The Journal of nursing administration
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Nurse staffing, nursing intensity, staff mix, and direct nursing care costs across Massachusetts hospitals.
This study describes the distribution of patient-to-registered nurse (RN) ratios, RN intensity of care, total staff intensity of care, RN to total staff skill mix percent, and RN costs per patient day in 65 acute community hospitals and 9 academic medical centers in Massachusetts. ⋯ The significant differences between community hospitals and medical centers, unit type, as well as the high degree of variability in patient-to-RN ratios, nursing intensity, skill mix, and RN costs per patient day suggest that nursing resource expenditure at Massachusetts hospitals is complex and affected by case mix, unit size, and complexity of care.
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Healthcare organizations continue their struggle to establish a culture of open communication and collaboration. Lessons are learned from the aviation industry, which long ago acknowledged that most errors were the result of poor communication and coordination rather than individual mistakes. The author presents a review of how some healthcare organizations have successfully adopted aviation's curriculum called Crew Resource Management, which promotes and reinforces the conscious, learned team behaviors of cooperation, coordination, and sharing.