Seeking opinions on 35:1 patient ratio.

[VSsn]

For those who have worked at LTC with 30:1 patient ratio, would you care to share your thoughts? I'm hesitant to accept an offer with such a high ratio, and mulling over whether I should or not. Any advice would help.

Thanks,

VSRN

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

Seriously? How do you do this!?!? I am not out of school yet, I have one more month, but we have heard 8-1 or 9-1 but 32-1? Are you allowed to breathe between pills or is that done after a 20 hour shift? I'm not being a smarty pants, I just cant wrap my mind around that...

Last night I had 50-1. The charge nurse did the 2nd med pass for me on one side. The first 3-4 hours of the shift were zoo-like. So by 8pm I was exhausted.

You learn shortcuts. Sad to say but its true. You have to keep moving moving moving..

[TrickieTam]

I work 3rd and I have 30 which is pretty good compared to other numbers I have had. I have 6 g-tubes and one trach but the work load is great. Now my past job I had 54 residents total with 29 fingersticks in early a.m, 8 g-tubes and 3 trachs which needed constant suction. I lasted on that job 2 months!!! I had no support, we had 3 nurses in building with 3 floors that had same number of residents. Luckily no emergencies happened. I also have encountered working a 75 resident unit during the day and splitting work with one other nurse due to shortage, lets just say that the med pass would be all day and the 9 a.m meds were overlapping into the 1p.m meds, very unsafe! Oh and we did 12 hour shifts there.