In hospitals with more nurses who have baccalaureate degrees, better outcomes for patients after cardiac arrest

for the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation Investigators

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In 2010, prompted by compelling evidence that demonstrated better patient outcomes in hospitals with higher percentages of nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), the Institute of Medicine recommended that 80 percent of the nurse workforce be qualified at that level or higher by 2020. Using data from the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry (for 2013- 18), RN4CAST-US hospital nurse surveys (2015-16), and the American Hospital Association (2015), we found that each 10-percentage-point increase in the hospital share of nurses with a BSN was associated with 24 percent greater odds of surviving to discharge with good cerebral performance among patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest. Lower patient-to-nurse ratios on general medical and surgical units were also associated with significantly greater odds of surviving with good cerebral performance. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that supports policies to increase access to baccalaureate-level education and improve hospital nurse staffing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1087-1094
Number of pages8
JournalHealth Affairs
Volume38
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2019
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In hospitals with more nurses who have baccalaureate degrees, better outcomes for patients after cardiac arrest'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this