Just last week I had to tell a patient who needed help going to the bathroom that I would send in his nurse as soon as I could instead of going into help him myself. I truly felt really bad about it, but my 1:1 patient was losing his blood pressure and I was starting yet another vasopressor and hanging fluids. And AGAIN there was no other help to be had. Short staffing is NOT safe for Patients
A) Like when JCAHO or OSHA or AHCA visit? (Like does safe staffing really matter any other time). Funny how much staff is available when the alphabet soups are expected. How about they show up and see staffing as it really can be. Maybe staffing ratios could be a NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOAL. It truly is, but never gets treated as such.
B) Like when the budget says so? (But hey lets not look for ways to actually encourage money-making ideas for the workplace) Just cut the staff short instead.
C) NURSING SATISFACTION STAFFING???? OH my those are the wrong words to use, because nurse satisfaction is so often the first consideration.... (I can dream)
D) Study after study shows that safe staffing improves not only nursing satisfaction, longevity, security, etc., but actually promotes patient and family satisfaction, promotes better patient outcomes, patient safety and less sentinel events, and reduces medication errors, falls, and pressure ulcers. OH so many issues for nurses and patients...and SO many OH NO's from those that really should care but too often consider the bottom line and NOT the bottoms of their nurses and patients....
Again, I really do not place patients after nurses, I just really consider the Patients and families have the WHOLE freakin alphabet advocating for them...Nurses do not even have the ABC's (another day for my BLOG on the one organization that really does care, just a quick hint...FNA)
Re-post with additions...
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