title: Floating: a nurse's nightmare?
abstract: Floating is the process of reassigning nurses from their regular assignments to short-staffed areas. Although viewed as cost-effective, there are a number of legal and ethical dilemmas to consider in this practice. Nurses tend to oppose floating, which may lead to rifts between management and staff. This article reviews some important considerations in floating, including some action strategies for management and staff. Not being proactive in the process can lead to compromised patient care.
authors.affiliation: Adult Education Resource, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brownson
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dowd
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003098:Collective Bargaining; D004648:Employee Grievances; D004991:Ethics, Institutional; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D010557:Personnel Administration, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload