Staffing ratios for small hospitals

suzanne4, RN · Sep 18, 2005

Size of the hospital doesn't change the standards, but the size of your actual unit and number of beds. As well as the state that you are in. Some currently have standards in place for what the minimum number of nurses can be. How many of those beds are actually med-surg? How are you equipped for over-flow? What do you do if you have more patients that normal? Do you have a way of obtaining additional staff in your area in a short notice?

California has ratios of maximum of five patients to one RN for a med-surg type unit.

I do not think that a nurse should ever have more than six patients in other states at a time, or it becomes unsafe. That is for day shift. It also depends on your ancillary staff. Is the nurse doing primary care on her patients? Does she also have to draw all of her own labs? Smaller facilites do not always have the extra people available......................

Justanurse1 · Sep 18, 2005

Thanks, some good questions to think about. We are fortunate that we have ancillary staff and do a modified primary with nurse techs. I generally try to keep a 1:6 ratio on 7a and depending on acuity 1:8 on nights if we have the nurse techs and 1:6 at nights if there are no techs available.

Size of the hospital doesn't change the standards, but the size of your actual unit and number of beds. As well as the state that you are in. Some currently have standards in place for what the minimum number of nurses can be. How many of those beds are actually med-surg? How are you equipped for over-flow? What do you do if you have more patients that normal? Do you have a way of obtaining additional staff in your area in a short notice?

California has ratios of maximum of five patients to one RN for a med-surg type unit.
I do not think that a nurse should ever have more than six patients in other states at a time, or it becomes unsafe. That is for day shift. It also depends on your ancillary staff. Is the nurse doing primary care on her patients? Does she also have to draw all of her own labs? Smaller facilites do not always have the extra people available......................