California 's ratio has opened the door to improvement. Public concern with hospital facilities, errors in care, and lack of staffing led to the state of California mandating that a minimum patient to nurse ratio be administered and begin in 2004 (Scott). The California
Department of Health took a multiple years to process and determine what the minimum ratios needed to be set based on research and other factors (Dorning). After doing so, California implemented different ratios ranging from the highest ratio at 6:1, in the psychiatric unit, and the lowest at 2:1, in the intensive care unit. California was the first state to administer a nurse to patient ratio and many other facilities use their hospitals ethic as a guide line to model their …show more content…
The benefits for both nurses and patients are monumental. California 's implementation of requiring that the lowest patient to nurse ratio be used have made a great impact on improving hospitals function and the overall patient well being. Other states …show more content…
Changes need to be made. Lindsey Barker, who has a Ph.D. in Industrial and systems engineer, believes by altering work environment, it may be possible to reduce fatigue levels and the rates of medical error (Barker).
Many hospitals have implemented a 3 shift day, in order to reduce fatigue related errors, but hospital expenses remain an issue. Hospitals administer the 2 shift day, which is 12 hour long, because it reduces the amount of layover between shifts. Nurses have to delegate what needs to be done and what care has already been administered to the nurse relieving them. This delegation process takes place at the end of the shift and often exceeds past the 12 hour mark increasing the hourly earnings for the nurse, but it only takes place once a day. If this is happening on a 3 shift day, this layover could take place up to three times increasing the spending on nurses. It is also much easier for the hospital administrators to create a 2 shift day schedule opposed to a 3. The cost hospitals are taking to save money is wearing on the nurses.
Stress and errors will continue if changes are not made. The expenses play a large factor in
Department of Health took a multiple years to process and determine what the minimum ratios needed to be set based on research and other factors (Dorning). After doing so, California implemented different ratios ranging from the highest ratio at 6:1, in the psychiatric unit, and the lowest at 2:1, in the intensive care unit. California was the first state to administer a nurse to patient ratio and many other facilities use their hospitals ethic as a guide line to model their …show more content…
The benefits for both nurses and patients are monumental. California 's implementation of requiring that the lowest patient to nurse ratio be used have made a great impact on improving hospitals function and the overall patient well being. Other states …show more content…
Changes need to be made. Lindsey Barker, who has a Ph.D. in Industrial and systems engineer, believes by altering work environment, it may be possible to reduce fatigue levels and the rates of medical error (Barker).
Many hospitals have implemented a 3 shift day, in order to reduce fatigue related errors, but hospital expenses remain an issue. Hospitals administer the 2 shift day, which is 12 hour long, because it reduces the amount of layover between shifts. Nurses have to delegate what needs to be done and what care has already been administered to the nurse relieving them. This delegation process takes place at the end of the shift and often exceeds past the 12 hour mark increasing the hourly earnings for the nurse, but it only takes place once a day. If this is happening on a 3 shift day, this layover could take place up to three times increasing the spending on nurses. It is also much easier for the hospital administrators to create a 2 shift day schedule opposed to a 3. The cost hospitals are taking to save money is wearing on the nurses.
Stress and errors will continue if changes are not made. The expenses play a large factor in