Safe staffing means that an appropriate number of staff, with a suitable mix of skill levels, is available at all times to ensure that patient care needs are met and that hazard-free working conditions are maintained.

Factors to be considered in determining safe staffing include the acuity level of patients, the need for nurses to have adequate opportunity and time to exercise professional judgment with respect to patient care, and acknowledgement that patient needs can change from moment to moment and will encompass physiological, economic, chemical, psychosocial, educational and spiritual requirements in addition to safety.

Safe and cost-effective staffing also requires an understanding of the differences in skill level, experience and education of various types of licensed and unlicensed personnel and a recognition that inadequate or marginal staffing levels can lead to higher mortality rates, greater morbidity, increased risk of injury to both patient and staff, and increased utilization of both inpatient and outpatient facilities.

# # #

Adopted by the AFT Healthcare Program and Policy Council, October 1995.