How the Nurse staffing shortage puts patients at risk
Increased Nurse-to-Patient Ratio
Safe nurse-to-patient ratios are critical for both patient care and nurse retention. Despite the adverse risks, nurses across the nation must care for more patients than recommended because of the staffing shortage.
The quality of care provided to a patient decreases as the number of hospital patients assigned to a nurse increases. Each additional patient a nurse is given increases the likelihood of that patient dying within 30 days of admission by 7%. Additionally, patient satisfaction suffers when a facility lacks the appropriate staffing levels.
With more patients to care for, nurses are likely to miss their breaks, work overtime, and experience burnout. Nurses who feel burnout have more difficulty providing quality patient care and report work dissatisfaction.
A Nursing Outlook study showed that just one more patient per nurse was associated with a 23% increase in job dissatisfaction.
Less staffing can result in higher costs for hospitals in general. Decreased quality of patient care results in extended hospital stays and increased medical costs, negatively impacting the facility's perception.
Quality of Care
Several studies have indicated the correlation between inadequate staffing and decreased quality of patient care. With less staff support, nurses must spread their time across more patients, leading to:
- Less time to monitor patients: increased patient falls and accidents
- Rushed or incomplete nursing care: bathing, mouth care, feeding, and toileting
- Medication errors: delayed or missed doses of medication
Improper patient care can lead to increased length of stay, infection, patient dissatisfaction, readmission, and even more alarming – increased mortality rates.
Overworked Nurses
Nurses have reported feeling overworked since before the pandemic, and because the shortage has no end, many are considering leaving the profession. As nurses take on more patients, they take fewer breaks, miss meals, and strain to get through shifts. Fatigue associated with overworked nurses can put quality of care at risk:
Longer Wait Times
According to ECRI, Americans face longer wait times – even during life-threatening emergencies. Without the adequate staff to support a healthcare facility, emergency rooms become overcrowded – leading to increased hospitalization, procedures performed, permanent disability, or even death.
Fewer Hospital Visits
Patient dissatisfaction, longer wait times, and poor experiences compel individuals to delay or forego regular check-ups and treatments. Fewer visits can lead to more illnesses, further driving the need for healthcare services.
For some healthcare facilities, staffing levels have reached a critical point, pushing them to the brink of closure. This, in turn, forces patients to travel greater distances in search of medical attention.
Strikes: A Last Resort
Frustrated by unsustainable working conditions and their inability to provide the level of care they aspire to deliver, nurses across the globe are increasingly turning to strikes as a means of drawing attention to their plight. These strikes are not mere bargaining tools; they are desperate calls for change, resonating with the broader issues of workplace dissatisfaction, burnout, and the erosion of patient care standards.
Nurse strikes highlight the urgency of addressing the systemic issues contributing to the shortage. Nurses, in solidarity, demand better staffing ratios, improved working conditions, and fair compensation. As they take to the picket lines, their message is clear: the status quo is no longer tenable, and patient safety is hanging in the balance.
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