rough time

Most of the time in critical care wards there is one nurse to one patient. Sometimes it might be one to two. It really depends on how sick/well the patient is. There is always a team leader nurse (different from the nurse manager) who doesn't take patients. She takes care of phone calls, relative and Dr enquiries, assists the nurses with medication, etc. She's often very busy.

In emergency a nurse usually has a maximum of 4 patients. There's lots of other nurses that are team leaders, floats, bed management, all sorts of roles.

HDU is High Dependency Unit. This is another critical care unit where nurses have one or two patients. It's a bit like a mini ICU step down. So patients who are well enough to leave ICU but still have complex care needs that are too much for the wards go here. And patients that have had extensive or complex surgery that don't need ICU but again too much for the ward also are cared for here as well until they are ready for the ward.

Critical care is hard, physical/mental work and can be extremely challenging but really rewarding when your patient does well and moves onto the ward.

And no, I have no problems with you asking these questions. I love my nursing and I always will. Despite the adversities I faces with my career, I remained for my patients and the challenges & rewards. That's what sustained me.

I'll always tell you if I have an issue with answering some questions @outlander but generally it's fine. 😊

thank you for explaining that @Sans911 theres always something to learn isnt there.
i was curious to know if one of the hospitals nearby had a hdu so at ungodly hrs thats what i was researching lol. the 3 around here done have a hdu only icu unless they are combined and they havent said that but there are some in sydney (of course there would be!) so that would be the reason i havent heard of that unit around here.
takes someone special to work in those units for sure

lifes so hard sometimes 😞

i dont know @Former-Member i am but im not. life is just really hard and having to try and manage everything. i dont even know what to say

its everything @Shaz51 😞
things with pop are hard, things with family are tricky and im feeling guilty over some of the ways ive been feeling about certain things- its very unlike me to feel relief over someones misfortune and it doesnt sit very well with me at all. finances are tough and physical pain isnt helping anything at all. everything just feels like a giant whirlpool that i cant get out of or work through so that i can make my way forward.
@Sans911 @Former-Member @eth