Many nurses face the problem of understaffing and excessive workload during the same shift. When a unit is understaffed, not only do nurses become burned out, but patients also don't receive the care they deserve. The nurse-to-patient ratio is an overlooked aspect in many facilities, which could lead to devastating errors. Nurse-to-patient ratio issues have been a widely studied topic and new changes have recently been made to improve the problem. Identifying and maintaining an appropriate number of blended RN/LPN/CNA nurses is critical to providing quality patient care. Many studies reveal an association between higher levels of experienced nursing staffing and lower rates of adverse patient outcomes (“Nurse staffing plans,” 2013). Nurse-patient ratios will in turn improve working conditions for nurses, reducing the risk of errors for patients. The first step is for hospitals to have a nurse-led staffing committee that will create staffing plans that reflect the needs of the patient population. and match staff skills and experience for each shift. The second approach is for legislators to mandate specific nurse-to-patient ratios in legislation or regulation. The third approach would be to require establishments to disclose their staffing levels to the public and/or a regulator. On April 17, 2013, Senator Barbara Boxer (Calif.) introduced a federal bill aimed at reducing nursing shortages by establishing a minimum number of nurses. -ration per patient in hospitals. It also orders whistleblower protections for nurses who report quality of care violations. The law requires each hospital to implement a written hospital-wide staffing plan that will guide assignments to...... middle of paper ......ck, T., Anen , T. and Soto, EM (2013). Nurse staffing: The Illinois experience. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/815065_3Needleman, J., Buerhaus, P., Pankratz, S., Leibson, CL, Stevens, SR, & Harris, M. (2011). Nursing staffing and inpatient mortality. England Journal of Medicine, retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsa1001025Nursing staffing plans and ratios. (2013, December). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/State/Legislative-Agenda-Reports/State-StaffingPlansRatiosShekelle, P. (2013). Nurse-patient ratios as a patient safety strategy. 158, 404-409. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.comV ́ericourt, F. and Jennings, OB (nd). Nurse-to-patient ratios in hospital staffing: A queuing perspective. Retrieved from https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~fdv1/bio/ratios3.pdf