AONL to NYT Op-Ed: Nurses, Not Legislators, Should Decide Appropriate Nurse Staffing

Aug 20, 2021 - 09:37 AM by
Mary Ann Fuchs
Mary Fuchs Headshot

The essay Nurses Deserve Better. So Do Their Patients is right to note the “awesome” impact that nurses have within our health care system and in the battle against Covid-19. The author sadly misses the point in her assessment of legislation on patient-to-nurse staffing ratios. While we can all agree that staffing is a critical component of good care, mandated nurse staffing ratios removes needed flexibility from nurses for the care they provide. Ratios are a static and ineffective tool that cannot guarantee a safe heath care environment. Care is team based and a lack of flexibility to provide staffing based on the acuity of individual patient needs jeopardized safe patient care. To truly commit to patient safety – always the number one priority - nurses; not legislators need to be empowered with flexibility to determine appropriate staffing for the needs of their patients.

Mary Ann Fuchs, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, is president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
 

Related News Articles

Headline
CDC data shows rise in flu, COVID-19 cases across states 
Flu cases are growing or likely growing in 39 states, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from Nov. 11. COVID-19…
Headline
Recall issued for mislabeled potassium chloride
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday published an announcement from Otsuka ICU Medical saying that the company issued a voluntary recall for a mislabeled…
Headline
Study finds flu, COVID-19 infection temporarily raises risk of heart attack, stroke 
A study published Oct. 30 by the American Heart Association found that people have an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke following flu and COVID-19…
Headline
Report highlights metrics, strategies to detect nurse burnout
The American Organization for Nursing Leadership and Laudio Oct. 7 released a report that shows eight predictive burnout metrics and shares strategies from…
Headline
CDC adopts ACIP recommendations for COVID-19, chickenpox vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will update its immunization schedules for the COVID-19 and chickenpox vaccines to adopt recent recommendations…
Headline
FDA seeks feedback on measuring AI-enabled medical device performance
The Food and Drug Administration today issued a request for public comment on a series of questions regarding current approaches to evaluating artificial…