Safe staffing?

[JennyPARN]

I am an RN in an acute psychiatric, for profit hospital. I love my job. However, nurses and management seem to be in constant disagreement about what constitutes "safe" staffing. I went to work briefly in long-term care, in a not for profit facility, just to see how different the staffing practices were. I found the same issue - too little staff (nurses and aides) to ensure a safe milieu for patients and staff. I understand that facilities are concerned about their bottom lines, however, it seems really short-sighted to limit staff in order to save money. My question is this; can any nurses here tell me that they work in a facility that staffs appropriately not just based on census but on acuity, as well? Of those that feel safely staffed, do you feel that, as an RN you have a voice in the staffing decisions?

PS. I'm still pretty new to the nursing world (3 years). I have also been a self-employed massage therapist for 23 years. There are many things about working for corporations that confuse me.

Thanks all.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Welcome to AN! Currently, only the state of California has mandated nurse-patient ratios. Beyond that, ratios are set by facilities, and sometimes not even followed. Many nurses report being too short staffed to truly accomplish all of the work that is necessary in a single shift. Are there facilities out there that do have reasonable ratios? Sure, but in the experiences of many, they are not common. Also, for those ratios, the vast majority (with the exception of maybe some ICUs) only count numbers, not acuity.

If you're interested in more information about ratios, you can go to the National Nurses United website and see the issues they support.

[%D#2]

Were short staffed too.. I'm an Lpn and in charge of 48 PTs with only the DON on call. I have 4 CNAs. We make a good team though.. But I do wish we were better staffed. When I have more than one emergency going on I feel very overwhelmed but I don't show it.