Which specialties have 3 pts/nurse or less?

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · Mar 18, 2011

Just so you know, three or less can often be a whole honkin' truckload of work!

Yes! A couple of times have had ONE patient that kept me and the charge nurse busy. Thank goodness for my co-workers who monitored/checked on my other patient.

ikay81 · Mar 18, 2011

Perioperative. I work an outpatient/inpatient combo unit Admits we have 1 at a time, OR 1 at a time, PACU depends on the patient generally 1:1 but critical 2:1, Dismissals (for outpatient procedures) we take up to 3. But all these ratios are pretty much constant working or critical patients. I've worked the floor and ICU previously and low ratios usually are for patient safety! Low ratios don't mean less work as some of my friends think.

loriangel14, RN · Mar 18, 2011

Yeah having "only" three patients doesn't mean you aren't run off your feet. Lower ratios usually means higher acuity so it is by no means easier than a floor where you would have more than three.

Isabelle49 · Mar 19, 2011

NICU? I did my senior practicum there once upon a time. But the "step down" or intermediate infant unit might have like 5 at a time.

Last stepdown I worked in, I had 9 babies! I don't work there any more.

LegzRN · Mar 19, 2011

ICU(any of them), L&D, Cath Lab, Surgery, most good ERs

Find me an application for this ER so I can apply stat.

GM2RN · Mar 19, 2011

ICU(any of them), L&D, Cath Lab, Surgery, most good ERs

The best ratio that I have personally seen for the ER, on paper at least, is 3:1 with a critical patient, and 4:1 without. Of course, we all know that when the census is up and nurses are few, that ratio can go up in a heartbeat.

The ER where I work is a 29 bed department and the ratio is minimum of 5:1 with only 1 tech for the entire department. Plus, we don't have a tube system, so we often have to run our own specimens to the lab or go to the pharmacy to pick medications.

MInurse.st · Mar 19, 2011

I have clinicals at a large teaching hospital. I'm on a cardiac step down right now that is 3:1. The rest of my clinicals:

Peds med-surg 3 (sometimes 4):1

Adult med-surg 4:1

L&D 1:1 if pt in active labor

porterwoman · Mar 19, 2011

Outside of ICU, I have worked in 2 units that had 1:3 (and often 1:2) ratio: medicine progressive care & bone marrow transplant. Plus an HUC & an NA. Excellent staffing on both units, I must say. Rare.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2011

I don't know if anyone has mentioned GI lab. At my hospital, GI lab nurses (not recovery) have one patient at a time. Same with EP lab and Cath lab.

Our cardiac stepdown unit has a 3:1 ratio. All other ICU's are 2:1.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Mar 19, 2011

The best ratio that I have personally seen for the ER, on paper at least, is 3:1 with a critical patient, and 4:1 without. Of course, we all know that when the census is up and nurses are few, that ratio can go up in a heartbeat.
The ER where I work is a 29 bed department and the ratio is minimum of 5:1 with only 1 tech for the entire department. Plus, we don't have a tube system, so we often have to run our own specimens to the lab or go to the pharmacy to pick medications.

ER where I worked as a tech in nursing school, was 28 bed plus 4 fast track rooms, the ratio was 3:1, with only one 4:1 assingment and that was the psych room, but most of the patients there would require a sitter. We would have 3-4 techs working the floor, a nurse and a tech for triage and a tech for fast track. We would have 2 RNs and a provider working fast track, so the ratio would be higher there.

If they were critical then they could end up 1:1, at times 1:2

When I did my peds rotation they had only 3 patients, the PICU was 1:1, when I rotated in the NICU the most acute was 1:1, and the step down feeders and growers were 3:1

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2011

OR is one pt. PACU is usually one or two pts.

sweetER · Mar 19, 2011

Find me an application for this ER so I can apply stat.

This makes me feel even more blessed to be in the ER that I am. We are nearly always 3:1. Only time we'd have more is if we were short and had to take one of the psych rooms and then we'd be 4:1.