well now... THAT was "short and sweet"...

allnurses Guide · Dec 2, 2003

Jnette . . . Just say no to those ratios. :confused:

Ya know, I'm really not sure what the best way to assign a patient load is. Yesterday I had 4 "swing" patients. They weren't acutely ill, had no IV's, no treatments. But they all did have varying degrees of dementia/Alzheimer's and incontinence. My LVN and CNA and I had our hands full. 3 adults ran all day taking care of 4 patients.

Acuities and ratios together because ratios make no sense whatsoever to me.

Good luck with your search. And as sjoe says . . . . well, you know.

:kiss steph

nowplayingEDRN · Dec 2, 2003

Well, having been part and parcel in the past to nurse/pt ratios of 1 nurse to 10 or more pts.....all I can say is RUN!!!!!!! Do not look back, do not pass go and do not collect the 200 dollars....you will be better off in the end for it. DO check out the little hospital in NC that is closer to home......who knows, something may turn out there. Sorry that you spent all that time for nothing but I am glad that you are on the mend and found out the surprise before youwere an official employee.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 2, 2003

wow jnette I am so sorry!!!!

I hope you can either resolve the troubles where you are or find another, safer position. You do deserve better. I am just so sorry to see your disillusionment so early on in your career. Damn that sucks.....((((((((((((((((((((((jnette)))))))))))))))))))))))))):kiss

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Dec 2, 2003

Yes... strictly ratio without considering acuity is absurd. And yet it is done continuously. What jerks.

Well, guess when all their nurses run for the hills and they have none left, they'll lift the hiring freeze again.... here we go 'round and 'round... they do this every year, I think. Well, I'm not playing.

I don't hAVE to. I love my dialysis patients and my work there... if I need a few extra $$, I'm sure I can find something I enjoy somewhere without as much risk. I really DID want to do some med/surge, though.

I'll check out the little hospital and see what going on there... they might do a little bit of EVERYTHING, as small as they are. My NP has been hinting around that she'd like me to come to work in her family practice office, too... but I know that's just not "me".

I love hospitals... the sounds, the smells... the IV bags hanging... the food carts and med carts and linen carts... just LOVE it !!!

I'm in no hurry... I'll find myself a little niche somewhere to explore new horizons... while keeping 'Ol Faithful and my dear patients at dialysis.

mattsmom81 · Dec 2, 2003

One of the reasons I left medsurg in the early 80's was management's big plan to staff 12 or more per nurse at night. I see their $$$ saving plan is rearing its ugly head again...

The nurses who stay there will probably be used as scapegoats unless they actually have an ear in upper level management. In which case I wonder : where are their voices now? Hopefully making lotsa noises to the tune of "I'm outta here....":eek:

When will hospitals stop 'experimenting' like this??? They will likely lose their brightest staff...the ones who will stay are those who feel they have no other options.

:stone

nurseygrrl, LPN · Dec 2, 2003

Sorry 'bout that jnette . But, as I always try and remember, there is a reason for everything and I'm sure you'll end up somewhere 'just right' for you :) You deserve it!

Yes... strictly ratio without considering acuity is absurd. And yet it is done continuously. What jerks.

Same is true of my SNF. Although my unit has the highest acuity rating in the facility, we get staffed the same because of numbers...and they're jerks too!!

:roll

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Dec 2, 2003

Originally posted by HerEyes73
Sorry 'bout that jnette . But, as I always try and remember, there is a reason for everything and I'm sure you'll end up somewhere 'just right' for you :) You deserve it!

Thanx, Alecia, Steph, Deb, Mattsmom....

I'm not sweating it by any means... I thoroughly enjoyed my orientation there and was able to learn a LOT... just wasn't ready to QUIT learning yet is all...

But it's not like I don't have a fulltime job already.. I do.. and love it. Had no plans of quitting there.. just wanted a little added exposure to something different a little now and then. Med/Surge filled that void... would have been just perfect on a PRN basis.

But as you said, there's a reason for everything and I'm not shedding any tears.. a little bummed, but that's ok. No major deal.

Thanx for the kind words ! :kiss

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2003

Short and sweet it was. Take what you've learned and move on. There's always going to be a need for an enthusiastic med-surg nurse willing to work.

In fact, you should spend the winter with me. We're short staffed and fluffing up the staff for the winter season which is our busy time.

passing thru · Dec 2, 2003

Wow Jnette !

What a bummer !

Just curious which corp. owns the hospital? Can you say?

It is odd how some hospitals staff decently and others pull this kind of shenanigans.

(Although I am hearing of more and more hospitals staffing 10:1 at night.)

I'd probably give it a try and see if it really is that bad. Are they adding more patient care techs at night?

Good techs doing vital signs, turning, taking to bathroom, changing diapers, etc...... free up the nurse for giving meds, checking mars, doing 24 hr. chart checks, and then the usual 5 a to 7a rush.

It is do-able with good & dependable techs/// IF,

IF (big IF)

IF no one goes "bad."

I'd probably still stay and give it my best shot, usually after 3-4 weeks, the folks who are liable ;

change the ratio back to 7-8:1.

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Dec 2, 2003

Wow, Jnette.

Although you learned a lot, and that was a good thing, you broke your back, driving all that distance, and wound up getting run down and got the BIG BAD FLU BUG! It is a good thing you learned what kind of a hospital it really is before you were actually hired. That would have been even worse for you. But now that you have some extra knowledge, you might have an even better chance of being hired there part time.

I say BAD BAD BAD nurse eating organizations.YUCK!

Take 2 (((((((((HUGS)))))))))) and email me in the morning.

Fran:nurse:

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2003

Hey Jnette,

Sorry to hear that the hospital does not value its' nurses!

I ran away from med/surg for the same reason!

Does your dialysis unit have a peritoneal program?

I started peritoneal training today, and wow! I'm really excited about it!

My hours have been doubled- I'll be doing HD one day and PD the next. PD is really different. Maybe you could look into something like that?