nurse/pt ratio

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Does anyone what the nurse/pt ratio by law is for VA

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I seriously doubt that VA has a nurse/PT ratio law.

No other state does...why would they?

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I seriously doubt that VA has a nurse/PT ratio law.

No other state does...why would they?

CA does and I wish my state did.

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There is none, period.

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.

CA is the only state with a nurse\patient ratio.

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Specializes in Med./Surg., Diabetes, Med. ICU, home hea.
CA does and I wish my state did.

I'm not going to argue this point, BUT consider THIS. I graduated nursing program in the 1980's and Jumped into a GREAT job at a major teaching hospital where I finished my last semester and worked part time as an interim permitee.

Years later, under Governor Grey Davis, California's Nurse Ratio Practice Act passed. Whoa! We cheered! We wept with joy! We gave administration the righteous finger! Oh, how hospital administrators wrung their hands, claiming hospitals would shut down. Shortly, the truth was revealed... nurses from all over the world FLOODED California. If you wanted to move to another specialty, it was impossible as MULTITUDES of nurses from other parts of the U.S. and the WORLD were applying for that position; the ONLY "leg up" you had was if the facility you worked for was unionized and seniority mattered. Insidiously, "full time" positions decreased as "part time" and "per diem" positions increased. The media cried "nursing shortage." California spent tax payer $$$'s on increasing nursing programs. Schools churned out, and continue to churn out, RN's. The CNA (California Nurses Association) now has more dues paying members, but fewer "full time" nurses. EVERYBODY makes out except nurses. Nurses and physicians who still have their positions full time have NO IDEA what is happening! Now, with the "Affordable Health Care Act," i.e., ObamaCare, general practice/family practice physicians are under pressure to be more productive without increased pay. Many are leaving large hospital based practices for smaller employer groups. They believe this will give them greater autonomy. They are wrong. As the large groups contract with their new employers, they will be pressured to be "more productive" and cut costs.

My point being is that nursing has been polluted, politically, and supply vs. demand has become imbalanced. Too many nurses, too few FULL TIME positions. Our patients WILL suffer, but only to the point where litigation costs outweigh employee overhead. Remember, it is the impression the hospital lobby makes and the post service survey forms that count.

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I'm not going to argue this point, BUT consider THIS. I graduated nursing program in the 1980's and Jumped into a GREAT job at a major teaching hospital where I finished my last semester and worked part time as an interim permitee.

Years later, under Governor Grey Davis, California's Nurse Ratio Practice Act passed. Whoa! We cheered! We wept with joy! We gave administration the righteous finger! Oh, how hospital administrators wrung their hands, claiming hospitals would shut down. Shortly, the truth was revealed... nurses from all over the world FLOODED California. If you wanted to move to another specialty, it was impossible as MULTITUDES of nurses from other parts of the U.S. and the WORLD were applying for that position; the ONLY "leg up" you had was if the facility you worked for was unionized and seniority mattered. Insidiously, "full time" positions decreased as "part time" and "per diem" positions increased. The media cried "nursing shortage." California spent tax payer $$$'s on increasing nursing programs. Schools churned out, and continue to churn out, RN's. The CNA (California Nurses Association) now has more dues paying members, but fewer "full time" nurses. EVERYBODY makes out except nurses. Nurses and physicians who still have their positions full time have NO IDEA what is happening! Now, with the "Affordable Health Care Act," i.e., ObamaCare, general practice/family practice physicians are under pressure to be more productive without increased pay. Many are leaving large hospital based practices for smaller employer groups. They believe this will give them greater autonomy. They are wrong. As the large groups contract with their new employers, they will be pressured to be "more productive" and cut costs.

My point being is that nursing has been polluted, politically, and supply vs. demand has become imbalanced. Too many nurses, too few FULL TIME positions. Our patients WILL suffer, but only to the point where litigation costs outweigh employee overhead. Remember, it is the impression the hospital lobby makes and the post service survey forms that count.

I think these are all valid concerns, but try working in an at-will state with no unions and no ratio laws. It can get very unsafe at times, and the only leverage you have is "take this job and shove it."

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