ASPAN standards and staffing - frustrated and looking for advice

[nursepacu]

Any suggestions on how to get people on board??? ....

We staff the Day Surgery (pre/phase 2) and PACU as one unit - right next to eachother, but separate rooms.

I will often come in to 1 nurse in the PACU with one or 2-3 patients and 3 nurses in the day surgery area preop'ing pts. We also have issues on the other end of the day with having the back up call nurse stay/calling a nurse back when we still have patients. I am very frustrated with our department not consistently following ASPAN standards.

Battling-

- some nurses feeling that it depends who the nurse is - view it as a 'who can/can't handle' patient load instead of looking at the standards.

- not much consistant support of standards from charge nurse

- feeling of 'getting in trouble' if we have more staff in PACU with 1-2 pts when the preop area is busy

- nurses have been told by charge to question the nurse on call when called back (on call) to help as back up

I'm on my soap box more often than not... we are MAGNET! I just shake my head sometimes...

Anyone in the same boat - I would welcome any suggestions on what to do.

I love being a PACU nurse, but I and a few other nurses in my dept are very frustrated.

Thanks in advance.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Email the clinicians at ASPAN.org and send your managers their replies. Evidence is evidence and if they are magnet, they cannot ignore it.