Magnet hospital increasing pt/nurse ratios

[lee1]

Hi all,

How would you feel if a hospital you had worked at for many years, trauma level I doing heart/kidney/pancreas transplants, also Magnet certified increased their pt/nurse ratios on the day shift to 6:1 when previously they had been 5:1 and in some small areas like post op open heart stepdown 4:1.

Their rationale------deceased profits, and when comparing themselves to supposed university consortium data they had tooo many FTEs all the while touting that pt safety is their prime concern.

This despite all the over whelming research showing that INCREASING ratios affects pt mortality/complication rates.

Many of the new nurses hired specifically came knowing that this hospital held themselves to a higher standard which obviously seems to be eroding quickly.

[altomga, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN]

Hi all,

How would you feel if a hospital you had worked at for many years, trauma level I doing heart/kidney/pancreas transplants, also Magnet certified increased their pt/nurse ratios on the day shift to 6:1 when previously they had been 5:1 and in some small areas like post op open heart stepdown 4:1.

Their rationale------deceased profits, and when comparing themselves to supposed university consortium data they had tooo many FTEs all the while touting that pt safety is their prime concern.

This despite all the over whelming research showing that INCREASING ratios affects pt mortality/complication rates.

Many of the new nurses hired specifically came knowing that this hospital held themselves to a higher standard which obviously seems to be eroding quickly.

Magnet status...good idea, but a crock of *^@$ for the hospital I work at...I don't think your hospital is thinking in the "magnet" way either for nurse satisfaction. The facility I work at just had the survery to get magnet certification....I'm still trying to figure out how it got this far...who in the world did these people talk to?? If they had spoken to staff nurses they would know that staffing sucks, satisfaction sucks, and the flexible scheduling??? SUCKS!!!! There is really not such a thing....Even if you are hired to work a 0.9 status (6 shifts in 2 weeks)...they can MAKE you work 7! :angryfire If you are weekend option (4 shifts in 2 weeks) they can make you work 5 :angryfire !!! Wages??? Retention? Bonuses..... :rotfl: WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rotfl:

Even for the survey they had "prep" classes required for staff to attend so we would know how to answer the questions properly....needless to say I DID NOT attend....I felt that we should answer any questions (if asked to staff nurses)...honestly and with our own thoughts....

Anyway...sorry they are increasing nurse:patient ratio at your facility...they shouldn't....it can be dangerous and makes staff upset...!!!!

Good luck!

[-jt]

Id feel like Id been duped. And Id tell management exactly that at my exit interview. Then Id go to the Magnet website & submit those comments to their evaluation committee, along with the name of the facility that obviously doesnt deserve the nursing award they tricked their way into getting...

Although you are not required to identify the facility in which you work, identifying your facility will provide ANCC with valuable information that can be incorporated into the evaluations of current and prospective Magnet facilities. If you do choose to indicate the facility where you work, rest assured that your comments are submitted completely anonymously, and ANCC has no way of identifying individual respondents. To submit your comments, go to http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/survey.html >>>[/i]