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Science Forum Index » Medicine - Nursing Forum » Floating?
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| Candide |
 Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:32 pm |
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Love it? Hate It? Will you do it only if threatened at gun point? *LOL*
Just wondering how everyone feels about floating off their assigned
unit, and or if anyone still signs up for on call floating shifts, where
one signs up to be called in to go where ever staff is short.
With so many GNs forgoing spending time in Med/Surg and going straight
into units or their chosen niche, wonder if the old adage "a nurse is a
nurse" still holds true, despite what management may think. After all
if one hasn't been near L&D since clinical rotations at school, is it
really a good idea to pull a nurse from the ER to help sort out a
shortage? Same goes vice-versa, would an "L&D" nurse be the right choice
to send down to the ER or Med/Surg floor to help if she has seen nothing
of either since school or perhaps a few odd years off and on.
Candide |
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| Mortimer Schnerd, RN |
| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:25 pm |
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Candide wrote:
Quote: Love it? Hate It? Will you do it only if threatened at gun point? *LOL*
I spent a little over three years in the permanent float pool of an 800 bed
teaching hospital. I got pulled to every unit in the hospital except the ED,
OR, L&D and the cath lab. Any other unit was fair game. I was most comfortable
in med/surg and orthopedics; unhappy in peds and NICU and most stressed and
overwhelmed in CVICU.
The hospital was a hotbed of unit politics but I was above the fray since I
didn't belong to a particular unit. Sometimes I was abused because I wasn't
from *their* unit but that wasn't very often. All I had to do was whine to the
nursing office about how I got shafted and I would no longer be available to
that unit when their staffing fell through. So sad, too bad. Treat the help a
little better in the future.
The experience sure rounded my education out as a floor nurse. If I got pulled
to a neuro or a urology floor, I became their biggest asset when it came to
cardiology problems, because I usually was the only one there who could read
strips. When I went to a cardiology floor, I instantly became the biggest moron
on the unit, because I only worked there sporadically, as compared to their
regular staff. But then I was the only guy there who knew what to do with a
total hip.
Quote: Just wondering how everyone feels about floating off their assigned
unit, and or if anyone still signs up for on call floating shifts, where
one signs up to be called in to go where ever staff is short.
My present hospital doesn't require me to go to other than another med-surg
unit, although the PCU types are starting to show up on our unit every now and
then. I know the ICUs exchange staff with the PCU as needed but we never see
ICU nurses on my unit just as we never go there.
Now, my current thoughts on the matter when I walk in and see I've been pulled
is "oh, crap." The basic problem with going to another unit is an unfamiliarity
with their staff and a lack of commonality about procedures. For example, our
techs do our vitals and finger sticks. On some of the other med-surg units they
don't do the finger sticks. Vital signs are done at different "standardized"
times and you access them in different ways. It's a PITA but then again we
don't want some other unit dictating the way *we* run *our* floor. Obviously
they don't want us dictating to them either. Fair enough... but it creates
these small problems when you're pulled.
The final thing I don't particularly like about being pulled is my own unit
trying to get me back at 1500. If I've started at 0700 on another unit, I've
spent my time getting my ducks in a row so that I can enjoy a leisurely end to
my shift at 1900. I'm really not interested in starting all over again with a
different bunch of patients at 1500, only now I only have four hours left to
write up my initial assessments, etc.
Now, as far as signing up for "on call" any kind of shift, hell no. I am
unavailable to the hospital Monday through Friday for any reason. I only work
enough to pay my bills. If I hit the Powerball on Wednesday night, I'll be
calling in my resignation before I go to bed.
Quote: With so many GNs forgoing spending time in Med/Surg and going straight
into units or their chosen niche, wonder if the old adage "a nurse is a
nurse" still holds true, despite what management may think. After all
if one hasn't been near L&D since clinical rotations at school, is it
really a good idea to pull a nurse from the ER to help sort out a
shortage? Same goes vice-versa, would an "L&D" nurse be the right choice
to send down to the ER or Med/Surg floor to help if she has seen nothing
of either since school or perhaps a few odd years off and on.
