This leaves mom having chest pain, you getting angry, and the nurse is doing her best to keep everyone alive. Somehow, everyone lives through the shift and thankfully, you think, they are transferring mom to the cardiac unit to continue with her recovery. Mom arrives at the unit during shift change and is greeted by a nurses aide who welcomes her to the unit, tells her who her nurse will be, takes her vital signs and settles her into her room. An hour goes by and mom hasn't seen her nurse. Another hour and still no nurse.
Mom starts to worry.
Concerned, you call the nurses' station and the secretary tells you your mom's nurse is tied up with a patient who is crashing and will call you back if you leave your number. Just another typical night for the nurse, understaffed - short an aide and a nurse. This just meets what the grid calls for, even though the unit needed two more nurses and a nurses aide. Keep in mind that today is only day two and the insurance company has allowed for a five day hospital stay. Sadly, this is what most nurses face on a day to day basis.