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Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019

The Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019 was endorsed by the American Nurses Association. Eventually, it was picked up and presented to Congress by legislators. The Act serves as evidence of the immense role nurse advocacy is doing to enhance nurses’ effectiveness. According to Lasater et al. (2021), the Act   promotes patient protection by ensuring evidence-based staffing levels in healthcare institutions. This Act utilizes a balanced strategy to determine the staffing levels.

Lack of appropriate staffing level in healthcare institutions enhances the risk of patient infection, extended and more frequent hospital stays, prescription errors, injuries, falls, and possible mortalities. Moreover, the lack of proper staffing level impacts the nursing workforce. It results in nurse’s burnout, which is a mental, emotional, physical exhaustion due to stress and engagement linked to disengagement of the work (Halm, 2019). According to the Act, appropriate nurse-patient ratios can differentiate a patient living and dying, which makes this an essential healthcare concern.  The Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019 considers the clinical experience, education preparation, and professional certification of Registered Nurse (RN).

According to Lasater et al. (2021), the Act managed to enhance proper nurse staffing in healthcare institutions, reducing patient mortality, nurse burnout, and enhanced work satisfaction. Nurse advocacy can implement different additional steps including developing strategies such as offering nursing scholarships and increasing nursing income. The introduction of an elaborate scholarship and grants program by the government encourages people to consider nursing as a career, given that the financial barriers will not be far-reaching. Moreover, low-wages individuals who have a dream to pursue nursing can be encouraged to fulfill their goals.