Being A Float Nurse
Floating, in the hospital setting, is when a nurse is assigned to another unit due to an increase on patient census, short staffing, or simply to just cut cost on hospital budget (Bates, K. J. (2013). There are many other reasons why nurses float, however, usually the common reason is linked to reducing hospital overtime costs and balancing nurse to patient ratio in order to provide quality care. Being a float nurse can be very challenging, yet, at the same time is filled with advantages where one can experience different units and work with a variety of patients. One advantage of floating to a different unit is improving patient care. The client nurse relationship improves because there is a higher chance of ensuring safe and
adequate care (Larson, N., Sendelbach, S., Missal, B., Fliss, J., & Gaillard, P. (2012). When there are more properly trained nurses being used as float nurses, patients are given quality care. Another advantage of float nurses is the ability for the nurse to gain more skills and to face new challenges. For instance, a nursery nurse was to transfer to the Emergency Department due to short staffing. Since the nurse is more familiar with newborn care rather than adults, she has the ability to explore a new department. This will encourage her to build confidence, touch up on adult patient care and explore new options on her nursing career
adequate care (Larson, N., Sendelbach, S., Missal, B., Fliss, J., & Gaillard, P. (2012). When there are more properly trained nurses being used as float nurses, patients are given quality care. Another advantage of float nurses is the ability for the nurse to gain more skills and to face new challenges. For instance, a nursery nurse was to transfer to the Emergency Department due to short staffing. Since the nurse is more familiar with newborn care rather than adults, she has the ability to explore a new department. This will encourage her to build confidence, touch up on adult patient care and explore new options on her nursing career