Mandatory Nurse-Patient Ratios in Pennsylvania - Essay Example

"Mandatory Nurse-Patient Ratios in Pennsylvania" is an engrossing example of a paper on care.
For many years, nurses have expressed concerns over the issue of nurse-patient ratios that have threatened the health of patients. To improve patient mortality and further enhance nurse retention, this paper seeks to discuss the development, implementation, and consequences of introducing a mandatory nurse-patient ratio in the state of Pennsylvania. The paper offers an overview of a plan for a legislative visit to Pamela A. DeLissio, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Status and an Overview of the Planned Visit

There had been a fear that introducing a mandatory nurse-patient ratio in a state might compromise the quality of healthcare in that region. This was the main concern when California became the first state to implement such a policy (Fulton, Lyon & Goudreau, 2014). Studies, however, have shown that California’s mandate did not affect the quality of healthcare in the state but rather helped improve patient mortality among other benefits. It is from this observation that nurses in the state of Pennsylvania have started advocating for the introduction of a mandatory nurse-patient ratio in the state (Masters, 2014).

To get an insight into the possibility and legal requirements of introducing such a mandate, there is a need to visit a policymaker (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee, 2014). The planned visit will seek to provide Pamela with the benefits that would result from a mandatory nurse-patient ratio and offer recommendations on how best to introduce the policy.

Key Strategies in the Plan

Among the key strategies of the plan will be the objectives of the policy, how it will be implemented, as well as recommendations to consider during implementation. The main objective of the policy will be to improve patient outcomes, which includes their safety and contentment (Shekelle, 2013). Other objectives include improving nursing outcomes, provide opportunities for nurses to develop their skills, improve work conditions for nurses, and provide additional literature on the significance of nurse-patient ratios (Patterson, 2011).

To ensure a smooth implementation of the policy, it is recommended that implementation starts in acute care hospitals. Another important factor to consider is the overall cost of implementing the policy. According to projections from the state of California, direct compliance poses a small cost with the benefits of the policy outweighing its overall cost (Minnick & Mion, 2009).

Analysis of Empirical Evidence Supporting Approach Strategies included in the Plan

According to studies carried out to determine the benefits of this policy using the above approach strategies, it was noted that while 36% of nurses in Pennsylvania experienced burnout in 2010, only 29% of nurses in California experienced burnout during the same period (Chan et al., 2010). This underlines the impact of a safe nurse-patient ratio on the state of California.

The state of California also recorded the lowest number of deaths resulting from failing to respond to symptoms adequately, for a study involving three states. Studies have also indicated that an increase of one registered nurse in a state contributed to a 24% decrease in the span of time spent by patients in ICU (Teresa, 2013). The above observations indicate that there is a pressing need for states to put in place a mandatory nurse-patient ratio.

Conclusion       

The mandatory nurse-patient ratio is increasingly becoming an area of interest for individual states in the US. To ensure that such a policy is implemented within the legal provisions of a state, it is important to make a legislative visit. This provides an opportunity to present the policy to lawmakers and assess the possibility of its implementation.