JAMA Research Article Links Nurse Staffing to Patient Mortality..Stirs Up Ratio Issue

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

From PSNA:

http://www.psna.org/HotIssues/JAMArpt.htm

A recently released report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that 40 percent of hospital nurses have burnout levels that exceed the norms for health care workers. The findings are contained in the article "Hospital Nurse Staffing and Patient Mortality, Nurse Burnout, and Job Dissatisfaction," and appear in the October 23-30 issue of JAMA.

The researchers examined 168 hospitals in the Commonwealth analyzing surveys of 10, 184 registered nurses and outcomes for 232,342 surgical patients. It was conducted by prominent University of Pennsylvania researchers. The study concludes that registered nurse staffing directly affects preventable deaths. This information further underscores the importance of registered nurses to the delivery of quality patient care.

For more information on this important piece of research use the following links...

University of Penn Press Release

JAMA Article Abstract

PSNA Opinion Editorial Regarding Report