Member-only story
Legislation Mandating Nursing-Patient Ratios?
I asked Nurse Leaders. Here is what they had to say
The Illinois Legislature is considering legislation mandating nurse-to-patient ratios. Initially advocated by the Illinois Nurses Association, the proposed legislation would mandate that no more than 4 patients be assigned to one nurse. In the ICU and other units, the ratio would be less.
The argument for having a lower nurse-to-patient ratio is patient safety:
Paul Pater, with the Illinois Nurses Association, said high patient-to-nurse ratios are dangerous for everyone.
“Hospitals and administrators take advantage of our empathy and sense of duty to our patients to force unsafe situations on the nurses of Illinois in a misguided attempt to save money,” Pater said.
According to the INA, lower ratios reduce the likelihood of death, injury and readmission among patients. They also decrease the likelihood of workplace violence, illness and injury for nurses.
As an ER nurse, Pater said he’s regularly handling up to eight patients at a time — and his experience is not unusual.
As a doctor working in the ICU, I am used to nurses having no more than 2 patients assigned to them (for the most part), and it is great for patients. So, it would make sense to mandate that…
