Tele floor: what is you pt ratio?

[ZootRN]

Weel, when this hospital was hiring me, they told their nurse-pt ratio would be 1:5 on tele floor. 2 weeks off orientation, I've had 5 pts only twice. It's 6 pts for me, and more experienced nurses would have 7. We are very short most of the times, and I honestly dreading going back to work every day. I feel guilty giving up so quickly, but I've started looking for another job.

Am I overreacting, or 6 pts ratio on telemetry floor where most of your pt's are post-op, is to be expected?

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

At our local teaching hospital 1:4 is the norm (cardiac medical step-down, cardiac surgery step-down), no more. 1:6 or 1:7 sounds very unsafe.

[cn2007rn]

I was told the telemetry floor at my hospital, the ratio 1 to 4.

[BGgirl]

We are a med-surg stepdown all on telemetry and are 1:3 on dayshift and a 1:4 on nights. If teaming with an aide we take 2:8 on nights.

1:6 or 7 sounds like too many patients especially if they're cardiac and sick enough to require telemetry.

[hppygrndma]

I work agency in a university teaching hospital, night ratio for tele is usually anywhere from 6-8 patients.

[belfry]

I work on a telemetry floor, and we have 5:1 days and 6:1 nights. Some days it is a breeze, some days we should really be 3:1 with the acuity as it is at times.....

[Cheyenne RN,BSHS]

our floor has a 1:6 to a 1:8 ratio on day shift and unfortunately, the same on nights.

i just don't think they ((being the higher administrators))) get it! :smackingf

[jlayne]

I'm on a telemetry/stroke floor and its 7-8 pts/ RN with a tech...its gets pretty hetic esp when pts are having active cardiac issues rather then just stable and being monitored.

[onarie]

I work on a 32-bed telemetry unit. Now, not always are all our patient's actually on telemetry. We average between a 1:6 - 1:8 ration. During day shift there are also 4 CNA/NA/Tech's; evenings there are 2 or 3 CNA/NA/Tech's and on nights there are only 2 CNA/NA/Techs. Each shift averages about the same ratio. There are times (very rarely) that we get a 1:5 ratio - and when we do you sure can tell.

There are nights when things are extremely overwhelming and then there are the nights when you feel as though you have conquered the world. Tonight was somewhere in the middle.

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

it depends on whether your pts are just needed telemetry monitoring or if they're on the tele floor because they are post-op CABG. Either way I think 1:7 is too much.

I work on general tele floor on nights and our ratio is 1:6 although sometimes we just have 5. we NEVER have 7. Our ratio will improve starting in July although it may mean the nurses will have to pick up some duties formally done by the techs.