Hello! I am new to this forum and thought this would be a good place for me to ask this question and get some ideas of what others are doing out there. I am a nurse manager of a 28 bed orthopedic unit. We currently staff at a 1:5 or 6 RN/ LNP:patient ratio on day shift and evening shifts and 1:8-9 on night shift. The staff is struggling with the workload. Is there a better staffing ratio out there that works better? Please advise and thanks in advance for you help.

Heather Murphy, RN BSN ONC

Hi, l hope by now you have gotten enough info about your questions.we have a dedicated ortho unit of 14 beds, mostly joints/ spines and ortho-trauma patients. our ratio is 1:4, and even with this the staff struggles especially with mobility, pain control and Discharge processes.
Pauline Esoga RNC, ONC

The staffing ratios are always so difficult. I am a Nurse Manager of a large unit, and the staff are constantly upset that the ratios are the same as Med-Surg units, but the patients' mobility contradict the amount of staff allowed to perform the best standards of care! We run 6-7/RN or LPN during days and evenings, and 7-8 at night - with PCTs having 8-9 as starting assignments and 10-11 at night. This does not include post-op admits or admissions.

However, budgetary limitations in health care certainly do affect who can be used...has anyone been able to staff successfully, as we all know how 'heavy' in good nursing care Ortho patients are???

Eileen Blue RN MSN ONC

I am a relatively new manager of a 24 bed orthovascular unit. Our main focus is the 500 total joints we see per year; however, we also serve as the stroke center for the hospital and see med/surg overflow. During the week our census is usually around 20, with many fewer patients on the weekends. My staff chooses to utilize a charge nurse so they usually end up with 6-7 patients each. Most often each RN also has a CNA working with them on that patient load. Night shift is ussually 8-9 patients per RN/CNA team.

I am Manager of a 48 bed ortho/ trauma unit and our staffing is the following 1/5 on days and evening sometimes 1/6 on evenings and a 1/7 on the night shift with 3 aides We follow a grid for staffing. We are mostly 12 hour shifts with some 8 hour and we do have problems covering the 3 to 7 if there are too many 8 hour We re-evaluate staffing every 4 hours and downsize when needed