Patient load? How many?

[pirap]

I have been in nursing since June and I am part time. I just returned from 8 weeks of maternity leave-just an overview to my "experience." Our unit is an 8 hour unit and have been very short-like most nursing units. We have 21 beds on my med/surg floor. We are a 901+ bed hospital so we are a fairly large hospital. My usual load is 7 patients plus meds and some nights we have a tech and sometimes not. It is not uncommon if we discharge and admit that I may chart on as many as 9 patients(last week). My shift is 3-11p and some nights I have been getting out at 0130. I find that no matter what I do I just cannot get out on time. Other nurses also face this-even ones with more experience. Just wondering if this is the norm or am I asking for trouble by continuing to handle this many patients? I find that though I get everything done *eventually* I am not as thorough as I should be. Some nights I just feel as though my objective is just make sure they survive until the next shift. Med/Surg is not where I want to be but am here because I want the experience-you see almost everything here! Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

[All_Smiles_RN]

I was on a tele floor where I felt the pt load was too high given the acuity of the pts. Yet I stuck it out for several months. I finally decided I was tired of worrying about my license every night, and I interviewed elsewhere. I found another cardiac unit where I absolutely loveed the manager and the feel of the unit. I just knew in the interview that this was where I wanted to work. It's been two months now... Great atmosphere, better ratios, more support. I can't tell you how happy I am that I sought out a new "home". My floor now, this is where I belong. It's not terrible everywhere, you just have to find your fit. Good luck.