skyblue5454

You are not crazy, this kind of pt load is unsafe for any nurse and for any patient. I am a PCU nurse and these are the kind of patients we have,but the benchmark staffing across the nation is 4:1.for PCU.It is for reasons like this that there is a shortage of nurses. My suggestion to you is if you and your fellow nurses can not convince administration to correct this problem, I'd pick up my stethescope and go elsewhere.

I agree that as an RN it is her responsibilty to look up the capatabilty for any med before giving it. It has always been policy at the various facilities where I have worked to infuse TPN/lipids through a dedicated line..........meaning nothing else can be given through that line (but not The site if it is multi leumen)

We give fentanyl via epidural and pca which require q1hr monitoring of pulse ox and pain scale as well as respirations. It is a high level of care. We do not give fentanyl iv push nor do I know anyone who does push it on the floor in the general patient population.I hope you and your peers do extensive research and check with state board of nursing. It is my understanding that the determination for use of fentanyl as analgesia vs analgesia is made by the concentration of the medication. Good look. I will be following your thread to see how others respond.

If you want to know you need to ask him.I too would be interested in the answer because I can't detemine what your cardiologist expects to learn form a bnp on a pt on natrecor because it is always going to be elevated. A better way to determine the effectiveness of the treatment would be a daily weight.

.......So you have an acuity system? How about you send me a sample of the tool used on your unit? I would so much appreciate it as I am currently heading a task force to develop such a tool. thanks :balloons:

addendum:03/16/04I have spent many hours scanning the internet trying to find an example of an acuity assessment tool. I have found many refeferences to such but not seen the actual thing. California and New York who have mandated nurse/pt ratios should have some sort of tool since it is mentioned in both states laws pertaining to staffing.How about it California and NY nurses?

As an RN on on a 28 bed medical telemetry unit we are in the process of developing an objective acuity assessment tool. To be honest I'm not sure that is really what nurses want. By implementing an acuity tool to determine staffing one nurse might have 4 patients while another nurse might have 6 patients depending on the level of acuity.