How Do Hospital Nurse Staffing Strategies Affect Patient Satisfaction?
研究了加州311家医院中注册护士、职业护士、护士助理和合同护士的人员配置水平对患者满意度10个维度的影响，发现注册护士比例越高满意度越高，而合同护士比例越高满意度越低。
In this article, the authors evaluate the role of the nurse staffing mix on hospital patient satisfaction. Using three years (2009 to 2011) of hospital patient satisfaction data linked to data on the productive staffing hours of registered nurses (RNs), licensed vocational nurses, nurse’s aides, and contract nurses for 311 California hospitals, the authors analyze how nurse staffing levels affect 10 dimensions of patient satisfaction. The findings indicate that a higher level of RNs per bed appears to increase overall patient satisfaction. Conversely, hospitals with a higher proportion of nursing hours provided by contract nurses have significantly lower levels of patient satisfaction on scores related to overall patient satisfaction and nurses’ communication with the patient. The results have implications for RN staffing strategies and inform the broader literature on worker-skill mix and employment arrangements.