TO: Massachusetts Nurses Association
FROM: John
Gorman,
DATE:
RE: Survey
of
Executive Summary
Our survey of 600 Registered
Nurses in
According to the state’s
Registered Nurses, understaffing in hospitals is not a crisis of the future—it
is a crisis of the moment. A majority of
RNs are aware of specific instances in which high patient loads have led to
medical complications and injury or harm to patients. Nearly one-third of RNs know of patients who
they believe have died as a result of understaffing.
The consequences of
understaffing appear to be two-fold and self-compounding. The direct effect is a decreased quality of
patient care leading to more medical complications, longer hospital stays and,
in some instances, mortality. The secondary
effect is a stressed workforce that is burning out and feeling that their own
livelihood is increasingly at risk due to possible legal liabilities resulting
from mistakes caused by high patient loads.
The compounding effect is that the stress and risk associated with high
patient loads is further decreasing the number of RNs willing to work in acute
care situations, thus leading to poorer care for patients.
Registered Nurses see a
solution to the problem of understaffing in the form of RN-to-patient
ratios. When asked what they believe are
the best solutions to addressing the nursing shortage, regulating RN-to-patient
ratios is identified as a top solution—above financial incentives such as
increasing salaries, sign-on bonuses and loan forgiveness. In fact, it appears that many RNs would
consider returning to acute care from other settings if ratios are
established—among RNs who do not currently provide direct patient care, a
majority would consider returning to the bedside if legislation were passed to
regulate RN-to-patient ratios.
Methodology
Survey respondents were
randomly selected from a complete file of nurses registered with the
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing; this file contains
approximately 92,000 names. The survey
results can be assumed to be representative of these 92,000 individuals to
within ±4% at a 95% confidence interval.
It should be stressed that the opinions reflected in this survey are
those of all Registered Nurses, not RNs of any particular union or professional
affiliation.
Key Findings
·
87% of RNs agree
that RNs working in hospital units have to care for too many patients.
·
50% of RNs think
understaffed acute care units is the most serious problem facing the
nursing profession, followed by 18% who think fewer young people choosing
nursing as a career is the most serious problem.
·
64% of RNs are
aware of incidents in
·
52% of RNs are
aware of incidents in which understaffing led to injury or harm to a patient.
·
29% are aware of
incidents in which understaffing led to mortality for a patient.
·
93% of RNs agree
that burnout from high patient loads causes RNs to leave the hospital setting.
·
76% of RNs agree
that legal liabilities in case of errors are too risky and are causing RNs to
leave the hospital setting.
·
55% of RNs
currently providing direct patient care at the bedside have considered leaving
the bedside.
·
86% of RNs favor
legislation that would set nurse to patient ratios in acute care units.
·
65% of RNs
currently working in non-bedside positions would consider returning to a job
providing direct patient care in a hospital if a law were passed regulating
RN-to-patient ratios.
·
Only 4% of RNs
feel that their hospitals provide excellent patient care.
·
A majority (55%)
of RNs think the overall quality of health care in
·
61% of RNs expect
the overall quality of health care in
·
71% of RNs think
the health care system in