Clinical 1-21-10 - 1-22-10 1800-0700

WHAT: When I arrived at clinical Deb had been frantically working on staffing. She had gotten there and there was a note from the executive secretary asking her to do all of the staffing for the whole hospital for the 1800 shift. She was just finishing when I arrived.
After all of the placing people on call at the beginning of the shift nurses had to be called in. A doctor called to have his pediatric patient admitted. The problem is that we did not have any pediatric patients so the unit had been closed. Deb had to call in two nurses because our policy is that one nurse cannot be on peds alone.

And of course the usual stuff: rounds, blood draws, problem solving, and helping out where needed.

SO WHAT: One of my clinical objectives was to learn how the staffing is decided for the morning shifts because that is Debs job, but since she had been doing for the night and it is the same she went over what she had done with me so I could complete my goal. The patient census is the deciding factor for how many nurses will be needed. Who gets put on call is determined by part time or full time status, with part time being called off first.

NOW WHAT: Staffing is a big job and can take a long time. I know Deb starts early in the night getting the census so she can figure staffing for the morning because she gets interupted a lot. I will not complain any more.