Nurse -to - Patient Ratios
The Effects of Working over the Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
Emily Contreras
Fresno Pacific University
Advanced Academic Research and Composition
Com 342
Linda Pryce-Sheehan
March 22, 2013
The Effects of Working over the Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
Hospital administrators need to work collaboratively with recruiters, nursing directors, and managers, to improve and support the work environment for nurses. This can be accomplished by involving the bedside nurse, hiring high-quality nurses, maintain nurse-two-patient ratios and provide nurses with equipment or resources needed to keep them employed and provide quality care to patients. The American Nurses Association recommends "stepping systems can only be effective if the direct care nurses who work on a specific unit have input the staffing system" (American Nurses Association, 2013). Another recommendations from the ANA that are instrumental and supportive of nurses are architecture and the environment of the work place, technology equipment and support, the level of experience of nurses providing care, and consideration to the severity of patients, last available support services and resources (American Nurses Association, 2013).
Hospital administrators have their work cut out for them in attracting and retaining quality nurses ultimately to provide optimal care for patients through best practice. This will not be an easy process or a quick fix however acknowledgment that the nurse-two-patient ratio and nursing shortage go hand-in-hand contributing to the outcome of how patients, employees, and hospital organizations will be affected. The nurse-two-patient ratio guidelines has been a revolving door that has impacted nurses, patients, and hospitals throughout the country resulting in an increases in poor patient outcomes, increased dissatisfaction and complaints from patients, increased nurses dissatisfied with their job, and a decrease hospital pay
Emily Contreras
Fresno Pacific University
Advanced Academic Research and Composition
Com 342
Linda Pryce-Sheehan
March 22, 2013
The Effects of Working over the Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
Hospital administrators need to work collaboratively with recruiters, nursing directors, and managers, to improve and support the work environment for nurses. This can be accomplished by involving the bedside nurse, hiring high-quality nurses, maintain nurse-two-patient ratios and provide nurses with equipment or resources needed to keep them employed and provide quality care to patients. The American Nurses Association recommends "stepping systems can only be effective if the direct care nurses who work on a specific unit have input the staffing system" (American Nurses Association, 2013). Another recommendations from the ANA that are instrumental and supportive of nurses are architecture and the environment of the work place, technology equipment and support, the level of experience of nurses providing care, and consideration to the severity of patients, last available support services and resources (American Nurses Association, 2013).
Hospital administrators have their work cut out for them in attracting and retaining quality nurses ultimately to provide optimal care for patients through best practice. This will not be an easy process or a quick fix however acknowledgment that the nurse-two-patient ratio and nursing shortage go hand-in-hand contributing to the outcome of how patients, employees, and hospital organizations will be affected. The nurse-two-patient ratio guidelines has been a revolving door that has impacted nurses, patients, and hospitals throughout the country resulting in an increases in poor patient outcomes, increased dissatisfaction and complaints from patients, increased nurses dissatisfied with their job, and a decrease hospital pay