Transfusions with one nurse

[usiv]

I work in an outpatient infusion center. We are open 7days a week. Weekdays we have outpatient surgery nurses as backup or to help. On wkends/holidays, we are alone. One RN & an aide. No one else is close by. We are not comfortable scheduling blood product transfusions, phlebotomies, remicade, etc. due to potential reactions. What are other infusions centers doing? We can see 17 patients on a saturday with only one nurse.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I think I need to know a little bit more about your set-up. Yes we often have one nurse on weekdays and weekends in our infusion center and we do not specify that only certain therapies go on certain days. As long as you are following your protocols and have available resources available should the patient have a reaction it is OK to be doing this. I must say that they should have an RN to assist if there is an emergency that takes you away from other patients. Do you leave the unit to pick up blood products? Do you have lunch relief? You should never leave the patient unattended...so they have to have a back up of some kind. I must also say 17 patients is quite a bit for one nurse. If we have 9 or more patients we get a second nurse. Our IVT office is attached to the outpatient infusion center and I relieve in there for lunch and 17 patients for one nurse means you guys are jamming and do need some kind of back up.........even if you just need some help for goodness sakes.

[usiv]

I'm an RN that works with the original poster. On the weekends, we are in the Outpatient Surgery Center alone with our aide. What kind of backup do you have on the weekends?

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

The oncology staff is right around the corner. it is in the middle of a very busy floor...but private of course...and our office is connected to the big suite. So there are RNs everywhere to help. I am still curious about your lunch relief. What do you do for urgent change in patients condition or a hypersensitivity reaction? Do you call Rapid Response?

[usiv]

We have no lunch relief on weekends or holidays. The closest nurse would be the next floor up or ER which is way at the other end of the hospital. The aide leaves to get the blood, then you are the only staff with patients. If we have a problem, we would have to call the rapid response team or a full code. Luckily we havent had any problems. I just wanted to see what other facilities were doing.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I would certainly ask your manager for a plan for lunch relief. if I were managing that unit the nurses would not even have to ask ....i would have something set up for you. What state are you in...most state laws provide a 30 min lunch break. I would also let your manager know that studies prove employess are more productive when they are given their breaks,especially ones where they are relieved of all their duties.