Patient LOAD anyone?

[Pheobe05]

hey guys! just wondering here... i have been a med-surg nurse for almost a year. i love the skills, people and job. but my pt load is about 8-9 patients a night. i feel as if i've aged 5 years this past year. just wondering if this is the patient load at all hospitals and i'm a big baby. or- if this is unusual? let me know what you think. i appreciate your input.

[EmmaG, RN]

On night shift, 6-8 pts is good on the ortho/neuro/surg floor. On tele or med/oncology, starting out with 4 or 5 is better because those two floors typically get slammed with night time ER admissions a lot more. :uhoh21:

Side note: Last time I floated to ortho/neuro/surg I actually had a very ingrown nurse who hasn't floated off that floor in years ask what in the world med/oncology would get night admissions for?!? I stared at her like she was joking and then began rattling off a long laundry list that didn't stop until she started ignoring me.

We got oncology---- and everything else. Even OB patients for missed or spontaneous abortions and stillborns.

[JaredCNA, CNA]

I have worked nights for a year now, and here is what seems to be consistent for staffing on our unit (ortho/neuro med-surg):

30 patients

3 staff nurses (8 pts ea)

charge nurse (6 pts)

1-2 CNAs (15-30 patients ea).

Let me just say that it is ROUGH and I don't know how we manage sometimes, but we always do. And yes, it is hard for me to have 30 patients even working in the capacity of a CNA because on any given weekday (and some weekends) we can have anywhere from 9-15 total joint patients including 3 or 4 bilat knees.

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

Why are you all tolerating such higher patient loads? Can you honestly provide the kind of care your patients deserve without driving yourself crazy?

Where I work, we get upset if we have 6 patients. And god forbid they don't schedue a tech.

[JaredCNA, CNA]

Some nights the staffing is like my above post, with no aide on the floor.

I've actually seen the charge take 8 patients once. I really don't know how the nurses do it, or why. Maybe because Texas is an at will employer, and while there is Safe Harbour, that doesn't mean that they won't find some reason to let you go.

I don't know for sure.

[grace90, LPN, LVN]

why are you all tolerating such higher patient loads? can you honestly provide the kind of care your patients deserve without driving yourself crazy?

where i work, we get upset if we have 6 patients. and god forbid they don't schedue a tech.

can i provide the care my patients deserve? absolutely not.

not with 6 patients, and acuity is almost never taken into account unless there's a conscientious charge nurse on duty.

last night i had two very confused patients and i had to spent the majority of my shift in their rooms. i'm glad my other 4 pt's were stable, cuz i barely saw them.

:uhoh21: sometimes after clocking out i absolutely hate nursing. i can't stretch myself that far.