Nurse Practice Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nurse Practice Act - Essay Example This means all hospitals should have a staffing plan that provides adequate, appropriate and quality delivery of health care services and protects patient safety; and is consistent with the requirements of this title. The bill explains nurse-to-patient ratio in various settings. Like, in trauma emergency care unites, this equates to one nurse with one patient; in operating room units, it is one nurse to one patient along with an additional scrub assistant; in critical care units, it is 2 patients to one nurse; 3 patients to one nurse in emergency room units and so on. From the Nursing Practice Act perspective, this allocation should be regarded as highly critical for nurses because a nurse who leaves an inadequately staffed unit could be charged with client abandonment (White, 2000, 92). In addition, the bill also specifically describes certain restrictions and prohibitions to the staffing function. Hospitals are required to maintain and display uniform notice to evince registered nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit. In case of failure to do so, or found incoherent with reality, the hospital as well as nurses can be charged with responsible for dangers and/or damages. In case of inadequate staffing or absence of nurses, it could result in substandard care and be charged with legal complications. Staffing that does not comply with requirements in critical care unit and pediatric units could be at high risk of attracting physical damage to patients and child abuse, respectively, which may render dangerous legal consequences to the hospital as well as nurses. In spite of this bill, and its related consequences on the Nursing Practice Act, hospital nurse staffing still does not really seem to be adequate, looking at huge number of vacant positions in the nursing field. The bill requires the state board to assist hospitals in implementing this bill