Every nurse has to decide whether to support mandated nurse-patient ratios or support the status quo. It's time to speak up for patient safety and nurse sanity.
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Ashley sank into a chair in the breakroom on her MedSurg unit in a large hospital in Florida. It was 0330, 8 ½ hours into her shift. She had not yet taken a break of any sort, including a bathroom or hydration break. In staff meetings, it was repeatedly emphasized never to miss a lunch break or stay overtime, but in the moment, it was hard to manage. Right now her stress was so high that as soon as she sat down, she struggled to keep back the tears.
Of her 7 patients, she had had two rapid responses (RRTs) and one patient was sent to ICU with sepsis. She was pretty sure she had missed the early signs of sepsis in her post-op patient, with an increased heart rate and infected wound. It's just that there was too much information and she was cognitively overloaded.
Her phone buzzed in her scrub pocket. Wearily she picked up the call. It was Laura, the charge nurse, sounding stressed out. "Ashley, I need you to take an ED admit in Room 4123. Is the room clean? Can you take report now, please?"
Across the country in California, Lindsay works on a similar MedSurg unit. Because she works in California, she can never be assigned more than 5 patients. Her day was busy and at times crazy. She knew that adding on 2 more patients would make it unmanageable. Thank goodness it was 5 patients, and not 7. During lunch breaks her patients were covered by break nurses and she did not take her phone into the breakroom.
Why is there such disparity? How is it that a patient with exacerbated CHF on Tele in Alabama has a nurse with five other patients and a patient with exacerbated CHF on Tele in California has a nurse with only 3 other patients?
The reason is that California has mandated nurse-patient ratios in every hospital unit. ICU is 1:2, SDU 1:3, Tele 1:4, Med Surg 1:5.
If you were a patient and could choose, would you choose a nurse who has 4 patients or 7 patients? If your baby was in NICU, would you want your child to have a nurse with 1 other infant, or 2 other infants?
There is abundant evidence to show that patients suffer when nurses have too many patients. The following is a quote from Ruth Neese's Talking Points for Safe Staffing.
Mandated nurse-patient ratios are a matter of public safety. There are regulated practice safeguards in place for airline pilots and truck drivers and other industries. Why not nursing?
Historically nurses are a silent workforce who have allowed employers to determine clinical practice. But that is changing. The time for change is now. On April 25th and 26th 2018, nurses around the country will gather in Washington D.C. for the 3rd annual rally to urge lawmakers to enact safe staffing ratios. In numbers, we have strength and will be acknowledged.
Come join allnurses in Washington DC! Meet up with the allnurses team who will be filming and interviewing, and myself, Nurse Beth! Dr. Laura Gasparis, whose conferences many of us ICU nurses have attended, is the lead speaker.
By standing together, we can bring about needed reform. Will you be a part and bring about change as the nurses did in California?
Be sure and read Male Nurse Disgusted by Female Nurses for a unique point of view on working conditions and ratios.
What else can you do? So many things!
Easily find out who your legislators are and make a call.
Write a letter to support H.R. 2392 and S. 1063 Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2017 legislative bills. Legislators respond to topics based on the number of phone calls and mail from their constituents.
While you are in Washington, make an appointment to see your legislator.
Share this article on social media. Use hashtags #NursesTakeDC and #allnursesSTRONG
Please watch the following video for more information on NursesTakeDC 2018. Like this article if it spoke to you, and comment below. Thanks much.
[video=youtube_share;jkWGHNB9gik]
Neese, R (2016). Talking points for Safe Staffing. Retrieved January 12018. Nurse Patient Ratios | Talking Points for Safe Nurse Staffing
Thank You Beth Hawkes! We are so thrilled to have you speak on April 26th 2018 in DC. We love your support. Nurses across the country must act. No time to waste. Talk to your colleagues. Come to DC. Stand up for patient and nurse safety. Your voice DOES matter. #NursePatientRatiosNOW
Sign and share Nurse Patient Ratios | Petition For National Nurse Patient Ratios
Doris Carroll BSN
NTDC Organizer
Doris Carroll said:Thank You Beth Hawkes! We are so thrilled to have you speak on April 26th 2018 in DC. We love your support. Nurses across the country must act. No time to waste. Talk to your colleagues. Come to DC. Stand up for patient and nurse safety. Your voice DOES matter. #NursePatientRatiosNOWSign and share Nurse Patient Ratios | Petition For National Nurse Patient Ratios
Doris Carroll BSN
NTDC Organizer
Thank you, Doris Carroll, for your passion and commitment to patient safety! I will finally get to meet you in Washington, DC on April 25th & 26th!!
LadysSolo said:Nurses are always expendable in the name of CEO bonuses for cutting "expenses." We are not necessary, we are an "expense." I have heard an MD state that "trained monkeys can do the job of a nurse." (yes he is an a**.) But some CEOS seem to think this way also.
I heard a cardio-thoracic surgeon say the same of ICU nurses where I worked! Wonder if we worked in the same place ? ! So arrogant and hurtful. It pains me to know that WE know our value but few others do.
LadysSolo said:Nurses are always expendable in the name of CEO bonuses for cutting "expenses." We are not necessary, we are an "expense."
BINGO!
Managers get a "bonus" for staying under budget. I know this because my best friend was a department director for years. (funny, all the hospitals I've worked for are non-profits. Somehow, the STAFF never got bonuses. You know, the same staff that helped you meet the goal and stay under budget?)
I work in the ER. I doubt that I'll EVER see a ratio. If they ever bring one, it will be violated every single shift.
Just on Thursday, I had a NSTEMI patient on a Heparin and Cardizem gtt, an unstable angina patient on a Nitro gtt, a vented septic patient on pressors, a pediatric psych patient in restraints and a hypertensive (but stable) Tele patient.
We were on divert but that still didn't stop the walk ins and squads ("Central didn't tell us you were on divert!") from rolling in...
What are we supposed to do? "I'm sorry but all the nurses have their maximum 4 patients. Can you circle the block a couple times and check again?"
Or better yet - "forget about EMTALA, just go over to Big Competitor hospital...."
jenkt
5 Posts
Am I crazy to argue 1:4 on med/surg, ideally 1:3??
I am talking a ratio that can significantly reduce medication errors, increase patient satisfaction and prevent nurse burnout in the long term ...
Nurse:patient ratios is something I thought a lot about when I worked on a busy acute spine surgical floor. The ratios were not as bad as some of the comments on here, but for me and many of my colleagues, our ratio of 1:4 (sometimes 1:5) was extremely overwhelming and unsafe much of the time. The patients were acutely ill, required total care, had complex dressings and medication requirements, etc. etc..
Of the 4 other RNs that I started with on the unit, 2 of them left within the year. One of them left the hospital entirely and the other started on a dialysis unit (she says it was much more chill). It was a good team - the only thing I could associate mine and my colleagues burnout with was the nurse to patient ratios.
I believe there is a STRONG link between the ratio and patient safety and burnout. When management is looking to improve, this should be the first thing they change.