Ethical Dilemma: Impact of Nurse to Patient Ratios
Jamie R. Dupuy
University of Louisiana Lafayette
Ethical Dilemma: Impact of Nurse to Patient Ratios On the night shift in an ICU, a nurse finds herself working, the unit assigned to the Code Blue team with one other RN, no ancillary staff support, and six patients. As she is standing between two patient’s rooms, both of which have alarms sounding, a Code Blue is called on the floor. Which patient should she respond to first? Inadequate staffing has become a long standing ethical dilemma within the nursing profession. Budget cuts and the nursing shortage are forcing nurses to work in situations with insufficient staffing, bringing into question a nurse's ability to practice …show more content…
There are three different models for staffing regulations set nurse to patient ratios, staffing committees used to formulate staffing plans, and public disclosure staffing plan (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman, 2014). Set nurse patient ratio staffing models are based on the idea that there should be a set number of patients to a set number of nurses. Set ratios seems like a good start to solving the nurse staffing dilemma however, this model does not adjust expectations with a patient with higher acuity or co-morbidities (Curtin, 2016). Staffing committees are the most common staffing regulation and is endorsed by the American Nurses Association (ANA). In this model a committee made up of bedside nurses and nursing managers decide the level of nursing care needed for staffing (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman, 2014). Public disclosure models were created to facilitate transparency in nurse staffing. Hospitals are required to disclose their staffing plan for public viewing. Some believe that open disclosure is an efficient way to ensure a hospital’s compliance and will allow patients/consumers the chance to make an educated decision about where they receive care (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman,
Jamie R. Dupuy
University of Louisiana Lafayette
Ethical Dilemma: Impact of Nurse to Patient Ratios On the night shift in an ICU, a nurse finds herself working, the unit assigned to the Code Blue team with one other RN, no ancillary staff support, and six patients. As she is standing between two patient’s rooms, both of which have alarms sounding, a Code Blue is called on the floor. Which patient should she respond to first? Inadequate staffing has become a long standing ethical dilemma within the nursing profession. Budget cuts and the nursing shortage are forcing nurses to work in situations with insufficient staffing, bringing into question a nurse's ability to practice …show more content…
There are three different models for staffing regulations set nurse to patient ratios, staffing committees used to formulate staffing plans, and public disclosure staffing plan (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman, 2014). Set nurse patient ratio staffing models are based on the idea that there should be a set number of patients to a set number of nurses. Set ratios seems like a good start to solving the nurse staffing dilemma however, this model does not adjust expectations with a patient with higher acuity or co-morbidities (Curtin, 2016). Staffing committees are the most common staffing regulation and is endorsed by the American Nurses Association (ANA). In this model a committee made up of bedside nurses and nursing managers decide the level of nursing care needed for staffing (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman, 2014). Public disclosure models were created to facilitate transparency in nurse staffing. Hospitals are required to disclose their staffing plan for public viewing. Some believe that open disclosure is an efficient way to ensure a hospital’s compliance and will allow patients/consumers the chance to make an educated decision about where they receive care (Serratt, Meyer, & Chapman,