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:
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4 1) Variables included in the category of care needs of the patient include the
acuity and complexity of the patients health status, as well as the patients
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comorbid medical conditions, functional status, family needs/resources, and
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capacity for self-care. The vulnerabilities of patients for adverse events varies
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and changes over the course of a hospital stay or episode of care. (1)
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2) The quality of care that nurses provide is influenced by individual nurse
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characteristics such as knowledge and experience, as well as human factors
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such as fatigue. (1)
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3) The quality of care is also influenced by the systems nurses work in, which
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involve not only staffing levels, but also the needs of all the patients a nurse
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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
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environments.(1)
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2) The main causes of nursing shortages are highlighted: inadequate workforce
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planning and allocation mechanisms, resource constrained undersupply of new
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staff, poor recruitment, retention and return policies, and ineffective use of
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available nursing resources through inappropriate skill mix and utilisation, poor
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incentive structures and inadequate career support.(2)
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3) Staffing to provide safe, effective, and therapeutic patient care is a challenge
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for nurse administrators under any circumstances, and substantial changes are
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occurring in the organization and delivery of hospital care.(3)
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SECTION 2: Purpose
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To promote a balanced ratio of nurses and patient at hospital.
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SECTION 3: General Provisions
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Nurses have one of the most difficult jobs in the hospital. Nurses jobs description
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contains the assessment of patients, care of patients...etc. Nurses need a solid
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standard of how many patients require how many nurses. Some hospitals that
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arent making as much money are pushing nurses to their limits on how much
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they need to do. There needs to be a standard to require a ratio between
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patients and nurses in order to prevent hospitals from exploiting the nurses.
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Nurses that are too tired, due to the imbalanced ratio of patient and nurses, can
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put patients at risks. Overtime, the overall condition of nurses is not being
39 considered. The quality care is lowered as the imbalanced ratio of nurses and
40 patient is present, all of which can be fixed. This bill is to prevent the imbalanced
41 ratio of patients and nurses. Having too much to do on a shift and also being
42 tired is a very dangerous sign. With being fatigue alone, the possibility of making
43 a mistake during treatment is highly increased. Patients who come to stay at the
44 hospital wards dont need worn out nurses. Patients need nurses who can be
45 there when they feel ill. Nurses cannot be working in an environment where the
46 ratio is imbalanced resulting in patients not getting the care that they deserve.
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48 SECTION 4: Definitions
49 Fatigue: is a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion or a need to rest because of
50 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/