During this pandemic, now, more than ever, nurse shortage is an ongoing problem. This impacts nurse-to-patient ratios, and compromises patient safety. A research study by Shin et al. (2018) showed that the greater the nurse-to-patient ratio, even by one patient, was related to a higher burnout rate among nurses, nurse job dissatisfaction, higher rate for nurses to quit, and was ultimately related to negative patient outcomes.
Health Policy Agenda
There is a policy bill “Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019” that was reintroduced in Senate on 5/8/2019 by Senator Sherrod Brown. This bill is still being reviewed by Senate. The bill proposes a staffing plan that specifies nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. It also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how they determine the nurse-patient ratios (Brown, 2019). The bill also proposes that hospitals involve direct care nurses and direct health care providers in the development and re-evaluation of the staffing plans. Nurses may refuse an assignment if it violates the determined nurse-patient ratio, compromises patient safety or jeopardizes their nursing license (Brown, 2019). The competing agendas include saving the hospitals money, which would occur if less preventable errors happen. I believe this bill has favorable opinions. As nurses, we want to provide the best quality of care which can be done with safe staffing ratios.
MSN Essential
The MSN Essential that supports the master’s prepared nurse leader participation in this specific health policy would be Essential III from The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, which focuses on quality improvement and safety (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). Master’s prepared nurse leaders must maintain accountability and should act as a role model for other staff by creating an environment that allows for change and innovations in practice (Harvey et al., 2020). Patient safety should remain priority. The advanced practice nurse should evaluate patient acuity and make sure nurse-patient ratios are safe to provide quality of care to patients.
State and Federal Initiatives
Currently Florida does not have nurse staffing laws (American Nurses Association, 2019). They did propose the Senate Bill 204 “Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act” that would require health care facilities to implement staffing plans and safe nurse-patient ratios, but the bill died in health policy on March 2020 (The Florida Senate, 2021).
The American Nurses Association (2019) states there is a federal regulation that has been in place, 42 Code of Federal Regulations (42CFR 482.23(b) “which requires hospitals certified to participate in Medicare to have adequate numbers of licensed registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other personnel to provide nursing care to all patients as needed.” Optimal staffing ratios are vital to prevent negative patient outcomes from occurring and ultimately, promote patient safety.