nurs3ros3

Dear fellow nurses: I am looking for some advice on a current situation that seems to be trending in my place of work. I work in a rehab/ltac. Normally if there are more than 8 patients on the floor there must be at least 2 licensed nurses on the floor at all times or at least thats what i was told before. The way our facility works is that there are several small units within the hospital each with 2-3 nurses on each unit. There is one supervisor for the whole building that comes and breaks the nurses on units with two or less people. However tonight my supervisor told us to break ourselves meaning that there would be one nurse responsible for 11 patients some of which are trached and vent dependent for about an hr. She has apparently been doing this a lot lately when things are "quiet". My question is this: is this illegal for the rn supervisor to do this or just not ideal? And where do my responsibilities lie as a floor nurse? If something was to happen would i be in some kind of trouble or just the rn super for making that decision? I refused to do this and the rn super is now angry with me. I dont want to cause problems but i want to stay safe... what can i do? Help!

Thanks everyone for the input, I am glad I asked the question!!

Nurses: I need your help! I am a brand new nurse and just started a job at a nursing home. I have a question regarding the administration of a capsule medication to those who cannot swallow pills. As those of you who work with the elderly, or children know, patients cannot always swallow their pills easily and must have the medications crushed in applesauce. However, some of these medications come in a capsule which cannot be crushed. As a new nurse I am following the advice of the other nurses on the floor who have suggested that I crush what I can and then mix whatever I can't in with applesauce. However, I am concerned that this may not be the best option. What other method is there? Can the capsule be opened and the contents emptied into the applesauce or is trying to get the patient to swallow the capsule really the best option? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am a new nurse and I want to do the right thing! Thanks in advance!