Political Issues In Nursing

Abstract Politics is a constant changing field, just like the Practice of Nursing but as nurses it is our responsibility and duty to keep up to date with changes being made that will effect our profession. The biggest concern nationwide seems to be the number of patients that a nurse can safely care for and while some states have regulations on that nurse-patient ratio many do not. Pennsylvania is going through a transitional period where two bills are being purposed and both can change the way we provide care. While safe staffing is an issue nationwide it recently became a resolved issue locally at Heritage Valley Beaver. Other political issues that currently play a part in the nursing world are affordable healthcare, work place violence
These laws can differ from state to state and determine things such as educational requirements, licensure, authority and power of Board of Nursing, disciplinary measures and the general standards and scope of nursing practice (Russel, 2012).
In 1999, California became the first state to establish by law a minimum registered nurse (RN)-to-patient ratio for hospitals. The final staffing requirements went into effect on January 1st, 2004. Research shows that the California nursing ratios could be associated with lower mortality and better nurse retention (Aiken..et al, 2010). After seeing these positive effects other states began to follow suite and began to implement regulations on nurse staffing in the hospital setting. As of now, 14 states have placed regulations to some degree on nurse staffing, Pennsylvania not being one of them. Different states use different methods such as staffing committees, using a designee to develop core staffing plan, some require public reporting to control RN-to- patient ratios, but California remains the only state to have laws in place for a required maximum RN-to- patient ratio by unit (American Nurses Association,
The ratio will be calculated by looking at the number of patients and the number of direct care registered nurses on the unit, other staff such as nurse managers, supervisors, administrators will not affect the ratio. Senate Bill No 553, gives a maximum number of patients that one registered nurse can care for depending on the unit and level of care required (Leach, Brewster, & Teplitz, 2015). This amendment also will allow a RN of refuse an assignment if they feel they do not have the skills or knowledge to complete the task. The bill will require hospitals to use a classification system that will use a standardized set of criteria to predict the nursing care that will be needed for the individual patient. For example, type and severity of illness, self-care ability of the patient, and physical layout of the unit will be categories for the criteria. The system will determine the number of RNs needed and other supportive staff to meet the needs for the individual patients. After review of data collected from the patient care system the facilities will develop the staffing plan. “Staffing requirements, actual staff, staff mix and the variance between required and actual staffing patterns would need to be documented and posted on the unit for public