National Nurses Week (May 5-12)

Authors

  • Marietta Stanton

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v8i1.120

Abstract

An article appeared in the Tuscaloosa News (May 26, 2008) this morning discussing how hospitals in California are now safer places because California has legislated that a nurse patient ratio of 1 to 5 must be maintained on busy medical/surgical wards. Not only did the report imply that patients were safer, it also indicated that staff satisfaction was higher leading to less burnout.
Apparently nurses in 13 other states-Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas are lobbying for California-style safe staffing bills. Unfortunately, the hospital industry according to this article is strongly opposed to much needed health care reform.
Certainly, the improved nurse patient ratios enhance the safety and well being of the patients especially in acute care settings. A series of reports published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on quality and health care has certainly highlighted the need for enhancing patient safety.

Downloads

Published

2012-03-27

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2008)

Section

Columns

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share (for non-commerical purposes) the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).