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Nurse staffing ratios and patient outcomes
Low nurse staffing and patient outcomes
Nurse staffing ratios and patient outcomes
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Some adverse patient outcomes potentially sensitive to nursing care are urinary tract infections (UTIs), pneumonia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, longer hospital stays, failure to rescue, and 30-day mortality. Most research has focused on adverse rather than positive patient outcomes for the simple reason that adverse outcomes are much more likely to be documented in the medical record (http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/services/nursestaffing/nursestf2.html#note) . When nurses are forced to work with a high volume of patients, there are greater risks for patient mortality, infections, and injuries. Also, patients tend to be released too early without proper education on how to take care of their illness or injury.
In the case of nurse staffing, the more nurses there are the better outcome of patient safety. When there enough staff to handle the number of patients, there is a better quality of care that can be provided. The nurses would be able to focus on the patients, monitor the conditions closely, performs assessments as they should, and administer medications on time. There will be a reduction in errors, patient complications, mortality, nurse fatigue and nurse burnout (Curtan, 2016). While improving patient satisfaction and nurse job satisfaction. This allows the principle of non-maleficence, do no harm, to be carried out correctly. A study mentioned in Scientific America showed that after California passed a law in 2014 to regulate hospital staffing and set a minimum of nurse to patient ratios, there was an improvement in patient care. Including lower rates of post-surgery infection, falls and other micro emergencies in hospitals (Jacobson,
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that “annually approximately 1.7 million hospitalized patients acquire infections while being treated for other medical conditions, and more than 98,000 of these patients will die as a result of their acquired infection” (Cimiotti et al., 2012, p. 486). It was suggested that nursing burnout has been linked to suboptimal patient care and patient dissatisfaction. Also, the study shows that if the percentage of nurses with high burnout could be reduced to 10% from an average of 30%, approximately five thousand infections would be prevented (Cimiotti et al., 2012). In summary, increasing nursing staffing and reduction burnout in RNs is a promising strategy to help control urinary and surgical infections in acute care facilities (Cimiotti et al.,
The stakeholders that are affected by the nursing shortage and nurse retention are the patients, the nurses themselves, the organization, and the payer. Nursing shortage and nurse retention has the biggest impact on the patients and their health. Knudson (2013) states that there is a correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes, failure to rescue, and patient mortality rates. Quality of patient care that the nurses offer their patients suffer as an effect of these issues. Patient suffer from lack of care, bed sores, falls, and medication errors when nurses are overwhelmed and stressed due to the nurse patient ratio being so high.
Safety is focused on reducing the chance of harm to staff and patients. The 2016 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals includes criteria such as using two forms of identification when caring for a patient to ensure the right patient is being treated, proper hand washing techniques to prevent nosocomial infections and reporting critical information promptly (Joint Commission, 2015). It is important that nurses follow standards and protocols intending to patients to decrease adverse
The field of nursing is an ‘in-demand’ profession that strives for excellence in patient care and positive outcomes. A nurse’s care is always patient-focused with the goal of helping patients reach maximum medical improvement. The job of a nurse can be physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging at times. This can lead to occupational burnout which has been linked to suboptimal medical care (Cimiotti, Aiken, Sloane, and Wu, 2012). The impact of sub par health care, results in a higher number of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and poor patient outcomes. Implementation of infection control practices and HAI prevention programs are two of the most important aspects of nursing care being utilized to improve patient outcomes. The effect of nurse staffing configurations and nurse-to-patient ratios have also been shown to play a significant role in the relationship between nurses and HAIs.
“This literature review explores the effect that nurse staffing patterns have on the frequency of medical errors, fatigue, and nurse burnout (Garrett, 2008, p.1191)”. A concept that is relevant to this study would include nurse sensitive concepts. Houser stated that nurse sensitive concepts include but are not limited to burnout, medication errors as well as patient falls (Houser, 2015). All these concepts are relevant in this one article which discusses studies that have been done to provide evidence based research. “Variables included total staff member work hours and nurse-sensitive outcome rates for CLIs, pressure ulcers, medication errors, falls and restraint application duration rates (ie, duration for use of mechanical restraints)(Garrett, 2008, p.1197).” The technique that was used in this research was the quantitative method. The text book defines quantitative research as “a traditional approach to research in which variables are identified and measured in a reliable and valid way” (Houser, 2015). This study that was conducted identified variables as stated above as well as collected data from diverse units of hospitals to analyze separately to measure the outcomes. The participants of this study included ninety five patient care units from ten adult acute care hospitals for this sample. The instrument used by the researcher was from an observational form that
Safe nurse-patient ratio is a complex issue debated on for many years. Due to inadequate staffing registered Nurses are faced with high patient ratios, and nurse burn out everyday. According to the American Nurses Association, “Massive Reductions in nursing budgets combined with, the challenges presented by a growing nursing shortage have resulted in fewer nurses working longer hours for sicker patients. This situation compromises care and contributes to the nursing shortage by creating an environment that drives nurses from the bedside”. (2012) Through the nursing process, the essential role of the Registered Nurse is to assess, diagnose, and plan based on outcomes, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care. However, it is not realistic to thoroughly implement these core guidelines in a safe and effective way, when you are
Health care organizations are focused on providing high quality and safe patient care. There are numerous organizational factors that may directly affect patient care and outcomes, but one of great importance is nurse staffing. Low nurse staffing levels are a major problem that I have encountered during both my clinical and management experiences. There is a significant relationship between inadequate staffing levels and adverse patient outcomes; however, as I observed during my experiences, there may be increased awareness about this issue, but it has not been sufficiently addressed. In order to ensure patients’ safety and positive outcomes, as well as to improve nurse satisfaction, it is imperative to effectively address low staffing levels.
