HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW
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How A Bill Becomes A Law
Situation: Legislative Laws
Nursing professional is undergoing legislative changes for the provision of efficient and quality care to the patients. The current changes indicate a bright future for health services but undermine the nursing profession. Nurses have fixed number of patient and may require an increase in the number of nurses per hospital or reduction depending on the demand. Nurses will have no rights in working in a single healthcare but will move to hospitals that have high demand and in some situation may lack jobs due to low demand. Legislative body dealing with healthcare argues that high number of nurses in a health institution that surpasses the number of the patient lead to poor health care services. The hospital experienced an increased number of poor patient outcomes due to the high number of nurses. Laws on fixed nurse-to-patient ratio tend to stretch thin the responsibilities of nurses leading in the provision of quality healthcare to the patients.
Nurse-patient ratio uses a formula that will ensure equity in the distribution of nurses in the hospitals. Legislative laws concentrate on the provision of quality healthcare to the patient instead of considering the consequences of the nurses in the field of profession. Law makers are enforcing the laws without seeking the opinion of the nurses and have a high likelihood of failing to comply.
Background: Studies related to Nurse-Patient Ratios
Studies involving minimum nurse-patient ratio indicate that nurses have different categories of management. Rich nurses in a hospital set-up have low risk failure in handling patients. Hospitals that manage minimum nurse staffing ratio have reduced mortality rates and hospital stay durations. Studies by Linda H. Aiken and colleagues show that nurses experience burnout levels due to shortage of nurses and job dissatisfaction. The major problem occurs in the growth of hospital and understaffing of nurses. The hospital management should consider increasing the number of nurses with the same ratio as the patient increases in the hospital. Job dissatisfaction cases reports of nurses are four times higher than other health workers in the same hospital setting.
Dissatisfaction of nurses is high in that most nurses plan to quit a job after one year of service. Limited number of nurses in the hospital setting is not a solution in solving the mortality rate in hospitals although records show that 8:1 ratio have more deaths than 4:1 ratio. The hospital management experiences a cost of forty to sixty-five thousand dollars in replacing a nurse hence finding it worth in improving the nursing working conditions in order to save lives and decrease hospital costs. California law court made a decision that all hospitals should maintain a number of nurse staffs to avoid burnout. Rotational duties are efficient in a reduction of burnout incidences.
The National Nurses United Foundation in California made campaigns on protection of nursing in the working environment in order to create job satisfaction. Other states like Iowa, Michigan, New York, and Michigan adopted the Hospital Patient Protection Act that took the mandate of ensuring sufficient a good formulation of nurse-patient ratio in hospitals. Nurses would also get protection of potential whistle-blowers on the campaign of nurse-patient ratio. Massachusetts States adopted “The Patient Safety Act” towards assignment of a number of patients per nurse. The Act also has the mandate of evaluating nurses in terms of services to the patients.
Assessment: Finances and Stakeholders
Hospital size is the determinant of estimated cost and saving. A large hospital in terms of services to the patients saves a higher added cost than a small hospital. Savings present in the hospital depend on the prevailing wages and staffing pattern. Wages of workers should not surpass the income of the hospital in order to avoid bankruptcy of the hospital. Varying the cost of the hospital ranges from 1.0 % to 1.7% and mainly depends on the nursing expenditure per hospital. Hospitals should have sufficient revenue for expansion and hiring of extra nurses. Reduction of expenses in the hospital ensures increased revenue and provision of quality services.
Recommendation:
Nursing organization vows to support the legislation towards implementation of nurse-to-patient ratio method in all the healthcare institutions. Nurses recommend legislation Act should consider the nursing welfare in order to reduce incidences of burnout and quitting of job. Nursing Welfare Organization recommends for job satisfaction through increase of staffing levels in the hospitals in order to avoid overburdening the nurses with pronounced duties. The facilities within the hospital environment should have qualified personnel to head them in order to have quality services.
Registered nurses recommend for high nurse-to-patient ratio in order to address issues of safety and quality care. Registered nurses have first-hand experience and can tell areas that require high care and experts. Many patients require safe and quality environment for the reduction of unnecessary risks. California State ensures that the nurse-to-patient ratio is success and have tremendous results. Supporting legislation endorsement will ensure nurse ratio favours both the nurses and patient have good working environment. All questions that nurses have towards the legislature get addressed in the California Law Courts for the purpose of quality services.
