What is your Nurse to Patient Ratio

[dRN1]

We have a 4 : 1 rato that we try to stick to. Occaisionally we end up with 5 if we are short a nurse. But as you know that you may have HAD 6 throught the shift if you had 2 discharges then got 2 admits. (aaahhh day shift)

[SQueenRN, BSN]

i work a general med/surg floor, night shift (7p-7a) and our ratio is 1:6 sometimes 1:7. if i ever start off with 5 patients, that means i'll get an admission from the ED that night!!

[abbaking]

5:1 - usually . Sometimes short staffed and I have 6 or 7 patients (med/surg/tele), but thats not to common.

When I first entered nursing in 2001, i would have a list of 9 ot 10 basic and intermediate patients

[Bill E. Rubin]

We're an acute general medical floor... and typically, during the day our ratios are 3:1, nights 4:1.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

4:1 or 5:1 depending on the acuity of the patients.

[guest64485]

5 or 6:1 (days)

[starletRN]

5:1 but it has gone up to 6 at times.

[mcl10109]

5:1 to start then admits and d/c as appropriate to keep you at a level of 6:1

[Ilithya]

Six to one, we are ALWAYS staffed for 6 to one. We all start the day with 6 if they can help it They do not call in another nurse where I work until not a single nurse can accept patients and if they can give one nurses patients to another so they can send somebody home thats even better. Occasionally even the charge nurse has to take patients.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

the idea that certain numbers of patients = one nurse bothers me. That is like saying a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. The acuity of the patient is as important as the ability of the nurse. There are some patients I will not assign to certain nurses. Let's not get hung up on numbers. It does not benefit the nurse in the end.

[swifty1031]

the idea that certain numbers of patients = one nurse bothers me. That is like saying a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. The acuity of the patient is as important as the ability of the nurse. There are some patients I will not assign to certain nurses. Let's not get hung up on numbers. It does not benefit the nurse in the end.

You are so right. One of our charge nurse assigns new admits simply by number, while another looks at the acuity of the new pt vs. the load the nurse has already. That is the only safe and beneficial way to assign. I always try to schedule with latter charge for obvious reasons:)

[detoxgi]

I work on a busy medical ward, specializing in GI/detox. We work as RN/LPN teams. On a good day it is 8:2, and on a regular day it is 10-13:2. I recently finished school in December with a maximum ratio of 4:1, so transitioning straight into this was quite an eye-opener!