Morena77

I'm fairly new to this site and not sure if this is in the right place, but didn't know where else to post. I am a RN currently working on a substance abuse unit of a for-profit hospital. My co-workers and I are being asked to "flex" hours (not work an entire shift and use vacation time to make up for hours lost) when our census is low. I have been a nurse manager at other places so I understand budgets and the need to make a profit. Lately though there are times when we are being asked to work the unit by ourselves (one nurse, no CNA, pt care tech, nobody else). We ALL feel that this is a HUGE safety risk. Our patients are sometimes still under the influence of drugs/alcohol, and a lot of times have underlying psych issues (bipolar, schizophrenia, etc.). We are NOT a psych/lockdown unit. Several of us have gone to our direct supervisor as well as administration but no one else sees this as a possible threat to our safety, they are just looking at budget/numbers. We are in a fairly isolated area of our hospital and the only patient care area on our entire floor. We don't carry 2-way radios or other communication devices on our persons, except maybe our own personal cell phones. Does anyone else work on a unit where they are sometimes the ONLY staff on the unit with patients? Does anyone know who else we could talk to regarding this? Or is this completely normal at other facilities/detox units?