Heavy Patient To Nurse Ratios Case Study
Heavy Patient to Nurse Ratios Decreasing Job Satisfaction and Increasing Turnover
The effects of inadequate bedside nurse staffing levels on job satisfaction and turnover rates is of major concern in healthcare facilities nationwide. In this paper, I will summarize evidenced-based nursing research which shows that heavy patient assignments and high patient to nurse ratios are contributing to staff burnout and dissatisfaction in the workplace and results in increased turnover rates of the registered nurse (RN). In addition, understaffing can contribute to low staff morale, an increase in medication errors, poor patient outcomes, and an increased length of stay for the patient. With a decrease in the patient to nurse ratio, healthcare facilities can increase the job satisfaction of its nurses and reduce nurse turnover which will save the …show more content…
These nurses either left the facility on their own free will or chose to take a position on another unit within the hospital. Most of them strongly attributed the staffing ratios to their departure from our unit. The current practice on the 21 bed unit is to staff three registered nurses, a charge nurse, and one nurse’s aide on days (5am-5pm) and three registered nurses and one aide with no charge nurse at night (5pm-5am). This means when the unit is at capacity each nurse is assigned seven patients. On any given shift, if there is a call in or emergent situation and the unit goes down a nurse, the nurse to patient ratio has increased to 1:11. Staffing the unit more appropriately would mean that in these situations, the remaining nurses would still be able to manage their patient assignment, patient safety would not be jeopardized and nurses would be less likely to feel burned out and more likely to stay rather than looking for work
The effects of inadequate bedside nurse staffing levels on job satisfaction and turnover rates is of major concern in healthcare facilities nationwide. In this paper, I will summarize evidenced-based nursing research which shows that heavy patient assignments and high patient to nurse ratios are contributing to staff burnout and dissatisfaction in the workplace and results in increased turnover rates of the registered nurse (RN). In addition, understaffing can contribute to low staff morale, an increase in medication errors, poor patient outcomes, and an increased length of stay for the patient. With a decrease in the patient to nurse ratio, healthcare facilities can increase the job satisfaction of its nurses and reduce nurse turnover which will save the …show more content…
These nurses either left the facility on their own free will or chose to take a position on another unit within the hospital. Most of them strongly attributed the staffing ratios to their departure from our unit. The current practice on the 21 bed unit is to staff three registered nurses, a charge nurse, and one nurse’s aide on days (5am-5pm) and three registered nurses and one aide with no charge nurse at night (5pm-5am). This means when the unit is at capacity each nurse is assigned seven patients. On any given shift, if there is a call in or emergent situation and the unit goes down a nurse, the nurse to patient ratio has increased to 1:11. Staffing the unit more appropriately would mean that in these situations, the remaining nurses would still be able to manage their patient assignment, patient safety would not be jeopardized and nurses would be less likely to feel burned out and more likely to stay rather than looking for work