Ratio + Acuity Controlled Facilities?

[PrayingToPass]

Please share your insight of any facilities that are known to have reasonable nurse-patient ratio/acuity parameters. It would also be a blessing if you could please mention the consideration of acuity of care required and other factors such as specialty, location, private vs profit, union, pay, level of experience required, etc.

I am a new grad looking to work in a professionally safe environment. Thank you AN friends

[AJJKRN]

Unless you live in California, you may just be very disappointed! Wish I could give you some examples but this is nursing sunshine. Sincerely, Good Luck!

[thecrossfitrn, BSN, RN]

Completely agree. Unless you live in California where ratios are regulated, hospitals can pretty much do as they wish. On my Med/Surg floor I take 7-8 patients and acuity is never taken into account when it comes to admits. I've literally had patients on cardiac drips, with a patient on a BiPap fighting to breath, two post-ops with severe pain and then throw in a code blue just for fun. Hospital administration tends to see pure number of patients to staff instead of how sick a patient really is.

Basically, there is no sure thing and even if one facility seems to give reasonable assignments now, doesn't mean it will always be that way. When I started on my floor we usually took 4-5 patients, but that is now just a fairy tale. If you're really concerned about a professionally safe environment, don't work in a hospital. That sounds rather bleak and cynical, but it's the unfortunate truth.

[VANurse2010]

There are always going to be issues unless you're in an environment that by its nature entails dealing with one patient at a time (and even then there can be issues).