What's your patient-nurse ratio at your hospitals?

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Specializes in Surgical, CVICU & Oncology, Med/Surg.

So I'm a new grad RN at this hospital and currently, my concern is that they seem to be very short-staffed. I'm currently at 5patients, but I've seen others who've been working there take on 6 or 7 patients. I've heard there's been a night when nurses had 8 patients. The other week, one of the nurses had a meltdown at the nurses' station because she had 7 patients during the 7am-7:30p shift (the busiest shift) & didn't even get a break. It really worries me especially being that now all the excitement I had starting is fading and most people here are stating the nurses and even techs all leave. So they are constantly short staffed. It is not even safe at these ratios. I relocated for this job, was happy I was getting straight into the hospital setting to get experience. I love the experience and what I do but these patient nurse ratios are insane. If it wasn't for my lease, I honestly would start other applications. I'm just in limbo now. What are the patient nurse ratios at your hospital? What would you honestly do, if you were in such a situation?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

We follow our professional organization's recommendation for nurse-patient ratio (AWHONN). It's based on patient acuity, so it varies.

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My first nursing job assigned eight patients to each RN and an LVN with eight patients for each RN to cover. It was acute care ortho/med/surg. My current job med/surg job assigns between 3-5 patients ...sometimes less if the patients are very heavy. We have no LVNs on staff.

What I did in your position is operate in survival mode and get experience. I kept everyone alive and learned not to sweat the "small" stuff.

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What are the patient nurse ratios at your hospital? What would you honestly do, if you were in such a situation?

Mine was 7 patients per nurse when I was on med-surg (night shift). What did I do? I chose to leave and started working in the OR.

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Our Med-Surg unit has a 1:5 ratio in AM sift and 1:6 in the PM shift. There are rumblings that the organization may bring it back to 1:4 for AM and 1:5 for PM because of the huge increase in the amount of Falls, Infections, Subpar care that has ocurred since increasing the ratio. I would run away from any place that makes u take 7 or 8 patients. That is a lot of responsability and liability and it is your license and livehood in the line.

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Green Tea,

That was actually a very smart idea. I choose to transfer to a procedural area in my hospital, and the difference is night and day. I am so much more happy now, I can provide better patient care and keep my license safe.

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Specializes in LTC, Rural, OB.

We've been at max 1:5 for a while on nights but recently management decided 1:6 or 7 would be perfectly fine on nights, mainly because they don't want to fill the holes with another staff nurse. I would be okay with it if our resource nurse was on our floor for our busy times but she's usually getting pulled to ED or OB at those times. Ah the joys of a small hospital.

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

1:2 ICU

1:3 PCU

1:5 Acute

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