Staffing ratios

[Kcharm06]

If you reduce patient to nurse ratios do nurses spend more time with their patients and does it reduce pain medication needs?

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Ok, I'll bite. :)

If you reduce staffing ratios, do nurses spend more time with pts? Yes.

Will it reduce their need for pain meds? Maybe, maybe not. I mean on one hand, whatever surgery or injury or illness (if it's one that causes pain, e.g. cancer or kidney stones) that necessitates pain meds is there whether the pt has his own RN or whether the RN has 8 pts on a med-surg floor.

On the other hand, if the RN has fewer pts, s/he is more likely to give pain meds and reassess in a timely manner. Research has shown that staying ahead of the pain and medicating before it becomes unbearable will result in better pain control. It's veeeeery difficult to assess, intervene, and reassess in a timely manner if your attention is divided between 8 pts.

Honestly though, reducing pain meds is never really a goal of mine. Possibly because my main patient population is one that comes in with a dozen fractures, degloving injuries, bullet wounds (my record is 8), traumatic amputations... you get the idea. It's not like in L&D where you might have a mom who wants to give birth unmedicated. In that case sure, if the *pt* is trying to avoid pain meds, then continuous support can help (which is why they often hire a doula). But nobody wants a natural unmedicated degloving recovery, nor should they.