Registry Staff Floating

[kjcheno]

I would like some opinion on this.

I work in a medium community hospital where three units all float staff between the three. One is a med surg floor, entitled 'Intermediate Care Unit' or ICU Stepdown, ICU and CVCU. (CVCU also can take occassional vents and recover open hearts but is rarity).

My question is- I am registry staff. I currently work in a cardiologists office. I feel comfortable working on CV because that is where I originally worked and I still keep my knowledge up on CV things. I don't work often but when I do they go by float date and they will float me to ICU! It will always be my turn to float because I don't work as often as everyone else. And I am not familiar with the unit ( I NEVER was ) and how do they expect me to keep my competency on DKA, Sepsis, etc? Its so frustrating and it feels very unsafe to me.

My manager told me because I am an employee I am treated like everyone else expected to float, and Registry staff make more money so they should be able to float anywhere.

[Flo., BSN, RN]

I hate floating. I think it is really unsafe. All you can do is refuse an assigment that you feel unprepared to take.

On my med-surg floor we float to other medical or surgical floors. IMC is considered critcal care at my hospital so they float to ICU like at your hospital. Registry staff actually floats before regular floor staff, then prns, part time and finally reg full time.

[Riseupandnurse]

This is so unsafe...and so common. It's the old mentality: a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. Goes back to the days when we mostly held people's hands and could knit at the desk while waiting for a call light. Oh yes, I remember those days, in the 60s, even though I was only a nurses aide then. Things are so much more complicated now. Asking a med-surg nurse to go to the ICU without any training is just plain dangerous. Would you ask an OB doctor to do brain surgery? This will continue to go on until we nurses stop it, or we cause enough damage that some outside governing agency finally blows the whistle. Which would you prefer?

[MunoRN, RN]

I would assume the regular staff was oriented to ICU prior to working there, so If you're manager's rationale is that you are to be "treated like everyone else", then that should include being oriented to the unit to the point you feel you can practice safely.

[ophirose]

I agree that floating between units is unsafe and places our licenses in jeopardy. You have the right to refuse an assignment, of course some facilities will consider it insubordination. Unfortunately, floating between units is all too common practice. Although my hospital treats nurses well, they also consider nurses to be warm bodies that they can assign to whatever floor needs them--the only exceptions to the rule are usually OR and OB. Orientation to the floor consists of a 12 hour shift, in which you "learn the ropes"--and then when you float, they usually throw you to the sharks. Fortunately for us, when you get floated to ICU, they will assign you patients that are less acutely ill, and you are only required to do what you do on your own floor--the regular staff will assist you with lines/ procedures/ meds/ and monitoring that you are not accustomed to.