By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Expert’s Guide To Building and Improving Endurance
    June 30, 2022
    medical assistants
    What Do Medical Assistants Do On a Day to Day Basis?
    April 5, 2022
    superfoods to help with prostate health
    10 Healthy Foods That Can Help Protect Your Prostate
    August 29, 2022
    Latest News
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    pfizer and clinical data transparency
    Pfizer to Expand Clinical Trial Data Access, Takes Step Toward Transparency
    December 6, 2013
    Improving Healthcare Services And Management Through Tech Integration
    June 9, 2020
    obamacare and the uninsured
    Why Hospitals Are Still Gouging the Uninsured
    January 7, 2014
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Getting Nurse Staffing Right Is Critical
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Getting Nurse Staffing Right Is Critical
Hospital Administration

Getting Nurse Staffing Right Is Critical

StephenSchimpff
StephenSchimpff
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

When I was the CEO of a large academic hospital we were constantly concerned to properly balance nurse staffing. More staff than needed meant wasted money and too little staffing risked lesser quality care and nurse disharmony and even resignations. But adjusting the staffing levels of multiple units, each with differing patient types and needs was a major effort and easily thwarted by rapidly varying census numbers, patient admissions and transfers to other units, nurse shortages, and many other factors. In retrospect it is remarkable that it worked as well as it did. But the risk management group was ever concerned that if the staff levels were too thin it was possible that adverse events could occur. Now there is a new study reported in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine that links deficiencies in nurse staffing with increases in patient mortality. The investigators evaluated an unnamed academic hospital with a strong record of high quality and lower than expected patient mortality. They looked shift by shift and noted whether that shift was at targeted levels based on patient acuity, over or under. They also looked at the level of patient turnover during each shift. Quoting from the article, “In an institution with a history of success in meeting staffing levels and with a level of patient mortality that was substantially below that predicted by its case mix, we found that the risk of death increased with increasing exposure to shifts in which RN hours were 8 hours or more below target staffing levels or there was high turnover. We estimate that the risk of death increased by 2% for each below target shift and 4% for each high turnover shift to which the patient was exposed.” [Italics mine] The take away message to me is that hospital executives and boards need to be sure that they are managing nurse shift decisions carefully. In any hospital, personnel constitute about 60% or more of expenses and nurses represent about one half of that so the dollars are not inconsequential and need to be managed appropriately. Clearly, “appropriately” also means assuring that each unit has the necessary complement of registered nurses on each shift. From the article, “Our findings suggest that nurse staffing models that facilitate shift to shift decisions on the basis of an alignment of staffing with patients needs and the census are an important component of the delivery of care.” It also means that hospitals need to look at their approach to transferring patients from unit to unit. Often times this is necessary such as movement of an unstable patient to an ICU. But this study makes the point that excess transfers can be detrimental to patient welfare and may require more than the usual staff numbers. “Our results suggest that both target and actual staffing should be adjusted to account for the effect of turnover on patient outcomes.” How a hospital aligns its nurse staffing is an important element of quality in addition to cost management. Getting staffing right is critical. When it is correct, mortality will be lower. Further, although not measured, if mortality came down in this study, it is fairly safe to assume that other quality measures were improved as well.

TAGGED:hospitalsnursing
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

Accountable Care
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

How to Optimize Post Conversion

January 24, 2015
CareerGlobal HealthcareHealth careHospital Administration

Taking Your US Healthcare Administration Degree Abroad

March 31, 2020
medicare rewards expansion
BusinessFinanceHealth ReformHospital AdministrationPolicy & LawPublic Health

CMS Proposes Further Expansion of Rewards for Medicare: Retailer Reward Programs

October 15, 2014

Need to Improve the Health of Your AP Process? Think Automation!

January 12, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?