How the Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Can Improve Overall Patient Care

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One of the most challenging aspects of nursing care is the nurse patient ratio. It is extremely difficult to staff the proper number of nurses for patient care due to a surprising amount of variables. Things like budget issues, training, scheduling conflicts, and other issues all play a role in the challenges faced by hospitals and clinics when trying to get the right number of nurses on duty.

If achieved, a good nurse to patient ratio can go a long way toward improving overall patient care. The problem is simply figuring out how to get the right ratio in each situation. Having an overabundance of nurses can be costly while running a skeleton nursing crew can be detrimental to overall patient care. A good nurse patient ratio is difficult to achieve, but if done correctly – can be a great way to improve patient care in a number of ways.

Less Delay in Patient Care

A proper nurse patient ratio means there will be enough nurses on hand to take care of the existing patients in a timely manner. An understaffed hospital or clinic is taking a chance on the timeliness and quality of care provided to the patients in their system. In order to eliminate mistakes in delayed patient care or the risks involved with hurried medication dosing or shots, it is vital to develop a well-defined nurse patient ratio for each clinical setting.

Less Pressure on Available Staff (in the case of under-staffing)

Another huge benefit of having a good nurse patient ratio is minimizing pressure on available staff. A short-handed clinic or hospital will be forced to ask available staff to perform twice as many duties in the same amount of time without sacrificing quality of care. In a perfect world, this isn’t a problem. However, most clinical settings are far from perfect and require intense focus and concentration in order to offer the best quality care at all times.

Better Quality of Care

Of course, having a balanced nurse patient ratio will go a long way towards improving quality of care for patients by simply providing faster care from more rested and skilled nursing staff. What may seem like common sense in regards to the quality of care gained by a good nurse patient ratio is something the Federal government felt the need to legislate in order to guarantee a better end result for patients. The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2003 was written to protect nurses, patients, and hospitals from the consequences of poor nurse staffing choices.

Cost vs. Value of Care

It is simply a common sense approach to staffing to concentrate on a well-designed nurse patient ratio. The cost of under or over-staffing can be measured in monetary value and patient related consequences. However, the value of care provided by a properly staffed nursing team far outweighs the potential disasters that might arise if nurse patient ratio is ignored. The cost vs. value of care differential is substantial and should never be disregarded in order to guarantee patients and nurses both take part in a positive experience.