Talk about Safe staffing and nurse-patient ratios is nothing new. The problem of unsafe staffing and declining quality of care continues. Despite efforts to pass appropriate legislation to address this nationwide growing problem, not enough has been done.
NursesAnnouncementsArchive
Salary is a definite factor for those looking for a job. It also plays a big factor in retaining nurses. But there are other factors that impact retention rates even more. Work environment and nurse-patient staffing ratios are more important to the nurse who is trying to decide whether or not to leave.
Nurses and the public have felt the effects of Unsafe Nurse Staffing. Nurses are exhausted from working more and more shifts with heavier patient loads, missing meal breaks and bathroom breaks. After staying over to finish charting, they go home after their shifts feeling guilty for not providing the quality care they want to but instead are forced to work in unsafe conditions. Nurses are burning out and leaving the bedside due to the stresses caused by understaffing.
Patients and their families experience the effects of inappropriate nurse-patient staffing ratios from the other side of the bed rails. They seldom see "their nurse", call bells go unanswered, pain meds are delayed. Families are afraid to leave their loved ones.
The research shows that nurse-patient ratios directly affect patient outcomes. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (2002) the odds of patient deaths increase by 7% for each additional patient a nurse is given.
Although 14 states (CA, CT, IL, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, RI, TX, VT, and WA) have legislation that addresses nurse staffing to some degree, only California has mandated minimum nurse-patient ratios that are to be maintained in all units at all times (since 2004).
Currently, there are 2 sets of Federal legislation that are circulating in the House and Senate. One supported by the Nurses Take DC grassroots movement is based on Mandated Nurse-Patient Ratios and Acuity (Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2017 - [s. 1063/HR 2392]), the other supported by the ANA and AHA (The Safe Staffing for Nurse and Patient Safety Act [s. 2446, H.R. 5052]) is based on Acuity and Staffing Committees. For a side-by-side comparison, see Federal Nurse Staffing Bill Comparison.
Below is a listing of recommended Nurse-Patient ratios by unit and acuity proposed by the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2017 - [s. 1063/HR 2392]
Because staffing issues are a big factor in job satisfaction as well as quality care, we decided to poll our readers to see how the ratios differ across the country. Below are the results from the 2018 allnurses Salary Survey based on responses from more than 12,000 nurses to two questions regarding nurse-patient ratios.
If you work in a clinical setting, what is the nurse-patient ratio in your primary unit of employment?
What unit do you primarily work on?
The interactive results can be customized to allow you to see how your state and workplace stack up to the proposed recommendations. Are you surprised by what you see? Would you like to see changes made? Please post your comments below. This is great information to use when you talk to your legislators about the unsafe staffing ratios.
For more information on Safer Nurse-Patient Ratios, go to:
