Nurse To Patient Ratio

Ways to assess the care of loved ones

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the growing shortage of nurses in America 's hospitals is putting patient lives in danger and requires immediate attention. "The current nursing shortage threatens to heavily impact our citizens ' health and our nations ' security preparedness". (Person, 2003) The nursing shortage that is sweeping across the United States has been upgraded from a health crisis to a national security concern. A recent study in Pennsylvania found that surgical patients in hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios experience higher rates of mortality and deaths following complications. Nurses working in these establishments tend to experience
Beyond that general principle, one may ask what clues can help patients and their loved ones judge the quality of a facilities nursing care. Nursing facility standards adopted by all states must include requirements to ensure that residents of nursing facilities receive appropriate care, including medical, nutritional, social and pharmaceutical care. (ASCP, 1998) These standards must also ensure residents ' rights and quality of their care.

There are many ways to assess the quality of care for each organization. By asking questions and receiving complete answers can be an indicator of a proper and safe nursing facility. By observing the staffing levels and nurse to patient ratio allows the prospective family to view the interaction of the nurse with his/her patients. In order to see how many patients a nurse sees in one shift, ask the nursing supervisor or a nurse manager.

Through talking to staff and observing their verbal and nonverbal actions can be an indicator of care. This way you are not just viewing hospital statistics you can hear real opinions. On a general medical surgical level, a nurse should be caring for no more than six patients, and in an intensive care unit no more than two patients. (Needleman, 2002) Recent studies have shown that more nursing experience leads to better patient
The Nursing Practice Act (NPA) defines the practice of nursing as those functions including "basic health care, that help people cope with difficulties in daily living that are associated with their actual or potential health or illness problems or the treatment thereof, and that require a substantial amount of scientific knowledge or technical skill including all of the following: direct and indirect patient care services..." (NPA, Section 2725, 2003). These direct and indirect patient benefits include the capability of registered nurses to provide information concerning alternative therapies, and to perform these alternative measures in accordance with the Standards of Competent