I was on a med-surg/renal/stroke unit that was classified as PCU. 1:6 ratio most days. Most of the techs were helpful, some could get sugars and some couldn’t (PCT vs CNA)..the staff was EXTREMELY helpful and wonderful in every way. The manager was a micromanaging nightmare. She was placed in a manager role with less than a year experience as a nurse. It was not my most favorite assignment, but the nurses/teamwork made the assignment bearable. I did a 13 week/48 hour/week contract at the height of the pandemic, ratios may have changed since then. Would return only for the staff I worked with.
Heavy psych/narcotic abuse population. Staff can be clicky and not very helpful (worse on nights). Definitely favoritism. Tube station never works, have to walk labs & get meds that aren’t in Pyxis from pharmacy. Never enough help so 4:1 or 3:1 doesn’t matter, it’s all total care. All of their techs have to sit on psych patients, revitalize the WR, or transfer pts to floors. Carts are hardly ever stocked. Depending on the day some staff are more helpful than others who seem to get away with chronic bullshitting, never answer the radio, ghost when you ask them directly for help.