madrcs

AmberL&D, The APU that I work on DOES NOT ALLOW CONT monitoring. Those patients stay in L&D until they are STABLE and then they come to the unit for further observation and hopefully discharge. Cervidal inductions are also done in L&D. Those patients need a 1:2 nursing ratio. We do keep stable prom's, pih,ptl complete previas ,kidney stones, pyelo etc on this unit. We always have a tech. We monitor these patients for 20 min once a shift and more frequently if needed. We also chart once a shift and whenever there is a change. We always have a tech and/or unit clerk that works with us. The max we can have is 7 patients. If any of these patients turn into a one on one or crash they go directly to L&D which is on the same floor as the APU. I hope for your sake that your contract runs out soon.

bbnurse what is your nurse to patient ratio for the stable antepartum pt.? What clinical experience must the nurse have before she works on your unit? Do you monitor these patients at any time?

Amber, I am in agreement that any and all pregnant patients in th e hospital are ticking times bombs. How large is your ob unit? Do you have all these patients on continous monitoring?

Recommended staffing guidelines according to ACOG/AAP states that you have 1 RN to 3"unstable" antepartum patients and 1RN to 6 "stable" antepartum patients. Please define "stable" and "unstable" for me. This is causing confusion. Thanks!