Problem:
How do I respond to this post thoroughly with in depth questions? Need Assignment Help? High nurse-to-patient ratio continues to be a healthcare issue that remains unaddressed nationwide. Numerous federal bills have been introduced to combat this issue, but that is where any hope for progress has stopped. An example of this is the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2023, which would require hospitals to keep safe nurse-to-patient ratios on units, provide protection for nurses who refuse unsafe assignments, require documentation of assignments, issuance of fines to hospitals that violates the law and offers funding to hospitals to increase nurse recruitment and retention (Congress.gov, 2023). However, on a state level, some states have stepped up to the forefront to be trailblazers of change. An example is California, the first state to implement safe hospital-wide staffing ratios policies in 2004 (Jane Muir et al., 2025). The issue of a high nurse-patient ratio currently impacts my work setting in a psychiatric hospital, as we are faced with many weekly call-outs and high nurse turnover rates. The social determinants that most affect this issue are healthcare quality and education. When nurses are pushed to the limit with a heavy workload, they cannot effectively provide quality care to all of their patients. Nurses must deal with being burned out and overworked, as they must be concerned about patient safety and their own.