"To be saved or not to be saved, that is the question! Nurse to Patient ratios and its effects on Patients"

Abstract

Nurse to patient ratios have been a controversial topic for many decades. This evidence-based project focused on examining how inadequate staffing affects patient care for adult patients during their hospital stay. Two electronic databases were used, Medline and Proquest. Seven articles were examined in which three articles were utilized. The research methods of these studies included systematic review/meta-analysis, retrospective observational study, and correlational study. Major current nursing research studies show decreasing the nurse to patient ratio decreases the risk of adverse events and even death during acute care hospital stays. An implication for the future is to establish a nurse to patient ratio that effectively reduces the risks and consequences suffered by the patients as a result of insufficient staffing of nurses in acute care settings. In order to create a sufficient nurse to patient ratio, additional research needs to be conducted. According to the American Nurses Association, the time has come to move nurse staffing from the cost side of the balance sheet and recognize the value nurse staffing brings to organizations in the era of payment for quality (2012).