Inadequate Nurse Staffing

Patient safety and excellent quality of care is of utmost importance in leading to wellness. However, there are significant deterrents that prevent nurses from delivering what is expected of them. One of the leading problems is inadequate nurse staffing. Nurse staffing is relevant in managing the workload of each individual nurses, and a heavier workload makes nurses vulnerable in committing errors that could put patients’ life in danger (Nantsupawat, Srisuphan, Kunaviktikul, Wichaikhum, Aungsuroch & Aiken, 2011). There is a 7% risk of death for patients when there is a shortage in staffing (Kalisch & Lee, 2011), but when there is an adequacy in nurse staffing, not only is quality care provided, but also, a healthy workplace is maintained,

In their study, it has been stated that no significant improvement in postoperative sepsis, DVT, pressure ulcers, and mortality rate has been noted even with the 1:4 or 1:5 ratio (McHugh et al., 2011). In contrary, Aiken (2010) has concluded that failure to rescue (FTR) and mortality rate have decreased based on a study done in hospitals in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that enforce adequate nurse staffing (as cited in Mark et al., 2013). Failure to rescue or FTR is known as the failure to prevent or rescue a patient from death, deterioration and complications. Supporting Aiken’s theory, Mark (et al., 2013) has agreed that there is a decrease in FTR in California hospitals post-legislation, but the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) has been reported to increase. Such is explained to be an increase in detection rather than actual occurrence of infection. Early detection and treatment shorten the length of stay, and Mark and Harless (2010) has emphasized that a longer length of stay leads to more complications (as cited in Mark et al.,

Job satisfaction is significant in maintaining a healthy work environment. It is a very important indicator of the possibility that a nurse will remain in position for a long period of time. In a research done by Nantsupawat (2011) and colleagues, nurses complain of being dissatisfied in their jobs due to heavy workload. Heavy workload has mostly been associated with inadequate nurse staffing, and as a result, nurses experience burnout, and the decline in the quality of nursing care has increased (Nantsupawat et al., 2011). Aiken and associates have examined nurse satisfaction and job retention, and they have found that nurses tend to leave their positions if the inadequacy in the nurse-patient ratio levels is present (as cited in Hairr, Salisbury, Johannson, & Redfern-Vance, 2014). When the number of patients a nurse is responsible for during a work shift has been decreased, there will be an improvement in job satisfaction, and if a nurse is satisfied, work performance will be improved, and patients’ outcomes will be improved