Leaders, staff collaborate to create ICU nurse staffing guidelines

Nursing leaders and front-line intensive care unit staff collaboratively developed unit-specific guidelines for appropriate staffing when critically ill patients require 1:1 nursing care, according to an article in Advanced Critical Care. Four hospitals comprising the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services developed, approved and implemented the guidelines, which standardized the 1:1 and 1:2 patient assignments, decreasing subjective assessments. Charge nurses can trigger the 1:1 criteria with a shift note if the acuity scheduling system does not automatically reflect the need for a higher staffing ratio. The transparency of equitable assignments improved staff morale and satisfaction. (News Wise news release, 7/23/24)