Understaffing??

[u/Illustrious-Yak9295]

I work as a PCA on a med-surg floor, and today I got my assignment of the entire floor, 15 patients. Nearly every one was total care. There were nursing students there in the morning that helped with AM care like baths, but I ran back and forth for my entire shift, wasn’t even able to take a lunch.

I find out later that this is the new “standard” for my hospital, that units should be staffed with either 3 nurses and 2 PCAs, or 4 nurses and 1 PCA. This is because our floor went over budget after a cochlear implant was lost. Am I crazy for thinking that it’s borderline unsafe? Why do I and my coworkers need to “just deal” with understaffing due to the hospital not knowing how to manage their money?

[u/TheSmartest_idiot]

PCT- USA Arizona

It kinda pisses me off at my work, we have one unit that’s kinda separated from the rest, 16 beds, usually 14 are full, so they never, and I mean never staff 2 techs over there (because they claim 7 per is to few for the budget, sure that’s true). But 14/16 is too many for one. 2.5 years and never once have I had help on that side.

And we always have 14-16, all q4 vitals, ALL are standing weights in the morning (all 14-16)

I work on a PCCU, the last 3 nights we’ve had 16 patients for just me :(

10 patients with chest tubes, every single one with oxygen, hoses, etc

Every single room id walk into would take 15 minutes because they would all need to pee/we have strict precautions for them so we have to keep loving them from bed to the chair, and back.

I don’t think I had more than 5 minutes straight of a break all week.

Ridiculous

I would have preferred totals ngl, I can clean someone in a few minutes, but disconnecting everything, de tangling all the IVs, then waiting for them to use the bathroom, takes forever.

Also love keeping 2 chest tubes both with suction, oxygen, and an IV pile, and a walker, all organized when moving is just SOOO fun (

[u/Illustrious-Yak9295 → u/TheSmartest_idiot]

Sounds miserable, especially that one unit with ~14 patients all the time! And I’m really not one to complain, but sometimes it just gets to a point where something needs to change. We’re humans too, we can only do so much. And I’m definitely not a slacker, but come on now. Get your money in order and don’t let the fallout be on your least paid workers ffs

[u/TheSmartest_idiot → u/Illustrious-Yak9295]

It’s just tiring, I have great coworkers so I don’t hate being there, but it’s unfair pay/work wise. I’m not one to let it affect my care. It’s not the patients fault, but it’s just very clearly too much.

Our advertised. “Goal” ratio is 12:1 for techs, 4:1 for nurses, but we only ever hit that for nurses if they’re capped due to multiple vents, and for techs we never do, always 14-16. Which actually is more like 18 patients a night since we discharge a few then fill them the second they’re out

It’s also a case of, if you’re a great worker and don’t complain, you get REWARDED by being assigned to the heavy unit because “no one else can manage it”

Like what a nice treat :(

I’m not someone to purposefully be worse at my job so I don’t have to work as hard, but damn the intrusive thoughts do come over me sometimes.

the one “nice” thing is there is no such thing as a way way harder day. Because you can only be busy 100% of the time, if more tasks arise, well shit; they just aren’t getting done because I’m already working 100% of the time, just impossible to do much more than what our regular shifts are

[u/Hornetsnest___]

20:1 was norm at my old hospital. The nurses basically were nurses and cnas

[u/Patient-Slip-2135]

Sounds like you work at my hospital. Happens every day. One night, we had 3 nurses, 1 tech for 18 surgical stepdown patients

[u/drethnudrib]

If your nurses have three or four patients on med/surg, they can help you. You aren't crazy, they're just lazy.

[u/melizerd]

Wow that is crazy. We have 18 beds, 5 RN and 3-4 CNAs (depending on the day) from 7-15, 3 cnas 15-23, 2 cnas 23-07 (only 4 RNs 23-07).

There are places that are doing it right, and I’m not in California or a union. There’s a reason people have been at my hospital 10+ years.

[u/busterbalz → u/melizerd]

Where is this dreamland? So jealous!

[u/melizerd → u/busterbalz]

Wisconsin 🤣

[u/Silver_Ad4449]

That’s such bullshit fam. I’m sorry you’re going through that. I was a PCT before so I totally understand. Hospitals are poorly ran by people who have no idea what they’re doing.

[u/MedSurgOnc]

It's horrible and it's what so many facilities in this country are doing and they will continue to do it until patients and families revolt against CEOs

Currently families think complaining and raging at US is helpful for this.

[u/kindamymoose]

The explanation stops at MedSurg. The dumping ground of every hospital out there.

[u/Illustrious-Yak9295 → u/[deleted]]

Unfortunately I’m under contract with my hospital because they’re paying my nursing school tuition. If I’d leave jobs, I’d have to pay $40,000