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Massachusetts Nurse :: October
2005
UAN supports setting minimum nurse staffing
levels
The United American Nurses (UAN)—the union
arm of the American Nurses Association—expressed its support
for H. 2663, a bill that will set minimum RN-to-patient ratios.
In a letter to the Legislature’s Public Health Committee,
UAN president Cheryl Johnson stated, “As a staff nurse and
UAN president, I can tell you that providing enough nurses at the
bedside is the most reliable and cost-effective way to ensure high-quality
care that protect patients and staff and decrease preventable hospital
deaths.”
In the letter, the UAN cited several evidence-based statistics in
making its case for minimum nurse staffing levels:
- A study reported in the Journal of the American
Medical Association “found that for each additional patient
over four in an RN’s workload, the risk of death increased
by 7 percent for hospital patients. Patients in hospitals with
eight patients per nurse have a 31 percent higher risk of dying
than those in hospitals with four patients per nurse.”
- A 2002 study by Linda Aiken found that higher
emotional exhaustion and greater job dissatisfaction in nurses
were strongly associated with higher RN-to-patient ratios. Each
additional patient per nurse corresponds to a 23 percent increased
risk of burnout, as well as a 15 percent increase in job dissatisfaction.
43 percent of nurses, reporting job burnout and dissatisfaction
intend to leave their current position within the next 12 months.”
The United American Nurses represents 100,000 RNs
nationwide and is a full-fledged affiliate of both the American
Nurses Association and the AFL-CIO.
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