9. Relationship Between Nurse
Staf fing and Patient Outcomes
• Patient mortality increased 7% for every
additional patient that is added to the
average nurse’s workload.
• A hospital with an average patient-per-
nurse ratio of 8:1 has a 31% higher
mortality rate than a hospital with a ratio
of 4:1.
JAMA, October 23/30, 2002, 1987-1993