The Relationship Between Nurse Staffing and Patient, Nurse and Organizational Outcomes: Nurse Workforce Planning at Acute Care Hospitals

The nursing workforce plays an important role in providing high-quality and safe patient care in hospitals. Studies have revealed that there is a relationship between nurse staffing, nurse work environment, and patient, nurse and organizational outcomes. Patient outcomes such as pressure ulcers and infections improve when there is an increase in nursing hours per patient and in the proportion of highly-educated and experienced nurses. There is an increase in job satisfaction and a decrease in nurse burnout and turnover in positive nursing practice environments. Additionally, as for organizational outcomes, there is a decrease in the lengthof- stay at hospital and re-admission to the hospital. In Turkey, few studies have examined the relationship between nursing staffing and patient, nurse and organizational outcomes. This article reviews nurse staffing measures, the impact of nurse staffing on patient, nurse and organizational outcomes at hospitals related to the literature, and discusses nurse staffing practices in our country.