For my research paper, I will argue that low nurse-patient ratios (the number of patients a nurse is responsible for caring for during her shift ) are beneficial. to patient safety and should be adopted more widely. What made you interested in this subject? This topic interests me because when I graduated from nursing school last year, I took a job where I am comfortable with my workload, while many of my classmates in class found themselves in work environments where they are responsible for caring for up to 9 patients at a time while working as the nurse in charge of the unit. Several have told me that they feel their patients are unsafe because of the workload they face as a nurse. How does this relate to your field of study, your major, or what you plan to do after you graduate? This is directly related to my nursing major and current practice as a registered nurse. I have a personal interest in ensuring that I practice in a way that is safe for my patients. What exactly is the problem? The problem, as defined in my research paper on the argument, is that to reduce costs, hospitals have steadily increased costs. number of patients that nurses have to care for. In many areas, it is not uncommon for a nurse to be required to assess, administer medications, and manage the care of up to 12 patients. This puts enormous pressure on nurses. Many studies I have seen in my research indicate that a high ratio of patients to nurses increases mortality or other poor patient outcomes. It also leads to increased nurse burnout and higher turnover, although at this point I think my article will focus on patient outcomes. Who is most affected by the problem? Anyone who is a patient in a hospital is likely to be affected by these practices. What is causing the problem? The problem is caused by finances. Hospitals say they are facing declining reimbursements and have chosen to cut nursing staff to reduce expenses. Has anyone tried to do anything about this? If so, why didn't they succeed? California attempted to address the problem by implementing maximum allowable legal patient ratios. In California (and Australia, where a similar set of laws have been passed), there has been some success – but, obviously, this is limited to those areas and is not widespread..