first started 15 patients wasn't so bad. it was pretty easy most nights. now it seems the patients require more and call constantly. not to mention, the other departments aren't there on the weekend. so we have to be respiratory, lab. respiratory is there until 11 during the week and lab until 12. but if someone needs respiratory, you might as well go ahead and do it in the time it takes to get respiratory. especially suctioning. it's becoming more and more often that i don't even get to eat. sorry, i just had to vent after a rough week. the good thing is that we have good nurses and cnas on our shift and everyone helps when at all possible.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2006

I don't feel overworked; in fact, my workload is quite manageable.

I feel stressed and repulsed toward some catty, vindictive coworkers.

Lorie P. · Dec 10, 2006

sometimes i feel overworked, my patient load can be from 5-10 depending how well the shift is staffed. i am lucky enough to have 2 great rns' to work with and they never mind jumping in a giving the rest of the rn's or lpns help. it is called team work and the great bunch of people i work with are just that a team.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Dec 11, 2006

I don't feel overworked; in fact, my workload is quite manageable.
I feel stressed and repulsed toward some catty, vindictive coworkers.

How many patients are you managing? Sorry I got back to this thread late, but based on what you have been mentioning in recent posts, I am sure you have had your fill of catty, vindictive co-workers. How did that situation pan out for you, anyway?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2006

How many patients are you managing? Sorry I got back to this thread late, but based on what you have been mentioning in recent posts, I am sure you have had your fill of catty, vindictive co-workers. How did that situation pan out for you, anyway?

I work in a nursing home and have 15 patients.

One of the catty coworkers is sitting in jail on a felony robbery charge. She was arrested 2 days after she reported me to the ADON. The other catty coworker ran down the hall crying and weeping after being accosted by our bully-ADON for not faxing a PT/INR result to the doctor's office.

This might sound terribly cruel, but I feel so vindicated after hearing about the recent, bad fortunes that have been bestowed upon my catty coworkers. :devil: