Psych nurses being forced to float to med surg and tele?

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2015

Will you be expected to take an assignment, or will you just be tasking and acting as support?

elkpark · Nov 18, 2015

Never heard of such a thing. Sounds like a really bad idea. Hope the employer is going to provide significant orientation to the new areas.

lovetosleep · Nov 18, 2015

They will give us 3-4 days of orientation and expect us to take a full patient load.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2015

They will give us 3-4 days of orientation and expect us to take a full patient load.

That doesn't seem right to me. I take no issue with having you task/resource or be counted as 1/2 nurse and take a small/easy assignment, but I think taking a full load with such a brief orientation is asking a bit much.

It doesn't sound like you are a union shop, since this would be a change that would have to go through contract negotiations. If you don't have a labor union, I'm not sure what recourse you have.

lovetosleep · Nov 18, 2015

I think the only thing we can do is look for new jobs, which almost everyone is. This just seems like an awful idea.

ambr46 · Nov 18, 2015

On the upside at least it would be another edition to your resume and a good way to refresh some skills. Try it first before you decide either way. You may actually like it!

It is pretty crappy for them to expect you to do this with such little training though and I totally get your frusteration.

I was forced to float ti peds from med surg and I resisted it for the longest time and then one day I realized hmmm...I kind of like this. So you just never know. Good luck and give us an update.

~Shrek~ · Nov 18, 2015

That is an awful idea, unless the psych nurse in question ALL have recent acute-care experience. I never worked in med/surg or acute care, but I have worked in psych. I would feel comfortable working in a psych unit, but I would not feel safe working in med/surg without fully rounded and supportive training.

lovetosleep · Nov 18, 2015

On the upside at least it would be another edition to your resume and a good way to refresh some skills. Try it first before you decide either way. You may actually like it!
It is pretty crappy for them to expect you to do this with such little training though and I totally get your frusteration.
I was forced to float ti peds from med surg and I resisted it for the longest time and then one day I realized hmmm...I kind of like this. So you just never know. Good luck and give us an update.

I have zero desire to ever work med surg. I think I would rather work a lower paid non nursing job than have to work med surg.

lovetosleep · Nov 18, 2015

That is an awful idea, unless the psych nurse in question ALL have recent acute-care experience. I never worked in med/surg or acute care, but I have worked in psych. I would feel comfortable working in a psych unit, but I would not feel safe working in med/surg without fully rounded and supportive training.

Except for one nurse, Our entire unit has only ever worked in psych our entire careers. If I had any desire to work med surg I feel I would need an entire new grad type orientation. I have not been on a med surg floor since school.

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Nov 18, 2015

Forced to float.... No. However there are a group of nurses on my unit, I'm one of them, who requested to be trained on the medical side because of staffing reasons. I have to pay my bills, I want to be able to take my planned vacations. We were getting downstaffed all the time, so we did what we had to do. Now when I get pulled I don't get a full assignment and they give me the most stable of the patients.

ixchel · Nov 18, 2015

I am so bummed about this. I was hoping you meant you would round on psych patients on non-psych units. This would be a beautiful thing for those of us who are not psych. We don't have a psych floor, but by comparison, our OB nurses don't ever get pulled anywhere because the only they they are regularly "practiced" on is OB and newborns. If med/surg, step down or any other adult, non-lady parts-related patient is admitted, they'll never get an OB nurse. If any of us on those floors gets pulled to OB or peds, we are given tech responsibilities. 3-4 orientation shifts would never teach me how to assist a birth. Nor would someone on OB know what to do with adults in afib who suddenly start gasping for breath.