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Re: Patient Load

From: crawford (crawford@allwest.net)
Mon, 10 Sep 2001 23:20:06 -0600

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Hello, my name is Cindy I'm an RN in a rural hospital working in L & D where there is only one L & D nurse on duty or call for a 12 hr shift. We have three birthing rooms where they deliver and recover, then are transferred to PP/nursery. Due to the nursing shortage, we often have to float to the nursery taking baby & mom together. Because we are still paper charting the paper trail is very straining, but we usually get help if there is more than two moms & two babies at one time in the nursery/PP area.

We are feeling quite strained due to the nursing shortage and I don't feel it is a safe or good practice these days. We use to have (6) L&D nurses we are down to 3, (as well teach prenatal classes) with two in training/orientation at this time, but won't be up and running on the schedule independantly until Dec maybe, and that's with one only working 2 days/wk. Hospital trying to give us incentives, but burnout is burnout and at a certain point evan money is not worth it. Not to mention safe cares!

There must be a way out from this mess. We've tried cross training which only burns people out faster and efficiency drops. What to do??? Health Care Reform! Maybe increase level of pay to better match the level of work and responsibility we have! As well keep and attract new nurses, unfortuantely the big corporate hosp administrators don't see it this way. The cost of health care is out the roof and what's driving it? Well it certainly isn't salaries from the shortages we've experienced. They say we're operating at 38% for wages which is the norm?

Anyway, sorry I had to vent...there are probably areas worse, but I can only hope for better. Peace, love and joy to all. Cindy

>----- Original Message -----
From: "Claudia Twisdale RN" <twisdale@mediaspecialty.com> To: "Multiple recipients of list NURSING" <nursing@mail.medispecialty.com> Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 4:24 PM Subject: Re: Patient Load

> I have worked where I was the only RN on a Labor-Delivery, Nursery and
> Postpartum floor. Not ideal or best practice! I think 10 patients is a
> bit much, if everyone was a low risk vaginal delivery, maybe, but how
> often does that happen anymore? Now does this mean 10 moms, or 5 moms
> and babies?
>
> At Mon, 10 Sep 2001, Sharon Engstrand LVN wrote:
> >
> >I work on a post-partum floor. They are changing our matrix and we will
> >now be
> >having 10 patients a nurse on the 11-7 shift. I was wondering what the
> >norm. was in some other hospitals. I feel that this is unsafe.
>

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