is there something wrong with this picture?

[Carlene1969]

i am currently working in a 112 beds community hospital with a 3 OR suites. we do general surgeries, ent, vascular (av fistulas), ob/gyn, cataracts, basic ortho cases, and now starting to da vinci robotic prostate surgeries (so far once a month). Our whole OR staff comprises of 6 rn's, 4 full time OR tech's, 3 per Diem techs, and a clinical coordinator. out of the 6 nurses 1 will be the charge nurse (no room assignment), 1 nurse will be off everyday (we work 10 hours) that leaves 4 nurses for the 3 rooms. there's 1 day that 2 nurses will be off leaving us 3 nurses for three rooms. 1 of the full time tech's work's 8 hour shift. rn's take call 1 day/week and 1 weekend every 5 weeks.for the tech's only 4 of them take turns taking call. btw we only have 1 housekeeper so sometimes we put our housekeeping hats and helped our housekeeper when she is busy to turnover the room....oh did i mention surgeons and anesthesiologist complaining of slow turnover time?

i apologize if i sound like a whinny baby..

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Can you ask your NM for another FTE for housekeeping? It seems like y'all are spread pretty thin as it is.

[SandraCVRN]

Where does break or lunch relief come from???

[Carlene1969]

housekeeping have been outsourced to save money from benefits, and we have been requesting for another one for years.

we are lucky if we get a lunch break... sometimes we eat and run...lol. some surgeons will pause for a short lunch.

[CIRQL8]

You sound understaffed. What about call-ins. What about vacation? How about those large and complicated procedures that require a third person to assist. Already been asked: what about lunches and breaks? Slow turnover highlights these problems. The surgeons are the ones whose complaints will be heard the loudest. They've been to other places. Maybe they have priviledges at multiple facilities. Most likely they've all trained at multiple facilities. They have the knowledge and the power to make a difference (in my experience) more than staff. They MUST approach the director of surgical services and/or the CEO of the hospital and demand more FTEs in the OR. Oh yea. What if one or more staff turn in their resignations? It is very expensive to orient a newbie to the OR. Maintaining adequate staffing should be a priority.