Addressing floating and patient safety

Department

Nursing

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Nursing

Abstract

FLOATING IS A FORM of resource sharing often used by healthcare institutions to remedy staffing shortages. For nurses, being sent to work on another unit where patient needs are different than those usually encountered in their home unit can evoke stress, anxiety, and frustration. Working with an unfamiliar patient population can ultimately threaten patient safety.1 Interventions may be within the nurse's scope of practice, but not within his or her acquired skill set.

Floating is a cost-effective means of addressing fluctuating patient census. Floating can be used instead of using agency staffing or calling in nurses to work at an overtime rate.2 But floating nurses to unfamiliar units can also put patients and healthcare organizations at risk.3 This article describes why floating may be needed, why it can be risky, and what strategies healthcare organizations can implement to improve patient safety, such as using a dedicated float pool to reduce risks.

First Page

57

Last Page

58

DOI

10.1097/01.NURSE.0000511820.95903.78

Volume

47

Issue

2

Publication Date

2-1-2017

PubMed ID

28121790

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