The Nurse-Patient Ratio
Impact the Nurse-patient ratio has on workloads
Betty Jo Ayers Fayetteville State University Dr. D. Jefferys Nursing 300- Group 1 Project
Introduction:
The nurse-patient ratio has been a debatable problem for many years. It has been found that it is key in ensuring patient safety, protecting the nurses and ensuring overall quality of health care service.
Background Information:
There are four main reasons nurses are experiencing higher workloads than before:
• Inadequate amount of nurses
• Increase need for nurses
• decreased staffing and increased overtime
• decrease in duration of patient stays
Problems with higher patient ratios:
• Causes lower quality of care
• Increases
patient exposure to preventable adverse outcomes
• Increase in health care and hospital cost
Issues that cause increase in workloads:
• Nursing care hours per patient
• Patient’s acuity level
• Patient’s overall general health and ability to do for self-such as ADL’s, feeding & grooming
• Patient treatments and difficulty of treatments
• Patient medications and route of administration
Time consumption factors that affect workload issues:
• Admissions
• Infection control (donning and removal of PPE)
• Prophylactic interventions from disease process
• Intellectual workloads (information processing)
• Phlebotomy
• Obtaining meals, beverages, snacks, etc. for patients and families
• Housekeeping duties
• Directing patients, families and visitors to appropriate rooms and designated areas
• Discharges
• Taking discharged patients down to awaiting families
Being appropriately staffed causes:
• Decrease in nurse workloads
• Increase in patient quality of care
• Increase in patient safety
• Improved deliverance of health care
Conclusion:
In having reduced nurse-patient workloads it promotes quality of care to patients, increase nursing retention, decreases nursing turnover and is cost effective. Patient’s desire a health care facility that makes them feel that they are important and not just a warm body. Professional’s that are licensed and unlicensed seek employment at health care facilities that are staffed appropriately.
References:
Ball, J. E., Murrells, T., Rafferty, A. M., Morrow, E., & Griffiths, P. (2014). 'Care left undone' during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 23(2), 116. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001767
Kang J-H, Kim C-W, Lee S-Y. Nurse-Perceived Patient Adverse Events depend on Nursing Workload. Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives. 2016;7(1):56-62. doi:10.1016/j.phrp.2015.10.015.
Martin, C. J. (2015, March). The effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, 24(2), 4-6. Retrieved from http://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/private/medsurg-matters-newsletter-archives/marapr15.pdf
Betty Jo Ayers Fayetteville State University Dr. D. Jefferys Nursing 300- Group 1 Project
Introduction:
The nurse-patient ratio has been a debatable problem for many years. It has been found that it is key in ensuring patient safety, protecting the nurses and ensuring overall quality of health care service.
Background Information:
There are four main reasons nurses are experiencing higher workloads than before:
• Inadequate amount of nurses
• Increase need for nurses
• decreased staffing and increased overtime
• decrease in duration of patient stays
Problems with higher patient ratios:
• Causes lower quality of care
• Increases
patient exposure to preventable adverse outcomes
• Increase in health care and hospital cost
Issues that cause increase in workloads:
• Nursing care hours per patient
• Patient’s acuity level
• Patient’s overall general health and ability to do for self-such as ADL’s, feeding & grooming
• Patient treatments and difficulty of treatments
• Patient medications and route of administration
Time consumption factors that affect workload issues:
• Admissions
• Infection control (donning and removal of PPE)
• Prophylactic interventions from disease process
• Intellectual workloads (information processing)
• Phlebotomy
• Obtaining meals, beverages, snacks, etc. for patients and families
• Housekeeping duties
• Directing patients, families and visitors to appropriate rooms and designated areas
• Discharges
• Taking discharged patients down to awaiting families
Being appropriately staffed causes:
• Decrease in nurse workloads
• Increase in patient quality of care
• Increase in patient safety
• Improved deliverance of health care
Conclusion:
In having reduced nurse-patient workloads it promotes quality of care to patients, increase nursing retention, decreases nursing turnover and is cost effective. Patient’s desire a health care facility that makes them feel that they are important and not just a warm body. Professional’s that are licensed and unlicensed seek employment at health care facilities that are staffed appropriately.
References:
Ball, J. E., Murrells, T., Rafferty, A. M., Morrow, E., & Griffiths, P. (2014). 'Care left undone' during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 23(2), 116. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001767
Kang J-H, Kim C-W, Lee S-Y. Nurse-Perceived Patient Adverse Events depend on Nursing Workload. Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives. 2016;7(1):56-62. doi:10.1016/j.phrp.2015.10.015.
Martin, C. J. (2015, March). The effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, 24(2), 4-6. Retrieved from http://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/private/medsurg-matters-newsletter-archives/marapr15.pdf