Janitors- their job-I couldn't do without them, is fairly standardized.
Teachers- even teachers have substitutes.
Secretaries- well, they can't kill anyone with their poor shorthand technique.
Those are the only few that I can think of at the moment. Feel free to add more if you can think of them.
But really, why do we float nurses? Those people that literally have a patients life in their hands for every minute of the shift that they work.
Why don't doctors float? Sorry, DR. OBGYN, Dr. Psych called in sick, you have to cover his patients for him today? Or dietary, hey, put down that apple juice and go look at UA's for the day. Sorry but we have a sick call to cover. It is your duty to cover.
The whole rampage began today. We have a step down unit, that like the rest of the country is becoming more acute daily. Unfortunately, they have lost over half of their staff but yet still try to maintain full capacity. Even though, our unit is one unit, it is composed of telemetry and step down. The only place that we are floated is telemetry, step down and ICU. Well, you might say that is ok?. Well, I have over 100 float hours in 2 months. I am the "it" girl over there. We can't take so and so because of... or that they flip and freak out too easily. Mind you that in all the float hours, there has been no education or orientation provided to any staff that floats. One time occurance, hey anyone may be able to get through a shift. But continually floating unexperienced staff is just plain dangerous. I knew that I was to float this am, which would have been ok, except I had a new grad. I wasn't going to float with a new grad. To take away from his orientation and set up for a potentially dangerous situation. "well, other nurses and new grads have done it, It worked before, why not now". I refused.
Why do we continually become martyrs when our license is in serious danger?
Tell the doctors, stop admitting patients, or you can float to the understaffed areas!
Do you really want to have someone working on you or your loved one in a critical care setting that may or may not be a "float". How many more mistakes are made when people float, not to mention those fatal? Those are mistakes that I don't want to make or find out about.
Please feel free to enlighten me or share your stories of floating.
I agree floating can and is dangerous for the nurse and the pt. I did not float much when I worked in the hospital because I worked ob/ over flow med / surg. , and the experience I had when I started at the hospital.
I was a new grad on orientation . I had just started what was going to be my shift . I was told when I came in the I was being pulled to med/ surge on another floor. I informed them I was on orientation with a preceptor. The powers that be decided ok preceptor would go with me. The preceptor stated she had only worked ob and did not want to float. We had to float.
So we went to the unit. We got a hi heres your assignment and was alone in the station. We got recored report on what was supposed to be stable pt to handle all night. My preceptor disappeared and I was handeling the team. Thank God above I had done an internship my last year of nursing school in adult ICU . I ended up calling a poor dr every hour on the hour all night and did a silent code on his pt before sending pt to unit. Dr came in and wanted to know who kept calling him all night. I said I did expecting to get chewed out. Dr actual complemented me on treating the pt and did not know I was new grad.
The preceptor appeared at the end of the shift crying as the pt did not mak it after all. Needless to say my preceptor told the nm on our unit what happened and that was the end of my orientation. I was never so upset up to that time.
So floating can expand skills and knowledge, howevere I think floating to different units need cross training and orientation. I feel if floating is going to be a policy then limits on who, experience level and unit must be considered.
I dod not float now as I work telephone advise and have to talk to everybody.
MST
8 Posts
I agree floating can and is dangerous for the nurse and the pt. I did not float much when I worked in the hospital because I worked ob/ over flow med / surg. , and the experience I had when I started at the hospital.
I was a new grad on orientation . I had just started what was going to be my shift . I was told when I came in the I was being pulled to med/ surge on another floor. I informed them I was on orientation with a preceptor. The powers that be decided ok preceptor would go with me. The preceptor stated she had only worked ob and did not want to float. We had to float.
So we went to the unit. We got a hi heres your assignment and was alone in the station. We got recored report on what was supposed to be stable pt to handle all night. My preceptor disappeared and I was handeling the team. Thank God above I had done an internship my last year of nursing school in adult ICU . I ended up calling a poor dr every hour on the hour all night and did a silent code on his pt before sending pt to unit. Dr came in and wanted to know who kept calling him all night. I said I did expecting to get chewed out. Dr actual complemented me on treating the pt and did not know I was new grad.
The preceptor appeared at the end of the shift crying as the pt did not mak it after all. Needless to say my preceptor told the nm on our unit what happened and that was the end of my orientation. I was never so upset up to that time.
So floating can expand skills and knowledge, howevere I think floating to different units need cross training and orientation. I feel if floating is going to be a policy then limits on who, experience level and unit must be considered.
I dod not float now as I work telephone advise and have to talk to everybody.