Psych Nurses being Floated to other floors

[utrocks84]

I work on a geroPsych unit at a university hospital. We have 12 beds and usually average 6 or 7 patients. When the census falls below a certain number they will float our nurses to med-surg floors. many times there is 6 or more months between these floats and I don't feel comfortable taken on up to 6 patients on a med-surg floor with guaranteed admission for the floated nurse. Do any of you get floated and how do you feel about the safety of being floated at random?

[Mish56, BSN, RN]

Utrocks;

this is hysterical!! I work on general psych adult in-pt, university hospital. We sometimes have to float to another psych unit (adol, geri, duel)...but to a med-surg floor??? In my case (after 30 years in psych) floating me to a med surg floor would be called "discharge planning". "OPPS, another dead one in room 305, call the morgue for a pick up!":chuckle LOL!!! I would say "How do you feel about the blood gushing out of that surgical site Mr. Jones?, You appear a tad stressed, let's talk about developing more effective coping skills, quickly please Mr. Jones, your color is fading." No, don't think they'd float me more than once.

[inthesky]

:lol_hittilol at "discharge planning"!!!!! They don't float at my hospital or any other hospital I've been at unless they are volunatry official float pool.

[katielee]

haha... Mish56. I just graduated with my BSN-RN and I just got a job in the mental health unit at a hospital. I will be training there and hopefully stay there! I am also worried about being floated to another floor because I have no experience anywhere else. Can they do that? What should I do if they try to?

[PsychNurseWannaBe, BSN, RN]

At my facility floating is not allowed unless there has been a proper orientation. I am a little concerned with low census as well and I would have no problem floating to a med/surg floor but that is because I am a recent grad, so I still have that skill set.... for now. LOL.

I work on a child psych unit. Should low census happen, then I may float over to the adult unit. If I am not needed there, then I float to do a 1:1/2:1 in the hospital if it is needed. Finally if I want, I may float to a subacute type floor. But the subacute floor is ONLY if I want to do it. Should I want to...then I have to do additional orientation.

[atomic1976]

This is precisely why I left the hospital setting! We too would be pulled to med-surg, mother-baby, the ER, etc. when the census was low. The charge nurses on these floors would give us an attitude if we demanded to be co-assigned or refused to give IV push meds, heparin drips, etc. Completely unsafe and a threat to our licensure. But all they care about is being able to say that they have an RN. If this is your hospital's practice, I say leave!

[ct714]

At my hospital we are required to float from time to time. We have "float guidelines" for those floated into and out of specialty units, and are never required to do anything we don't fell comfortable with. For the most when we go outside our specialty we function as techs, doing blood draws, IV stats, blood sugars and other treatments we're familiar with. If we float within our specialty (we have more than one unit), we function at the same level as regular unit staff. Great question! Never jeopardize your license doing something you're not competent to do!