What is reasonable staffing?

[CapeCodMermaid]

Another post about staffing. I just had an RN quit today because she said there was "just too much work to do". It's a 41 bed rehab/subacute floor with 7 or 8 long term residents mixed in. On day shift we have 3 nurses on the med cart...so that's 14 patients each, a unit manager, 5 CNA's and a secretary. Maybe it's me, but is that all that horrible? I know the patients are sicker than they used to be,but at the moment, we have only 1 IV and no g-tubes. Am I expecting too much of an RN, who by the way is a nurse practitioner as well, to be able to handle 14 patients?

[suebird3]

OK, folks.....I had to throw in my 2 cents. I work 11-7's and am the only nurse, with 4-5 aides....for 120 patients. Have had up to 6 or 8 gt's, as many as 22 accuchecks (at times, some were once weekly on Monday's), and a few other things thrown in. I know....horrendous. But....I have been at the place 6 years. It gets wacky, but I love the job. Yes, Nascarnurse, we LTC'ers get looked on as "nuts" or worse, but the difference is we care.

I forgot to mention...I have a BSN. The facility "pushed" me to get my degree, and I felt in my heart that I do owe them something. :) I guess they saw what I couldn't at the time.

I give all of you others a big round of applause. Keep yer chin up! :balloons:

Suebird

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Yes, you are being very unreasonable. 14 rehab patients is a ridiculous amount for 1 primary RN to safely handle. Bottom line the CNA's and the secretary may be helpful, but they are not ultimately responsible for the patients. The RN is the one responsible. Any competent nurse would refuse such an assignment. 14 patients would be 8 too many even if the patients were all "self care".

This is LTC not acute.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Another post about staffing. I just had an RN quit today because she said there was "just too much work to do". It's a 41 bed rehab/subacute floor with 7 or 8 long term residents mixed in. On day shift we have 3 nurses on the med cart...so that's 14 patients each, a unit manager, 5 CNA's and a secretary. Maybe it's me, but is that all that horrible? I know the patients are sicker than they used to be,but at the moment, we have only 1 IV and no g-tubes. Am I expecting too much of an RN, who by the way is a nurse practitioner as well, to be able to handle 14 patients?

I worked rehab/subacute units in LTC. 14 patients is about the average if these are MediCare skilled patients and you don't have any ventilators or complicated IV medications and central lines. On a true subacute (vents, TPN, chest tubes) we only had 8 patients apiece. For my 14 patients I was busy the whole shift not only doing meds and treatments, but also calling doctors and getting order changes all the time. All of it, as you know, had to be charted. I thought the work was exhausting, but I got a great sense of satisfaction from it and I've been a hospital RN for years and years. Perhaps this NP just wasn't used to the workload. If she was someone who has to have her day organized her way and get all those breaks on time I could see where she would get disillusioned quite quickly. Perhaps it was the required paperwork as well--it is burdensome to someone who is not used to it.