So concludes Marissa J. Ventura, M.S., an associate editor of RN Magazine. They report that call lights go unanswered for long periods of time and patients lie in wet beds because no one is available to help them get to the bathroom. One nurse had to put soft restraints on a confused patient because she had no time to re-orient him or keep an eye on him. The respondents also state that they cannot give their patients enough attention. We cut short the teaching we give patients, attend only to basic needs, never have time to comfort patients and families, and are always one step behind.
Some nurses have to decide how to ration care.
I have to watch the epidurals so closely that any patient close to discharge must be ignored. It does not take a brain surgeon to realize that the degree of quality care in hospitals is directly related to nurse staffing levels. As a matter of fact, researchers found that an increase in nurse staffing in hospitals is related to a decrease in urinary tract infections, pneumonia, thrombosis, and pulmonary compromise after surgery. While nursing staffing is not the only factor predictive of mortality outcome, it is an important one affecting the quality of hospital care. Some state laws currently mandate a specific number of licensed nurses on every shift in certain critical care units, but there is no guarantee that an adequate number of nurses will be available to care for patients in other areas of the hospital.