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

[lovetosleep]

Hello, I am wondering if any of you fellow psych nurses are being forced to float to med surg or telemetry? My hospital will be starting this soon and we are not happy about it. I have never heard of other hospitals making psych nurses float and am wondering how common this is?

[savannahpam]

I have been a psych nurse for the past 9 years and out of Med Surg for 13 years. We were told our unit was changing to Med Psych. The nurses were given only 2-4hr shifts to shadow on a Med surg unit for orientation. I volunteered to work on a neurology floor several months earlier because of being called off so much. I was given a normal orientation of 2 shadowing shifts, then one patient for a week, then 3 for a week, then a full load with a mentor for a week. I was ready for the change but the other nurses were not and started calling in when scheduled. Quite a hot mess.

You should always state what you are comfortable doing. A group of nurses demanded a meeting with the Director and she agreed to only admit psych patients with less severe diagnoses. I'd suggest you go as a group to the DON or however high you need to go. Good luck!

[MN0714]

That's crazy!!! When we are short staffed in ER they float Med/surg nurses and Telemetry nurses to work ER. ER is a different world. It's one thing to be called in on a day off to work your department, but floating to another unit is not ok. That can be down right dangerous. I wonder if administration really cares. After all it's our license on the line, not theirs.

[EDRN15]

Why not? Every patient is a potential psych patient. We were taught that in nursing school. ER and ICU nurses deal with psych patients all the time before they are transferred to psych units, often without hazard pay. We all passed the same classes and tests to be nurses and often must step outside our comfort zones. Look at it as an opportunity to broaden your skills.

[TSemperger]

I'm a telemetry nurse and, when we actually had adequate staffing, we would regularly get floated to the third floor which is step down ICU and critical care. We can only take patients that are acceptable for telemetry nurses though - no vents, no A lines, there are certain drips we can't monitor/hang, etc. All in all, despite a few exceptions, I've had good experiences being pulled to the other units. Sad to say, but they actually treat us better than our own management and co-workers anyhow.

[CeciBean, ASN, RN]

This sounds like the solution of a bean counter and not someone who has any experience whatsoever with nursing. If the CNO went along with it, it was only because s/he is in fear for their own job. This is a SAFETY issue and the Psych staff should band together and present it as such! If patient safety really comes first in this hospital, then adequate orientation must be given, or Psych nurses must not be expected to function as regular Med/Surg nurses when floated. It's that simple.

[pinkiepieRN]

We recently downsized our census for re-modeling on our units. Our options for floating were child psych, geri psych, psych ER and neuro. I think they felt that those were the safest options for us to explore with our currently primarily psych backgrounds. I couldn't imagine floating to a medical or surgical unit. I even had trouble when I recently floated to geri psych because I was not ready for the a.m. care and getting people out of bed. Just not my forte!

[psych4utoo]

This is typical of most psych nurses that I work with at the behavioral health hospital I work at. It probably would be a good change actually for the nurse to do. On the other hand the med surg nurses should also float to psych. I bet that is not an option. Most medical health nurses have a fear of working on psych floors.

[Coloradonurse1983]

So then all other units should never float into psych, right? So you'll have to make due and work short yourselves.

[Knightgale]

Have read the many comments here, what comes to my mind first and foremost is the legalities of such a move/transfer of any nurse. IMO and from a legal standpoint, is something to think about, should you ever be faced with an issue in a court of law. Be wise and alert before going forward.

[BeaTLPN]

I am a Psych LPN and I get floated all the time to other floors more than the RNs. I pass meds, do CNA work, sitting duties. The only tasks that the RNs do is sit with a pt. It got so to the point where we have to write down who floated last because the RNs were arguing about who's turn it was to go next.

[Dorothy Maude]

Hospital nurses look after what ever comes their way.

The ever shrinking health budget and loss of beds, sees our previously clearly defined specialties fading away.

Many patients on Med/Surg wards have mental health issues, so we would appreciate the input.

[Rnaussie]

Im a psych nurse who lives in Australia so it may not be the same but if your a psych nurse and only ever worked in psych are your employers asking you to work outside your scope of practice to float to med surg or telemetry. 3 or 4 days is not long enough for orientation. Surley it puts lives at risk. But also your registration at risk if you are operating outside of your scope of practice and something goes wrong