Objective: To study the impact of nurse-to-patient ratios on patient length of stay (LOS) in computer simulations of Emergency Department (ED) care.
Methods: Multiple 24-hour computer simulations of emergency care were used to evaluate the impact of different minimum nurse-to-patient ratios related to ED LOS, which is composed of wait (arrival to bed placement) and bedtime (bed placement to leave bed).
Results: Increasing the number of patients per nurse resulted in increased ED LOS. Mean bedtimes in minutes were impacted by nurse-to-patient ratios.
Conclusions: In computer simulation of ED care, increasing the number of patients per nurse resulted in increasing delays in care (i.e., increasing bedtime).
@article{Henneman15jona, author = {Philip L. Henneman and {Seung Yeob} Shin and Yuriy Brun and Hari Balasubramanian and Fidela Blank and Leon J. Osterweil}, title = {\href{http://people.cs.umass.edu/brun/pubs/pubs/Henneman15jona.pdf}{Using Computer Simulation to Study Nurse-to-Patient Ratios in an Emergency Department}}, journal = {The Journal of Nursing Administration}, venue = {JoNA}, year = {2015}, volume = {45}, number = {11}, month = {November}, pages = {551--556}, doi = {10.1097/NNA.0000000000000262}, note = {\href{https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000262}{DOI: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000262}}, abstract = {<p><strong>Objective</strong>: To study the impact of nurse-to-patient ratios on patient length of stay (LOS) in computer simulations of Emergency Department (ED) care.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong>: Multiple 24-hour computer simulations of emergency care were used to evaluate the impact of different minimum nurse-to-patient ratios related to ED LOS, which is composed of wait (arrival to bed placement) and bedtime (bed placement to leave bed).</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: Increasing the number of patients per nurse resulted in increased ED LOS. Mean bedtimes in minutes were impacted by nurse-to-patient ratios.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: In computer simulation of ED care, increasing the number of patients per nurse resulted in increasing delays in care (i.e., increasing bedtime).</p>}, fundedBy = {NSF IIS-1239334, NSF CNS-1258588, NIST 60NANB13D165}, }