Assigning the floated nurse
8 questions on this concept, from 4 angles.
The idea in full
A nurse floated in from another area is a safe resource only for the patients whose care they are competent to give, so the nurse making the assignment first establishes what the float nurse can actually do and orients them to the area, then gives them the patients who are stable, whose course is predictable and whose needs are the ones common to all nursing, keeps the patients whose stability depends on the receiving area's specialty skills, drugs, devices or procedures with the area's own staff however quiet those patients look, names the person the float nurse escalates to, and revisits the match whenever a patient's condition changes — while the float nurse accepts the assignment rather than refusing to float, declares plainly any task beyond their competence so it is reassigned instead of attempted, and remains accountable for the care they agree to give.
Beliefs this concept corrects
- 1A fair assignment gives the float nurse the same number of patients as everyone else
- 2The quietest patient is the lightest assignment, whatever treatment keeps them quiet
- 3A registered nurse licence means the float nurse can be given any registered nurse task
- 4Pairing the float nurse with an experienced buddy makes any assignment safe
- 5Orientation to the area can be skipped when the shift is short-staffed, because that is why the float is here
- 6A nurse who does not feel competent can refuse to float
- 7A float nurse who declines one task is refusing the assignment
- 8Once the float nurse accepts the assignment, the responsibility for the match has passed to them
- 9The assignment made at the start of the shift stands until the shift ends
- 10The float nurse's competence is judged from the area they came from, not from what they can demonstrate
Your record
8 questions · 4 anglesYou have not practised this concept yet.