Description

Policy Speech

Introduction

Welcome everyone for this presentation on the policy brief. In this speech, I am to present a policy brief on the mandatory hospital nurse-to-patient ratio in the American healthcare system. I welcome you to actively participate in this session through contribution and asking questions.

Body

Patient safety and quality care are directly influenced by the nurse-to-patient ratio.

One of the major problems affecting the American healthcare system is the shortage of nurses. This has resulted in an inappropriate nurse-to-patient ratio in many healthcare facilities. At the moment, one registered is providing care to more than 12 patients in one shift. This is opposed to the standards ratio of one nurse to four patients in general medical-surgical units and one nurse to two patients in critical care units and emergency departments. The inappropriate nurse-to-patient ratio has been identified as the leading cause of medication errors and lack of job satisfaction among nurses.

Solution

Addressing the problem of the shortage of nurses in America is one of the priority issues for several stakeholders. One way of solving this problem is through policy development and implementation. The role of the policy is to guide care facilities on how to conduct nurse staffing. One such policy is the mandatory hospital registered nurse-to-patient ratio. This policy requires hospitals to have registered nurses to provide care to a maximum number of patients at any given moment or shift. The standard ratio of nurse to patients in America is 1:2 in critical care units and 1:5 in general wards. Hospitals need to adopt and implement these such policies to promote safe and quality care for patients under their care.

Some states such as California have implemented the mandatory hospital registered nurse-to-patient ratio law into practice. This was informed by the dangers associated with a shortage of nurses, and the benefits of an adequate nurse-to-patient ratio in the care facilities. Evidence from previous studies and clinical practice have also supported the need to have an appropriate nurse-to-patient ratio on the safety and quality of care for patients, and the welfare of nurse.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Increasing nurse staffing in hospitals to meet the standard ratios of nurses to patients has both advantages and disadvantage to the stakeholders in the American healthcare system. One of the advantages of implementing the mandatory hospital registered nurse-to-patient ratio is improved patient safety and quality of care due to the elimination of medication errors and other sentinel issues associated with a shortage of nurses. another advantage of this policy is that it is going to improve job satisfaction for nurses by reducing incidences of burnout and exhaustion due to providing care for many patients. one of the disadvantages of having a mandatory nurse-to-patient ratio in American hospitals is the increased cost of care. care organization argue that employing many registered nurses leads to a high cost of care since these nurses need to be paid accordingly. Hence, the burden of paying these nurses will be shifted to the patients through the high costs of healthcare services. Such argument of the increased cost of care due to many nurses is true but this cannot be compared to the impacts and costs associated with sentinel events such as medication errors. Medication errors alone claim about 100,000 lives annually in hospitals and clinics across America. The cost of managing these errors due to the shortage of nurses annually is $21 billion. Hiring many registered nurses is of higher value since it prevents premature deaths and disabilities as well as saving the American economy billions.

Call to Action

Therefore, there is a need for all states and hospitals to adopt policies that would ensure there is adequate nurse staffing characterized by an appropriate registered nurse-to-patient ratio. Nurses need to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of such a policy since it does not only impact patients but also them.

Conclusion

The shortage of nurses is one of the major issues that is ailing the American healthcare system. It has resulted in an inappropriate nurse-to-patient ratio which is the leading cause of medication errors and other sentinel events in American hospitals. One of the best solutions to this problem is the formulation and implementation of policies that would mandate hospitals to have a standard ratio for nurses to patients at any given moment. Hospitals and nurses must take part in the process of policy formulation and implementation since they are the major stakeholders of this issue. This is because the safety of patients is as good as the welfare of nurses and the operations of any care organization in America.