Nursing Ratios

Paper Summary:

This paper explains and reflects on the research of Sean P. Clarke and Linda Aiken, which looked at 168 hospitals in Pennsylvania and found that the ratio of nurses to patients affected negatively patient outcomes. The author points out that the article predicts that nursing will have to be seen as the vitally important role it truly is before hospitals will realize that cutting nursing staff cannot save money without putting patients at risk. The paper suggest that unionization of nurses would be one option to make sure that a financially-strapped hospital cannot force nurses to work so many hours that the quality of care begins to slip.

From the Paper:

"Suggesting solutions for this complex problem was not really part of the authors' intent. Nonetheless, they point out that other good research supports their findings. In light of the fact that a body of research exists supporting low nurse-to-patient ratios, they view decisions to cut nursing staff to save money as a callous and inappropriate way to achieve that goal. They note that overworking nurses rather than hiring more staff will be counter-productive in the long run, since it leads to burnout and loss of employees. The authors note that the problem and solutions are interlinked in complex ways. Declining to provide nurses with raises contributes to burnout, but increased cost for nursing staff makes it harder to hire more nurses. Both overwork and being spread too thin can contribute to poor patient outcomes. Thus the issues are clear but complex and without any easy solutions. This is because each solution presents new problems. Hospitals need to provide raises, but the public wants to see a curb put on the rapid rise of health costs. They don't want to spend more, but they want the hospitals well staffed. When nurses are faced with overwork and what they see as inadequate pay, they may discourage others from going into nursing. The authors do not address these problems with clear solutions as that was not the purpose of their research."

More papers on Nursing Ratios:

• Persuasive Essay # 142610 : "Mandated Nursing Ratios: Detrimental or Reformative?"
• Research Paper # 96907 : "Nursing Ratios"
• Analytical Essay # 140459 : "Nursing Policy"

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