With patient safety always being the number one priority FTR is the worst case scenario for the hospitalized patient. In an article titled “Failure to Rescue: The Nurse’s Impact” from the Medsurg Nursing Journal author Garvey explains ways FTR can occur “including organizational failure, provider lack of knowledge and failure to realize clinical injury, lack of supervision, and failure to get advice.” Nurses are problem solvers by nature, they heal the sick and help save lives. FTR is a tragic experience for everyone involved. The recent surge in this happening across the country has given FTR cases widespread media coverage. Hospitals are trying to figure out what the root cause is and how they can be prevented. Fortunately, with the advancement of technology and extensive research many hospitals have developed action plans and procedures to help prevent the early warning signs from being
Poor staffing stresses every nurse and makes them despite what they once loved to do. Nurses are overworked and because of that they may not provide adequate patient care.
The major concern for registered nurses regard’s the nurse’s health and well being. Safe staffing levels are continuing to become more of a problem. The U.S is expected to experience a shortage of nurses as the “Baby Boomers” age and the need for health care grows (Rossester, 2014). This shortage is causing some health organizations to work with minimal amounts of nurses. This is affecting the nurse’s ability to provide safe care due to fatigue and injury. This shortage is also resulting in a dramatic increase in the amount of mandatory overtime, which often means that nurses stray from face-to-face patient care and can produce an increase in the amount of medical errors (American Nurses Association,
Nurse staffing ratio is an ongoing issue in healthcare. For some units, it is a temporary problem until more team members are hired. Unfortunately, for others it is an everyday challenge that must be addressed. Nurse staffing ratio is usually based on number of patients a nurse should be responsible for during a shift. Unfortunately, not having enough staff is a safety concern for both the patients and the nurses. Therefore, addressing this topic should be a priority for nurse managers and leaders. According to Vantage Point (2009) a patient has a greater chance of dying while in the hospital when nurses have to care for more patients than recommended. A heavier workload will not result in
Another tool for verifying naturopathic treatments is patient outcome measures, including blood tests, patient questionnaires, or physical examination methods. As explained by Breakspear (2015), a HbA1c blood test may show a positive change in the blood level, but this value is isolated from the patient as a whole and is not a part of patient-centered care unless it is considered alongside aspects of the patient’s physical, psychological, and social life. Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), a specific patient outcome measure, allow each patient to respond with their own perspective of the success and quality of the treatment methods as it relates to six categories: health status, quality of life, health-related quality of life, wellbeing
Especially the patient. When cutting back on staff nurses it is imperative that the consequences are fully understood. In the end, a patient’s life is on the line. As discussed, a nurse’s role goes beyond the medical aspect, developing a relationship with the patient is vital when delivering care. A nurse-patient relationship cannot be provided when there are a bulk workload and long hours with no break period. Having a nurse staff with an adequate number of nurses is imperative to guarantees that all patients needs are met. To ensure that there are minimal errors to no errors made when delivering care, a nursing staff must have a sufficient number of nurses. Additionally, to make sure a hospital's fines are limited pertaining to patient care, an adequate number of nurses. Nurses are a key component in healthcare, however, their duties as nurses cannot be
Anything could go wrong at any time. No matter how minor or severe, it only takes a matter of seconds and a life could be lost. Whether a nurse is in a hospital or home it should all still be taken sincerely. If you think nurses only work in hospitals you’re very wrong. There are various places a nurse can work. Somewhere around 60% work in hospitals, the other 40% are in nursing homes , schools, offices and community centers. Depending on how you want your workplace to be along with who you would like to work with. Some would rather work with old disabled people while others prefer helping mentally handicapped chi...