Standardizing Patient Acuity: A Project on a Medical-Surgical/ Cancer Care Unit

Accurate assessment of patient acuity followed by appropriate nurse-patient assignments is critical to ensure patients receive the best quality care and, in turn, the best clinical and overall outcomes (Welton, [...]
An objective standardized acuity tool was developed and implemented to create nurse-patient assignments to improve productivity and clinical outcomes. This acuity tool provided nurses with a method for quantifying patient acuity and receiving credit for the work done on any given shift.