With nurses stretched to their limits, a plan to reduce their workloads | Opinion

After months of being overworked and understaffed, nurses are exhausted and have reached their breaking points.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the country have experienced increased patient volumes, reduced resources, and loss of employees.

In particular, an alarming number of nurses have left the profession. Studies have shown that 11% of nurses plan to depart the profession; many say the demands of the pandemic have had a major impact on their decision. Another 20% of nurses remain undecided. Nurses have endured burnout related to the physical and emotional tolls of the pandemic.

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Loss of nursing staff has consequences that can be felt throughout the entire health-care system, and some of these consequences are fatal. With hospitalizations on the rise and fewer nurses at the bedside, patient safety is at risk. Nurses strive to give every patient undivided attention, but that can be difficult when one nurse is assigned to oversee the care of too many patients. A potential solution to this problem is possible: two bills that are currently making their way through the General Assembly that would set strict patient-to-nurse ratios to limit how many patients are assigned to one nurse during a shift.

When a nurse is assigned too many patients, patients do not receive the quality of care they deserve, and they are more likely to die. Every additional patient assigned to a nurse increases the likelihood the nurse will make a medication error, suffer an occupational injury, develop burnout, and ultimately resign from their position at the bedside. This adds to an already dire nursing shortage.

How do we know mandated ratios will improve patient outcomes? By seeing the effects of mandated ratios in other states. People in opposition to House Bill 106 and Senate Bill 240 may fear hiring more nurses will further drive up the cost of health care, but adequate staffing actually prevents catastrophic and costly adverse events. In the states that currently have staffing laws in place, health-care facilities have lower rates of infections, hospital readmissions, cardiac arrests, and falls.

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Pennsylvania does not currently have any nurse staffing laws in place, but now there is an opportunity to change that, and you have the power to help influence this change. HB 106 and SB 240, also known as the Patient Safety Act, have recently been introduced as an amendment to the Health Care Facilities Act of 1979.

If passed, HB 106 or SB 240 would mandate patient-to-nurse ratios based on the unit type and the needs of the patients, with safe staffing committees of nurses overseeing the ratios and adjusting them as needed.

With nurses leading safe staffing committees, there is reassurance that the ratios implemented would be driven by safety and quality of care. The legislation would also provide protection for whistle-blowers who report health-care facilities that are not adhering to the established ratios. HB 160 or SB 240 would improve patient satisfaction, safety, and outcomes, and help mitigate the ongoing nursing shortage.

Every day, nurses advocate for patients to receive the best quality of care. Now, we must advocate for nurses to have the ability to provide the best quality of care and support their role at the bedside.

Danielle Walters has been a registered nurse in the intensive care unit for over 12 years. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a Master of Science in nursing to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.