Week 7 nr 532 | Nursing homework help
Patient acuity is the level of medical needs of a patient, and it can affect staffing ratios in a number of ways. For example, higher acuity patients typically require more skilled staff members, such as nurses with specialized training or experience. This could lead to greater staffing ratios since there may need to be more staff members present to care for these patients. Additionally, if the hospital has an increase in high acuity patients, they may need to add additional staff members or adjust their current staffing levels in order to provide quality care. Finally, higher acuity patients also tend to take longer time periods for recovery which could impact necessary shifts and overtime hours for existing staff members.