To All of you Med/Surg Nurses

[BrokenRNheart]

You deserve a big hug and a pat on the back.

I have just returned to floor nursing after some time off. I am doing agency and med/surg.

I don't know how (or why for that matter) any of you put up with the workload. Carrying 5-6 patients feels like you spend your whole shift passing meds. I can't imagine any more patients.

For anyone that is able to do med/surg - I totally honor and respect you!

I am presently refusing to return to a hospital that was just plain aweful. They don't want nurses to think they are bad. They need to look at the ratio if they really don't want nurses to think that. I spent my whole shift mostly passing meds with non-stop interruptions.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Many thanks to you! I do enjoy what I do, but the ratio is usually pretty bad: I do 12 hour nights, and the evening part I always get 5-6 patients (if I have 5, I can count on an admission) and when it's time to head into the night, our staff drops so that I can count on at least 8, usually nine patients (as CHARGE no less) and the rest of my staff can count on up to and including 10 patients each. No one likes it, we'll all harried and overworked, and yet this seems to be the way of things.

A year ago, it was better, census stayed lower, just enough that we usually had 7-8 apiece. Now, there's no new hires, no end in sight for the increased admissions, and the administration response is "do the best you can". Umm...yeah.

So, anyway, the answer to the question about how nurses put up with it is this: we don't, not for very long. The staff on nights in particular seems to last anywhere from 6 months to three years, then off they go. Me, I don't know how long I'll make it, which is a shame, since I do like the work.

[YellowFinchFan]

"I spent my whole shift mostly passing meds with non-stop interruptions. "

Yea that pretty much sums up hospital nursing - with the interruptions being life threatening emergencies to requests for more tissues.:typing

[ChocoholicRN]

I think you summed it up perfectly with your point of view and ideas of med/surg nursing. I definately feel like my day revolves around passing out meds, making sure pharmacy delivers the meds, making sure everyone gets their meds at the right time, and charting my life away. On my floor, we have a typical patient load of 6-7, sometimes 8 if we're short staffed. The senior nurses have been there for a long time, 12-15+ years, and I can't see them leaving anytime soon. But I know med/surg is not where I want to be for more than 2-3 years. It is hectic, and I don't always love it, but its a great environment for learning the basics.

[nurserynurse55]

I agree. Med/surg nurses rule!