# of patients

We often have one PCA on our overnight shift (I think we get two if we get near full, which is 20) for 15-16, however we work as a team, so that PCA is there to help the nurses and the patients; everyone is responsible for lights, vitals, waters, turns, toileting, etc. To answer your question, I guess it would depend on what the needs of your patients are and how involved your nurses are. If you don't feel that where you're at is safe for the patients, can you bring this up to your charge nurse or unit director? Perhaps others are thinking as you are as well.

Hi,

I work as a C.N.A. from 11pm to 7:30am on a rehab. unit in an acute care general hospital. My question is this: is 15 patients to 1 CNA normal/safe?

Any responses would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. :wink2:

My experience is in inpatient rehab (freestanding hospital), andI think it's too many. We run 12 hour shifts, and the night techs have 7-10 (sometimes more if terrific problems with call-ins). 15 isn't doable for a rehab tech unless you are getting help from your nurses.

"Rehab Unit" can mean lots of things though. Seems like every swing bed and nursing home has to get in the word rehab now. If it's nursing home type patients, 15 is a good number.

In Australia we work with a ratio of 1 nurse to 5 patients in the day time and 1 nurse to 10 patients on Night Shift. Its approx 50% RN Div 1 and 50% RN Div 2 (Level 2 RNS). Laws have just been passed allowing Div 2 RNS to dispeanse medications which is taking lots of pressure of Div 1 RN.

I don't think it is unheard of. Sometimes for nights we have 1 cna to 25 beds but we all work as a team. Also, the dayshift cna's will take the v/s for us before they leave which helps out alot. If you feel unsafe then by all means bring it up to your NM. It is busy w/ only 1 tech around but after midnight its usually slow and the nurses can help get their pt's to the bathrooms or get ice or whatever...

Hi,

I work as a C.N.A. from 11pm to 7:30am on a rehab. unit in an acute care general hospital. My question is this: is 15 patients to 1 CNA normal/safe?

Any responses would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. :wink2:

I work in an IRF in a hospital, a 32-bed unit. Occasionally we have 33 patients overnight.

The RNS and LPNs work 12 hr shifts and the aids work 8 hour shifts. usually we have 8 or 9 patients on the 7A-7P shift and the 7P-7A shift will have about 10 or 11 patients each. Nurses and aids usually each have about the same number of patients. If there is a charge who has a lighter assignment, that's the only time the nurses and aids may not have the same numbers.

We just recently went from 8 hrs to 12 hrs for the nurses; I was working the 3-11 shift, and I have to say that I experienced much more teamwork between the aids and the nurses on that shift than I do working with the day aids. Just a cultural difference between shifts, maybe, but I spend much more time toileting patients, etc, when I need to be doing meds, dressings, treatments, etc, and it is frustrating.

15 patients for one CNA is a lot if the patients need a lot of care, and you are toileting them, showering many of them, dressing many of them in the AM before therapy, etc. Rehab patients are all sicker and sicker, just like all in-patients, but if these are SNF-level, maybe this is a pretty normal level. That I don't know about. For acute care, it's a very heavy load.

Can you file an unsafe staffing report? Some facilities (union, mostly) have those, many don't.

Savvy