Introduction
Having adequate staff per patient ratio has been shown to reduce medication errors, and patient complications; decrease patient mortality rates as well as nurse fatigue and burnout rates. All while improving patient satisfaction with care and nurse satisfaction with their job. (ANA, n.d). These are all reasons why this subject should be studied in depth, but there is no easy way to determine what ratios for patients to a nurse should be. In this practice, generally, the fewer patients a nurse has the more time he or she is able to spend with their patients. Assessing, examining, visiting and getting to know their lifestyle and health history will improve the care the patients are getting, but nurses often don’t have the time to perform such in depth cares with the high acuity patients they are assigned with the limited amount of nurses and help available.
Nursing leaders and management need to be active in this subject and oversee for the safety of the patients as well as all staff. This paper looks to examine ways nurse management can take charge and approach this delicate situation by maintaining the well-being of patients and staff, as well as keeping within a specific financial plan.
Nurse Responsibility
Finding the most appropriate nurse patient staffing ratio is huge concern as management tries to balance budget along with nurse satisfaction and safety. The patient to nurse mix is a huge concern in the hospital because of this. “Most state nurse practice acts require the registered nurse to effectively supervise the nursing care delegated to subordinates, greater responsibility and workplace stress will be placed upon the registered nurse” (Aiken et al, 2002). Hospitals try to cut costs by hiring lower paying positions like LPNs, CNAs, or PCTs to help with patient cares, however, they are not qualified to do all of the cares,