Patients per nurse??

[AmandaBusch]

I was wondering how many patients per nurse most facilities allow? Mine allows up to 3, but I personally believe that anything more than 2 can be dangerous and too much work for one NEW nurse. Especially if you have 1, 2, OR 3 extremely critical patients that require bp drips, baths (night shift, we don't have techs) and a lot of other care. Would like some input. Thanks.

[kmmc18]

That's cool I want to be a icu nurse for a year or two so I can go into crna school. I'm a nursing student at ccp

[KayRN1]

Hey Amanda congratulations on your passing of the NCLEX and securing a job in the ICU!! I am also a new grad. I am at the beggining of my orientation and don't hit the floor til Tuesday. But from my understanding is from orientation and other new grad nurses who are already out on the floor by themselves have told me, in an ICU two patients is the limit, night or day. But a new grad did mention that she had three patients on the SICU one time but one of them belonged on a step-down unit. (And that only happened to her once in the 5 months she has been on) Good Luck!!!

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

It depends on the area.

On my floor (progressive care), it's 1:4, rarely up to 5 if we are short-staffed. Typically the charge has less patients, but I know I have taken a larger load of patients to help out other nurses on the unit. There was one time where I ended up with 5 patients and another nurse only had 3. That was close to the end of the shift, though, so I didn't mind.

In ICU, it's 1:2. If a patient is really sick or they have an IABP or something, they are 1:1. If ICU is short-staffed, they will go up to 3 patients per nurse, but that's rare.

CCU usually has three nurses and their ratios are generally 1:4-5, with the charge nurse usually having less patients (1:4).

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

MICU in my hospital has 1:2 ideally, but easily hits 1:3 (actually every single night). SICU pretty much always has 1:2. Stepdown (my home floor) has 1:8 max and days usually maxes out at 6. Even then with high turnover and acuity, I don't mind too much when I'm pulled to the units. Usually I get somewhat similar patients anyways. I think my floor can be a dangerous place.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

[Dodongo, APRN, NP]

https://allnurses.com/micu-sicu-nursing/icu-nurses-3-a-452294.html

There is a huge discussion about this right here.

[LNRN11]

I work CVICU and the most we ever have are three. If we are tripled, they are usually patients with transfer orders waiting on a bed. Our open-hearts are one on ones until extubated and balloon pumps and impellas are 1:1s as well.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

MICU in my hospital has 1:2 ideally, but easily hits 1:3 (actually every single night). SICU pretty much always has 1:2. Stepdown (my home floor) has 1:8 max and days usually maxes out at 6. Even then with high turnover and acuity, I don't mind too much when I'm pulled to the units. Usually I get somewhat similar patients anyways. I think my floor can be a dangerous place.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

1:8 on a stepdown floor???? yikes!!!

[marilynbaker]

I think it depends on the unit, med/surg has 6, ED has 4, ICU has 2 or 3, CVICU can have either 1,2,or 3 depending on if their a heart or not, CCU can have 3-4