Patient to Nurse Ratio

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I realize the subject as been discussed over and over again but I think it is a really important issue to discuss. I was wondering what some people thought is a safe an appropriate nurse to patient ratio? For med-surg? Critical care areas?

Also what is the nurse to patient ratio on your floor?

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Specializes in Telemetry.

My floor has 5 to 1 days and it is a post ICU cardiac step down unit. However, recently they shut down the cardiac observation unit in the ER so now we have a combo of pt's post CABG and pt's for observation. It's hell because instead of concentrating on the very important but kind of detailed things I need to do for my surgery patients I'm either trying to discharge someone who I just admitted a few hours ago or calling a critical troponin to an MD and dealing with a mini crisis.

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In our hospital, 1:4 for step down pt and 1:2 ccu . In ICU it is 1:1. However, it can be different by situations.

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Specializes in ICU & Med/Surg.

I work on a surgical floor and days has 5-6 patients and night has 6-7. I work nights and almost always have 6 patients right off the bat, then get another one within an hour. Once I had 8. It is ridiculous trying to provide good care with this work load. I moved out of California for my job but will definately be going back for less patients and better pay as son as I have neough experience to land a job there. :D

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I started on my nursing career 2 years ago on a Cardiac Intervention unit. Most of our patients are chest pain, post-cath, new onset Afib, but within the last year there has been a transition and now we are caring for post interventions. Pt. 3-4 days post CABG, 1-2 days post carotids, 2-3 post fem-pop. When I started the ratio was 6:1. They've changed it to 5:1 with in the last 6 months, but sometimes even that gets to be too much. Many of the patients are very elderly and are confused or sundown. It gets very difficult to keep those patients safe. The other night I was caring for an 83 year old man who cam up to our unit with bilat. sheaths following an angiogram with intervention. Poor guy... If his ACT would've come down faster I could have pulled at 19:45, but his ACT was over 180 until 3AM! About an hour after I pulled the sheaths he became very comfused, was taking off his clothed, tele monitor & was trying to get up out of the bed. Thank God, no bleeding or hematoma!

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Started off my nursing career as an RN with 1:8-1:10 nights (4-5 times 1:12) and started getting neuropathy and swollen ankles (Our older charge nurse with history of long term illness would call just before shift half the time, leaving us in the lurch).

But now several years later at a different hospital/city, have 1:5 most days, and end shift somtimes with 1:4 maybe after a discharge, which is nice. Except for those days with two discharges and two admits.

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I work on a very busy acute surgical ward, we usually have 4-5 patients and up to 9 on a night shift.

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Story

Thought you would be interested in this news story. I am a brand new LPN in a sub acute rehab. Day nurses can have up to 16, night as many as 24. I find it scary. Looking forward to getting my RN and getting involved in the org that is highlighted in the story.

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Specializes in floor to ICU.

4 to 5 on tele unit. nights has same exact staffing :rolleyes:

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