Need opinions here on safe staffing ratios people!

Nurses Safety

Published

hey guys! im a nursing student, and i graduate in may. im in a professional issues class right now where our assignment is to meet with our senator in the states capital for a "lobby day", along with thousand of other students, where we meet with our area leaders to speak with them about why it is important for the political leader to support our topic of choice. my topic, the importance of safe staffing ratios is one that is important to nurses across the country. i just wanted to get the opinions of everybody on here. :specs: thanks people!

I cant believe some nurses are saying 1:8 on a med surg floor is safe. I have max of 5 at my hospital and it is still extremely crazy sometimes. I guess im sure you could manage with 8, but completely safely? Not in my opinion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg, Specialty.

No more than 1:5 on med surg, days, and that's with adequate tech staffing too. They pack in a lot during each day in the hospital, and the acuity is getting higher and higher. Our hospital goes up to 1:6 and that is not always safe. And as Amity said, even 1:5 can be crazy too.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Trauma ICU, Peds ICU.

From the California Nurses Association, more than you could ever want to know about nurse patient ratios -- http://www.calnurses.org/assets/pdf/ratios/ratios_booklet.pdf

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neuroscience/Neuro-surgery/Med-Surgical/.

OMG! 1:8 ratio? That is completely nuts! When I began working on the Neuro/neurosurgery floor on nite shift 7:30pm-0800am, we had 1RN to 5 patients max. Now, with the economy and budget issues, our administration has deemed it appropriate for 1RN to 7 patients. This is UNSAFE! Wish we had a union!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment