December 5, 2016 – Nurse Training

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Anchor lead: Outcomes are better when nurses are more educated, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Hospitals staffed with more nurse assistants relative to those with more registered nurses see many more adverse outcomes for patients, a recent study in the British Medical Journal concludes.  Patricia Davidson, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, says fingerpointing isn’t the answer.

Davidson: Healthcare is a team sport. Nursing assistants are phenomenal and wonderful people. Hospitals could not survive without technical assistants, nursing assistants, and a whole range of personnel, to the person who keeps the floors clean.  So I would really like a shift in the discussion and the debate from nurses versus doctors, from nursing assistants versus nurses, to more about how we configure optimally the healthcare team to make a difference for patients and their families.   :30

Davidson says staff uniforms and badges reveal who is delivering care, so patients and families can be aware.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.