It has been forecast that by the year 2020, there will be a shortage of nurses that reaches 400,000. Because there is a shortage, nurses say they are being called upon to do more and more. There is great concern that mistakes happen when nurses are being pressured. They would like to see more hands-on training given to them before they are responsible for caring for patients. Staffing ratios are a point of frustration.
Nurses say that the night staff is so limited, they are put in a bind.
It's important to ask the nurse to patient ratio. This is where nurses often complain they get stretched too thin. A general rule of thumb to follow is one nurse to every two patients in intensive care, one nurse to four or five patients on a post-op floor or in a general ward. Hospitals around the country are working toward protecting themselves during the shortage by instituting extensive training schedules so that nurses will choose their hospital over another. Additionally, hospitals are being very protective of their nurse to patient ratio so as to prevent mistakes.