esrunnuf

Glad you clarified things. Paints a better picture.

I actually have to disagree with you Here.I.Stand. It really does depend on the hospital. Some will float you. Some will not. Also to be honest with you, if you've worked in some of the hospitals that I have, upper management doesn't care whether or not an ICU nurse is going to be "overwhelmed" from working the floor. As ambiance put it "a nurse is a nurse." As you long as you have "RN" somewhere after your name, the hospital can make you work anywhere they please. Mainly because of two reasons. 1) There are no laws against it and 2) They sign your paycheck

A shift never ending? That's definitely true when the patient practically comes home with you. This happened years ago and although I can laugh about it now it wasn't funny back then. I ended my shift, handed over my patients and, for reasons beyond me, a patient liked me so much that they decided to sneak out of the hospital and come home with me. I lived close enough to the hospital that I normally walked to and from work. Imagine my surprise when I get on the elevator to go to my apartment when someone calls, "hold the elevator please," and I end up seeing one of the patients I spent my day with. I ended up having to "ethically" walk him back to the hospital even though I wanted to tell him to read the sign on my forehead that says "off duty." Moral of the story? Always leave the hospital backwards and never live close enough to walk to work.