| Nurse staffing has turned out to be a major problem | | | | - Another similar law enacted by some states want |
| in many hospitals. Research carried out has shown | | | | to address the nurse/patient ratio from the |
| that hospitals with a low turnout of nurses are more | | | | perspective of the patient's need for hospital care in |
| likely to have a higher rate of poor patient outcome. | | | | relevance to his medical condition. |
| Most of the reasons for this shortage, it is said is due | | | | - The Oregon nurses union on the other hand is |
| to higher acuity patients needing more care and the | | | | opposing this plan because, in their opinion, it is not |
| difference between the number of nurses available | | | | possible to adapt the same staffing laws for all |
| to fill the vacancies that have fallen short. There also | | | | hospitals. According to them, a nurse in the ICU for |
| seems to be a shortage of registered nurses who | | | | instance will be assigned only 1 or 2 patients while her |
| are qualified and ready to fill these vacancies. | | | | counterparts in another floor may be assigned 4 to 6 |
| Many health care officials are of the view that the | | | | patients. It is believed that dissatisfaction with one's |
| only solution to this problem would be to increase the | | | | job is also responsible for a lower standard in nurse |
| number of nurses recruited and provide them with | | | | staffing as well as being overloaded with work which |
| better facilities while at the same time optimizing the | | | | makes a nurse unhappy with the job situation. This |
| quality of care afforded to patients. While nursing | | | | results in the poor quality of care given to the |
| staff laws are different from state to state, the | | | | patients or if the situation turns unbearable the nurse |
| shortage of nurses in comparison to the increased | | | | is more likely to leave her employment. This creates |
| health care demands across the country has | | | | a vicious circle where once again nurse staffing |
| compounded the problem with no real solution to be | | | | positions fall vacant and the ones remaining have to |
| seen in the near future. | | | | take over the burden of those who have left. |
| Given below is a brief summary of what the | | | | With stories of medical negligence on the rise, it's up |
| different states have to say about the shortage of | | | | to hospital administrations to sit up and take notice |
| nurse staffing: | | | | and get to the root causes. When nurse staffing is |
| - A new law that has been adopted by some states | | | | not properly monitored, too much workloads and too |
| requires all hospitals to form a committee to create | | | | few nurses can put the lives of patients at a huge |
| nurse staffing plans which are supposed to look into | | | | risk. With things going from bad to worse, it's high |
| the patient's requirements as well as an acceptable | | | | time health care officials got down to brass tacks |
| ratio of nurses to patients. This law also requires that | | | | and come up with viable solutions to put an end or at |
| at least 50 percent of the members of this | | | | least minimize nurse staffing problems without delay. |
| committee be from the nursing profession. | | | | |