Are the nurse patient ratio's that are climbing it seems like monthly, even weekly to me. Are these numbers safe? Do we have a choice or a voice? We of all people (experienced nurses not me just new grad but I like to include myself) would know when enough is enough, when too much is too much but we do not regulate patient nurse ratio's.
Who does regulate those numbers the hospital or facility. I have been quoted 15 patients to me, and 32 patients to me in the same type of setting and nursing situation? Really, that big of a gap exists.
I think the nurses should be setting the standards. I hear too many times, its just not safe, I just don't feel good about this. Why in the world are nurses not in control of their profession? Are doctor's in control for the most part, sure. They space their appointments by their standards, they gauge the time they spend with each patient.
I think a nurse is the best indicator of an appropriate patient nurse ratio, who else does the job to know what is and what isn't.
I can't wait till the day the nurse has the voice that they should as an educated medical health professional with valuable insight that can only come from a nurse alone.
We need to take control. Who holds the ball when an unsafe ratio results in an incident? Who is always the responsible party. Who double checks everyone and everything anyone's done? Who is in charge of everyone and everything? I mean count in one day, how many times you are checking that another person did what they should have done correctly and while doing that taking responsibility for their actions? Our voice should be much louder.
