Home > Safe Nurse Staffing
A growing body of research shows that the care provided by registered nurses has
a direct impact on quality of hospital care and patient safety. An aging population,
advances in technology and declining lengths of stay have steadily increased patient
acuity in hospitals.
Nursing care requires continuous patient assessment, critical thinking and expert
judgment, advocating on behalf of our patients, and educating patients and their
families. Those activities are the essence of nursing care and are critical factors
in avoiding preventable complications, injuries and avoidable deaths.
RNs are frequently forced to compromise the care they give to their patients. Unsafe
nurse staffing is a dangerous practice that leads to medical errors, poorer patient
outcomes and nursing injuries as well as burnout.
WSNA has worked to pass legislation in Olympia to ensure patient safety through
safe nurse staffing. The Patient Safety Act contains the following core components:
- Minimum nurse staffing standards as a basis for nurse staffing in hospitals
- Individual staffing plans for each unit in each hospital with input from staff nurses
- Data collection of nursing-sensitive quality indicators; transparency of information
to empower consumers
- Strong enforcement to hold hospitals accountable
Registered Nurses united for patient safety, quality health care and nursing retention!
News Updates
Nurse Staffing Bill Passes Washington State Legislature
April, 2008
New Research Fuels Debate Over California Nurse Staffing Ratios (external link)
April, 2008 (from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation)
Review finds nurse-patient ratio law has little impact
March 21, 2008 (from the American City Business Journals / Sacramento)
Background Information - Document Downloads
Get the Facts on Safe Nurse Staffing (PDF;165
KB)
ANA's 9 Principles for Nurse Staffing (PDF;
77KB)
Utilization
Guide for ANA's Principles of Nurse Staffing (PDF; 398KB)
Summary of Selected
Research on Nurse Staffing and Outcomes (PDF; 99KB)
Action You Can Take at the National Level
Visit ANA's www.safenursestaffing.org
web site for information about what you can do to help make safe nurse staffing
a national standard.