I can't think of a better way to guarantee disaster. Once somebody goes down
the L&D track, or the OR track, or the med-surg track, or the ER track.... I
believe their career path and competencies are set. Maybe you could stumble
through a shift on another type of unrelated unit but I'd expect you'd be more
trouble than you were worth. I'd also hate to have to justify in a courtroom
how I staffed my ED with L&D nurses just so I could meet my numbers. Even a bad
lawyer is going to eat my lunch.
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com |
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| cat |
| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:41 pm |
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"Candide" <PityMePines@anywhere.com> wrote in message
news:FW8Rj.182$_v1.79@trndny06...
Quote: Just wondering how everyone feels about floating off their assigned
unit, and or if anyone still signs up for on call floating shifts, where
one signs up to be called in to go where ever staff is short.
With so many GNs forgoing spending time in Med/Surg and going straight
into units or their chosen niche, wonder if the old adage "a nurse is a
nurse" still holds true, despite what management may think. After all
if one hasn't been near L&D since clinical rotations at school, is it
really a good idea to pull a nurse from the ER to help sort out a
shortage? Same goes vice-versa, would an "L&D" nurse be the right choice
to send down to the ER or Med/Surg floor to help if she has seen nothing
of either since school or perhaps a few odd years off and on.
I work in ICU, and was pulled to our ER. Although some people see them as
simpatico, AFAIC they're totally different areas, and I have no experience
in emergency nursing, nor do I want any. I protested to the supervisor, but
to no avail. The nurse assigned to the ER had her own orientee and me.
Nothing like having two yokes around your neck.
I want to see the day they need a surgeon and none's available, so they grab
a urologist to do open heart.
I've never seen "on call floating shifts," but more power to those who want
to do them. |
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| Candide |
| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:13 pm |
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"cat" <catsandcanaries@nospammeowmeow.com> wrote in message
news:xosRj.175696$nr1.83937@newsfe13.phx...
Quote: "Candide" <PityMePines@anywhere.com> wrote in message
news:FW8Rj.182$_v1.79@trndny06...
Just wondering how everyone feels about floating off their assigned
unit, and or if anyone still signs up for on call floating shifts,
where
one signs up to be called in to go where ever staff is short.
With so many GNs forgoing spending time in Med/Surg and going
straight
into units or their chosen niche, wonder if the old adage "a nurse
is a
nurse" still holds true, despite what management may think. After
all
if one hasn't been near L&D since clinical rotations at school, is
it
really a good idea to pull a nurse from the ER to help sort out a
shortage? Same goes vice-versa, would an "L&D" nurse be the right
choice
to send down to the ER or Med/Surg floor to help if she has seen
nothing
of either since school or perhaps a few odd years off and on.
I work in ICU, and was pulled to our ER. Although some people see
them as
simpatico, AFAIC they're totally different areas, and I have no
experience
in emergency nursing, nor do I want any. I protested to the
supervisor, but
to no avail. The nurse assigned to the ER had her own orientee and
me.
Nothing like having two yokes around your neck.
I want to see the day they need a surgeon and none's available, so
they grab
a urologist to do open heart.
I've never seen "on call floating shifts," but more power to those who
want
to do them.
May have or are called by other names in various settings. Basically
nurses who cannot work scheduled shifts,but still wish to work sign up
to come in when called by the nursing office to fill in when there is a
staffing shortage (ok, stop laughing),on particular units. Basically
instead of calling a agency, the DON or supervisor could pull from this
pool of nurses. In my day the pool was made up of former staff nurses
who couldn't work straight shifts, such as stay at home moms or others
who were required at home for care giving, or perhaps in school.
Many hospitals liked this sort of arrangement since as a former staff
nurse, the RN knew the hospital and they knew her/him. As opposed to
pulling sometimes total strangers from an agency.
Candide |
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