Unsafe nurse staffing is a problem occurring across the United States. This is not a new issue but one that has been going on for years and is causing unsafe environments for patients and nurses. What are you experiencing in your hospital? We want to know? Please complete this short survey. Nurses Announcements Archive
Published
Unsafe nurse staffing is a problem that occurs in hospitals across the United States. Decades of research shows that when nurses have too many patients, outcomes are worse and mortality is higher.[1]
Some states have staffing legislation in place requiring hospitals to staff their units according to a staffing plan developed by a committee made up of at least 50% direct care staff nurses. States with this legislation include Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Connecticut. Other states have regulations that address nurse staffing in some other manner; these include California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York. Many states have no legislation or guidelines on nurse staffing.[2]
Some hospitals use staffing committees or acuity systems. Others use nurse-to-patient ratios for different units, with limits on the number of patients any nurse can have. Some hospitals use a combination of staffing methods. You can help us find out what type, if any, of staffing methods or plans exist in the nation's hospitals. As to date there is no research that shows the effectiveness or compliance of staffing by acuity plans in hospitals. Despite that factor, professional organizations only recommend this approach to staffing.
We are doing a survey of nurses to determine what bedside nurses are experiencing in their hospitals and to see whether nurses feel that staffing is safe where they work. Please help us by completing this short survey to help us collect data that will help indicate compliance, effectiveness and safeness of the working conditions that you the bedside nurse experience.
SURVEY LINK: If you are a direct care staff nurse who holds an active RN license, work in the U.S. and wish to participate in the survey, click the following link to help determine How is your staffing determined and do you feel it is safe?
Please share your stories in the comments below as we look forward to hearing what you the working bedside nurse have to say.
References
1. Curtin LL. A conversation about the ethics of staffing. 2016;11. Accessed August 29, 2018.
2. Buppert C. What's being done about nurse staffing? Accessed August 29, 2018.