Lighter Load for Nurses May Aid Patients

减轻护士负担更有利于病人康复

A state law in California requires hospitals to maintain certain minimal levels of nurses on duty. Now a study suggests that the requirement may be saving lives.

加利福尼亚州的法律规定，医院必须维持一定数量的护士值班，现在一项研究表明，这一规定可能挽救了许多生命。

The study, published online last month by the journal Health Services Research, compares the outcomes of 1.1 million general surgery patients in 2005-6 in more than 800 hospitals in three states - California, where nurses in medical-surgical units are limited to five patients at a time; and New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where nurses' patient loads averaged more than six.

该研究在线发表在上个月的卫生服务研究期刊上。研究比较了加利福尼亚州、新泽西州和宾夕法尼亚州800多个医院的110万普通患者，其中加利福尼亚州的外科护士被限定一次最多护理5位患者，而新泽西州和宾夕法尼亚州的护士平均一次负担超过6名病人。

Researchers concluded that 225 hospital deaths in New Jersey, or 13.9 percent of all deaths in general surgery, and 200 deaths in Pennsylvania, or 10.6 percent, could have been averted with rules similar to California's.

研究结论是新泽西州有225位病人在医院死亡，即13.9%的手术死亡率；宾夕法尼亚州死亡200人，手术死亡率达到10.6%，而加利福尼亚州的法律规定使得加州避免了如此高的手术死亡率。

The lead author, Linda H. Aiken, a registered nurse, acknowledged that the analysis did not prove that the California rules improved patients' outcomes. But she said it was the most likely explanation

研究的主要负责人，注册护士琳达.H.艾肯承认这项分析并不能证明加州的法律规定改善了病人的结局，但是她说这是最可能的解释。

"Nurses are the surveillance system right at the bedside; they are the first to see something and mobilize a rescue," said Dr. Aiken, professor of nursing and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at University of Pennsylvania.

"护士是病床边的监控系统，她们是第一个看出问题并组织救护的人。"宾夕法尼亚州护理学专家和健康结果与政策研究中心主任艾肯博士说。

The researchers also surveyed more than 22,000 nurses and reported that those in California were less likely than nurses in the other states to say they were dissatisfied with their job or planned to leave the profession.

研究人员还调查了超过22000名护士，结果表明加利福尼亚州的护士不像其他州的同行说他们不满意自己的工作或者计划离开这个行业。