What is your nurse to patient ratio?

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So I figured this would be a cool topic to ask about since so many of us live in different parts of the U.S.

First I would like to start off by saying that I live in Las Vegas and typically all ER nurses have a 4 to 1 ratio. I know a lot of ERs out here are fighting to get it to 3 to 1 which would be even better and safer for every patient.

With that being said, what is YOUR guys nurse to patient ratio?

What do you guys think is a fair ratio for those working in the ER? MED SURG? ICU?

I like hearing others opinions, so send them my way!

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On my med surg unit our ratio is now 12 patient to a team of 1 RN, 1 LPN, and 1 CNA as well as a virtual nurse. Our unit is piloting a program for this team nursing concept with also virtual nursing. There is a camera in every pt room and screen. So far it's been rough. I've noticed that patient satisfaction as well as job satisfaction has declined since starting this program in March. Prior we had a ration of 5-6 patients per RN. A lot of RNs are leaving our unit. I'm trying to stick it out but most of the time it feels almost unsafe. I live in Florida btw.

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On my med surg unit our ratio is now 12 patient to a team of 1 RN, 1 LPN, and 1 CNA as well as a virtual nurse. Our unit is piloting a program for this team nursing concept with also virtual nursing. There is a camera in every pt room and screen. So far it's been rough. I've noticed that patient satisfaction as well as job satisfaction has declined since starting this program in March. Prior we had a ration of 5-6 patients per RN. A lot of RNs are leaving our unit. I'm trying to stick it out but most of the time it feels almost unsafe. I live in Florida btw.

Holy moly, that honestly sounds outrageous and unsafe. Our med sure nurses out here are at about 6/7 per one nurse and I thought that was a lot!!

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Specializes in Pedi.

When I worked in the hospital (peds) it was 3:1 days, 4:1 nights. Rarely we went up to 5 at night. There were some patients who were so complex that they needed 2:1 whether days or nights. Our ICUs were 1:1 for the most critical patients or 2:1 for the more stable/almost ready to transfer to the floor patients.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

Med-Surg in Texas. 5-6 to 1. Charge does not take patients so they man the desk and deal with a lot of the phone calls and paperwork which is a life saver!

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Specializes in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

Southern California RN here. No LVN coverage in my area as far as I know (Inland Empire).

1:2 for ICU (depending on the acuity/required machines and such)

1:4 telemetry

1:3 PCU

1:5 med-surge

Forgot if ER was 1:3 or 1:4

Fortunate to have the California nurse-patient ratio law. I still don't see why this nurse-patient ratio isn't universal. Well technically I do, it's all about the money in the long run, unfortunately. My hospital does a decent job at acuity though. We NEVER go over our ratio, never. If a nurse has a very heavy patient load, they will keep that nurse at 3 patients if possible (I work on the regular telemetry unit).

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
Southern California RN here. No LVN coverage in my area as far as I know (Inland Empire).

1:2 for ICU (depending on the acuity/required machines and such)

1:4 telemetry

1:3 PCU

1:5 med-surge

Forgot if ER was 1:3 or 1:4

Fortunate to have the California nurse-patient ratio law. I still don't see why this nurse-patient ratio isn't universal. Well technically I do, it's all about the money in the long run, unfortunately. My hospital does a decent job at acuity though. We NEVER go over our ratio, never. If a nurse has a very heavy patient load, they will keep that nurse at 3 patients if possible (I work on the regular telemetry unit).

I so agree we need mandated minimum nurse-patient ratios. Read https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/nurses-advocate-for-1155862.html to learn more about getting it passed

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Specializes in ICU.

1:3- sometimes it can go up to 4 patients on days. If it's a fresh trach or flap patient it's 1:2 no exceptions

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, Peds.

Working in Arizona on a Tele/PCU unit. Our ratio on night shift is 1:5. Days is 1:4. However, depending on acuity it may be 1:4 (nights) or 1:3 (days).

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On my med surg unit our ratio is now 12 patient to a team of 1 RN, 1 LPN, and 1 CNA as well as a virtual nurse. Our unit is piloting a program for this team nursing concept with also virtual nursing. There is a camera in every pt room and screen. So far it's been rough. I've noticed that patient satisfaction as well as job satisfaction has declined since starting this program in March. Prior we had a ration of 5-6 patients per RN. A lot of RNs are leaving our unit. I'm trying to stick it out but most of the time it feels almost unsafe. I live in Florida btw.

When will this "trial" finally just die? I worked for a hospital in Florida that tried this almost 20 years ago and it failed miserably. I guess too many that experienced it burnt out to be around to warn against it? It was NUTS.

Now 6:1 days. Still nuts but beats chasing after 12!

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Med-surg/tele 3-5 patients per nurse in MA! Usually 4:1.

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This is very fortunate. We get fresh trachs, still have to be 5-6:1 which is pretty sad because they're the most vulnerable and anxious when they come out of surgery.

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