Team nursing is causing many good nurses to leave any suggestions

[fight fatigue]

We started team nursing 3 weeks ago. We are a 44 bed unit that manages, medicals, telemetry, oncology, and occasional step downs from CCU. We average 25-30 patients a day. We use to staff 7-8 nurses every day and four aides and 2 ward clerks. We would have 4-5 patietns of our own, the charge nurse would have 1-3 patients and would help out. We now staff five nurses for 24 patietns. Each team has 10 patients and the charge nurse has one. When our census is up the charge nurses takes her own team of 8 along with another nurse. The aides split rooms evenly so each has about the same number of patients. One ward clerk does all the orders.

This is not working and many of the staff are looking else where. Administration tells us that Most Indiana hospitals and other big hospitals are doing this and that we must adjust becasue TEAM nursing is here to stay. If this is true please let me know this will get better. How are your units set up? Our unit alone has made several med errors, lab errors, and entering order errors. Our patients are suffering some have even commented that this care delviery system is not working!!:angryfire

[KacyLynnRN]

The facility I've been at for over 2 years does team nursing. As an LPN it has been great experience. However, I graduate RN school in May and I am scared when I think about being responsible for 11-12 patients per shift (5-6 for RN, 6 for LPN...each one does meds & assessments) + 1 CNA for beds & baths. This is on day shift med/surg unit. I just don't think, being a new RN, I can handle those ratios. Everyone thinks since I have already been an LPN for awhile I will be fine. I am not so sure...

Anyway, does this sound like a heavy load of patients, or is this the average on med/surg??