ANA: Nurse-To-Patient Ratios Proposal Will Strengthen Patient-Care Safety Net, But Broader Solutions Still Needed

Washington, DC -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) today congratulated California Gov. Gray Davis for his proposed minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in acute-care facilities, stating that the governor's plan represents a "positive component in a multi-dimensional quest" to improve patient care and stem a looming shortage of nurses.

"We agree with Gov. Davis' assessment that government intervention is necessary when the marketplace is not protecting patients, and we commend the governor both for putting patient-care concerns first and for addressing a nurse staffing crisis that is fast reaching crisis proportions, not just in California but across the nation," said ANA President Mary E. Foley, MS, RN.

But Foley, a California nurse, was also quick to caution that "a quick-cure, one-size-fits-all formulaic approach" such as that used by numerically-derived nurse-patient ratios, would not solve the problem, and that "ratios alone are not the answer" because they do not capture the complexity of patient needs.

"ANA has long been supportive of upwardly adjustable, minimal nurse-to-patient ratios," said Foley. "But ANA also believes that both individual and aggregate patient needs and unit support functions must be considered." As an example, Foley pointed to ANA's Principles for Nurse Staffing, which propose that to ensure quality care, the individual nurse must be responsible and accountable for independent decision making, and that the assessment by the care-giving RN must be acknowledged. "These principles, which have been incorporated in practice settings across the nation, are part of a multi-pronged effort to address the complex, interrelated issues of appropriate nurse staffing and patient safety concerns," Foley noted. In addition, she said, ANA advocates measuring nursing-sensitive patient outcomes in relation to staffing levels "to determine if the number and mix of direct-care nursing staff are sufficient to provide safe, quality care for patients."

As Foley pointed out, all these solutions need to be considered and "made a priority," as the nation grapples with the prospect of an unprecedented shortage of nurses that ANA has said amounts to a "public health crisis." To address these issues, a group of national nursing organizations that includes ANA will unveil an overarching, strategic plan which focuses on solving the problems of decreased staffing and the projected nursing shortage at a Feb. 20 event in Washington, DC.

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The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

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