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I'm a new grad RN about to start on a med-surg floor. I was told that on days I will have 4-5 patients and on nights 7-8. Does this sound normal/manageable?
Telemetry floor here. Days has 1:6, nights 1:8 although it's usually no more than 6 ever. However, sometimes the 6 you started with are all discharged and by the end you have 6 different patients. Usually a LPN if there are 6 or more patients per nurse. 1 PCA at night even if all 24 beds taken, 1:8 for techs on days.
When we start pulling sheaths (sometime this year) we will be 1:4 days & nights.
I enjoy our ratios usually. Biggest turnover in the hospital though.
Dude, even so, with that kind of acuity, even on Rehab at the nursing home I used to work at, the ratio was 1 RN-5-7 and the CNAs were 1-15. I can't imagine being responsible for 53 patients who have the acuity described above with only 2-3 CNAs to help. That's insanity and any place that would do that, I NEVER want to be, and I never want one of my family members there either.
Something is gonna get missed in a situation like that and not only will someone lose their license, but a patient will be harmed in the process. SCARY.
We get 6 or 7 pts. each and they are heavy for the most part. We have 2-3 techs on night shift. We get a lot of admissions that belong on other floors but they have no room so send them to us. Lots of isolation pts. and confused people as well. No unit secretary and the charge nurse often takes patients.
When I worked in Kentucky, the ratio was 1:4 tele and 1:5 med surg. 24/7. It was upheld pretty well, too.
Now I work in Florida, where I've had as many as 8 on nights. I think 1:6 is most common on both shifts.
It's a good thing I love the beach so much or I'd be running back to my unbelievable ratios!
Aurora77
861 Posts
On our floor, only those on post op day 1 are considered fresh. I work nights and have anywhere from 4 to 6 patients, depending on the acuity and the charge nurse (some of our charges take more patients than others). Day shift has a similar ratio.