126th Morrison Congress

2nd Session

H.R. 126-059

Title of the Bill: Nurse Standard Act

Main Author(s): Rep. Edward Chou(D-FL) and Rep. Liberty Hsiung (D-MD)

Co-Sponsor(s):

BE IT ENACTED BY THE MORRISON CONGRESS

1 SECTION 1: Findings
2 Congress makes the following findings:
3 1) Variables included in the category of care needs of the patient include the
4 acuity and complexity of the patients health status, as well as the patients
5 comorbid medical conditions, functional status, family needs/resources, and
6 capacity for self-care. The vulnerabilities of patients for adverse events varies
7 and changes over the course of a hospital stay or episode of care. (1)
8 2) The quality of care that nurses provide is influenced by individual nurse
9 characteristics such as knowledge and experience, as well as human factors
10 such as fatigue. (1)
11 3) The quality of care is also influenced by the systems nurses work in, which
12 involve not only staffing levels, but also the needs of all the patients a nurse
or nursing staff is responsible for, the availability and organization of other
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staff and support services, and the climate and culture created by leaders in
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that setting. The same nurse may provide care of differing quality to patients
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with similar needs under variable staffing conditions and in different work
16 environments.(1)
17 2) The main causes of nursing shortages are highlighted: inadequate workforce
18 planning and allocation mechanisms, resource constrained undersupply of new
19 staff, poor recruitment, retention and return policies, and ineffective use of
20 available nursing resources through inappropriate skill mix and utilisation, poor
21 incentive structures and inadequate career support.(2)
22 3) Staffing to provide safe, effective, and therapeutic patient care is a challenge
23 for nurse administrators under any circumstances, and substantial changes are
24 occurring in the organization and delivery of hospital care.(3)
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26 SECTION 2: Purpose
27 To promote a balanced ratio of nurses and patient at hospital.
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29 SECTION 3: General Provisions
30 Nurses have one of the most difficult jobs in the hospital. Nurses jobs description
31 contains the assessment of patients, care of patients...etc. Nurses need a solid
32 standard of how many patients require how many nurses. Some hospitals that
33 arent making as much money are pushing nurses to their limits on how much
34 they need to do. There needs to be a standard to require a ratio between patients
35 and nurses in order to prevent hospitals from exploiting the nurses. Nurses that
36 are too tired, due to the imbalanced ratio of patient and nurses, can put patients
37 at risks. Overtime, the overall condition of nurses is not being considered. The
38 quality care is lowered as the imbalanced ratio of nurses and patient is present,
39 all of which can be fixed. This bill is to prevent the imbalanced ratio of patients
and nurses. Having too much to do on a shift and also being tired is a very
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dangerous sign. With being fatigue alone, the possibility of making a mistake
41 during treatment is highly increased. Patients who come to stay at the hospital
42 wards dont need worn out nurses. Patients need nurses who can be there when
43 they feel ill. Nurses cannot be working in an environment where the ratio is
44 imbalanced resulting in patients not getting the care that they deserve.
45
46 SECTION 4: Definitions
47 Fatigue: is a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion or a need to rest because of
48 lack of energy or strength.
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Works Cited:
1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2676/
2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2858425/
3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232662/