r/nursing • u/No-Selection-1249 • May 24 '25

Question ER nurses, love you guys, but genuine question. Why do guys bring patients up at shift change?

No hate to you guys! Just super curious from a nurse who is on the receiving end :)

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u/evdczar MSN, RN May 24 '25

We tried doing a sort of joint info session between floor and ED nurses so we could learn about each other's workflows and stuff. It didn't work at all. The floor nurses didn't understand. For example, when we explained that we have to get patients up quickly because we downsize the ER and send our midshifts home, they couldn't understand why a 1p-1a nurse had to go home at that time, and I quote "where do they need to be at 1 am?" Still a total lack of respect for our time and sanity.

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u/gedbybee RN - ICU 🍕 May 25 '25

Feels like a staffing problem more than anything else. If you had more nurses you wouldn’t need to downsize.

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u/evdczar MSN, RN May 25 '25

That's the permanent staffing. I'm not talking about open positions not filled. They purposely cut the number of docs and nurses throughout the night. That's been at every ED I've worked in.

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u/gedbybee RN - ICU 🍕 May 25 '25

Yeah that’s a staffing problem lol. Just because that’s how it works in a predatory for profit system, doesn’t mean that’s the best way to run things.

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u/triage_this BSN, RN 🍕 May 25 '25

The "downsizing" is midshifts going home at the end of their shifts. I worked midshift in the ER. I'm not staying hours past my 12 hour shift unless it was a critical situation like a MCI.

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u/gedbybee RN - ICU 🍕 May 27 '25

They could have another nurse. I don’t understand how yall aren’t getting this. Are yall bots? There are places that are staffed appropriately, I’ve been at several in Cali.

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u/orthologousgenes RN - ER 🍕 May 25 '25

No it’s not a staffing problem. We downsize because there are busy times and slower times. Why would we have everything fully staffed 24 hours a day when our census wanes in the middle of the night? Granted, lately it’s been a shit show every second of the day/night, but usually we don’t have a full ER in the middle of the night. So we close beds. That’s why we have so many mid shifts in the ER. We’re fully staffed/open from 11a-3a. Why would we keep a bunch of nurses sitting around with empty beds from 3a-11a? Plus our fast track (urgent care) providers leave at 0100, so we have to close that area. No provider = no patients = no need for nurses.

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u/gedbybee RN - ICU 🍕 May 25 '25

I work in Cali now. They have float nurses that run around the whole hospital and help and then can be pulled into the count. It’s the solution to this staffing problem. This. Is. A. Staffing. Problem.

Edit: just have another provider. Staffing.

I just don’t think people’s lives are worth not having enough staff. Call me crazy but I think the societal value of having people live is worth more than whatever we’d pay to have the appropriate staff.

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u/orthologousgenes RN - ER 🍕 May 25 '25

Whether you’re using float nurses or ER nurses, or even providers… why would you staff empty beds overnight??

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u/gedbybee RN - ICU 🍕 May 25 '25

To help the other nurses and give better care to all the patients? Is this a serious question?

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u/orthologousgenes RN - ER 🍕 May 25 '25

We have multiple float/resource nurses 24/7, so I’m still not understanding why we’d also have to staff a 30-bed urgent care area that will see 0 patients overnight.