Nurses Warn of Dangerous Patient Assignments: A Critical Look at Hospital Staffing

A veteran nurse, known online as TraumaRN76, recently shared a harrowing account of a night shift that brought back 'flashbacks' to her early career. The nurse detailed how she was assigned two critically ill patients simultaneously: one requiring continuous bladder irrigation and another needing nitroglycerin titrated every five minutes. This challenging workload, she explained, is a direct consequence of a new patient assignment system where 'flow nurses' reportedly allocate patients without adequately considering the existing workload or the complexity of care already assigned to nurses. The nurse emphasized the severe risks posed by such practices, stating that it can lead to missed care, patient harm, and even fatalities. She lauded a colleague, Stacy, for her thoughtful approach to patient assignments and another, Kendra, for her proactive assistance during the demanding shift, contrasting their professionalism with an unhelpful technician. This personal testimony sheds light on the pressures faced by healthcare professionals and raises concerns about patient safety within current hospital operational models.