Safe patient-to-nurse ratio; student seeking input

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Specializes in Nursing Student.

Hello everyone! I'm a nursing student heading into my third semester; however, my current BAH/Med-Surg class is requiring the students to write a paper on safe patient-to-nurse ratios. I've tirelessly researched this topic and feel this is a very important discussion that all nursing students should be educated on. While there is an immense amount of data surrounding this debate, nothing can truly replace the opinions of the nurses who fight for their patient on a daily basis. I would love to hear you're input, struggles, concerns, and hopes for change in the future! Thank you very much in advance for your response! I look forward to hearing from you!

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Where to start? lol

I personally got tired of all the talk and no action. Tired of putting my license at risk and tired of going home feeling unfulfilled and like I didn't make a difference. I work in a right-to-work state, which basically means they can fire you for whatever reason, and rocking the boat is one of them. Advocating is easily twisted to their advantage as complaining or whining. Refusing an unsafe assignment is never an option unless you are willing to put up a fight that you will not win.

Staffing matrixes that were so absurd that they left you wondering who thinks of these things. For example, couplet care was doubled because babies no longer counted; therefore, only the mothers. Forget that both mom and baby needed vitals and assessments at a minimum every 4 hrs. Assignments are done based on room numbers. Ex: room 1-8, 8-16, etc. instead of acuity. Very miss-matched patient assignments without a second thought. Charge nurse always in ratio and unable to do charge duties? The list goes on and on and on.

I left for the OR, and although it has its issues, I care for one patient at a time, so at last a little peace of mind. Moving to California was not an option either. I almost ran away from nursing altogether, but my heart is in it for the long haul. I can't imagine doing anything else or leaving the bedside. I am almost done with my Master's and want to continue my education; however, I am staying put at the bedside doing procedural care. I still have like 30 years before I can retire so wish me luck ?

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

This topic has been discussed many times here on allnurses with real nurses giving their opinions as well as efforts to pass safe staffing legislation.

Do a search on this site for the following topics:

  • Safe Staffing
  • Nurse patient ratios
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