Rural Hospital Nursing Skill Mix and Work Environment Associated With Frequency of Adverse Events
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Although rural hospitals serve about one fifth of the United States, few studies have investigated relationships among nursing resources and rural hospital adverse events. The purpose of this survey was to determine relationships among nursing skill mix (proportion of registered nurses [RNs] to all nursing staff), the work environment and adverse events (medication errors, patient falls with injury, pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections) in rural hospitals.
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About the Author
Jessica Smith PhD, RN, completed her master’s in nursing administration at the University of Texas at Arlington following her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. Smith is currently an assistant professor at UTA and is an emerging leader in research related to nursing administration. Jessica played the lead role in research related to rural hospital nursing skill mix as related to adverse events in the work place. Results support that increasing the nursing skill mix and improving the work environment in rural hospitals might help achieve reduced adverse event frequency.
