Mary Adamson, an ICU nurse, and president of the Temple University Nurses Association, led a rally for more nurse staffing and in support of the Patient Safety Act on September 23, 2021.
Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Nurses pushing for minimum patient-to-nurse ratio in Pennsylvania
-
Scott LaMar
Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Mary Adamson, an ICU nurse, and president of the Temple University Nurses Association, led a rally for more nurse staffing and in support of the Patient Safety Act on September 23, 2021.
Airdate: May 12th, 2023
Almost a third of nurses are considering leaving their profession after the pandemic left them feeling overwhelmed and overworked (survey by AMN Healthcare Services).
In Pennsylvania, nurses are pushing for a lower ratio of nurses to patients in hospitals, but hospitals say they can’t fill all their open nursing positions they have now.
On The Spark Friday were Maureen May, a registered nurse and the President of Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, Tammy May, a registered nurse and ICU nurse at Butler Memorial Hospital in Western Pennsylvania and the president of PA Independent Nurses and Carla Lecoin, a registered nurse and the political and community engagement chair for Einstein Nurses United at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Maureen May was asked why so many nurses are leaving the profession,”The bottom line is conditions. We need to have the proper conditions to be able to take care of our patients. And I have to highlight that the pandemic did not create the crisis or the shortage. This was a public emergency, and we were sounding the alarm long before the pandemic came along because of the average age of the nurse and also the conditions nurse to patient ratios will make the conditions better. We have an oath to do no harm. And when we’re doing harm, we create a moral injury which pushes nurses away from the bedside. I’ve been a nurse for 37 years and I love my profession. But there are days where I think to myself, I don’t know if I can do this anymore because of the conditions. I’ve had colleagues leave that plan on staying for 2 to 3 or four more years. But after the pandemic, they left and newer nurses are leaving because they cannot do the conditions or work under the conditions.”
Research shows that Pennsylvania has enough trained nurses but they just aren’t working in hospitals. To which Maureen May said,”There is no shortage of registered licensed nurses in the state of Pennsylvania. 80,000 nurses have a license and are not practicing. New nurses that come in decide the conditions are too difficult and leave the turnover, the cost of orienting a new nurse over and over and over again. There’s a high cost to that. You will retain nurses if you have ratios. There are areas in the hospital that are prime places to work and that’s where you actually have a ratio of the 0 or the PACU. There’s certain really good jobs there that nurses like to do because it has a ratio attached to it. However, you know, again, we know that if you can’t, you walk away from your job and you’re unsatisfied.”
