OverviewNurses know that there is a correlation between maintaining adequate staffing levels and safe patient outcomes. The nurse/patient ratio is a very complicated issue in the healthcare industry. Nurse shortages, increased patient illnesses, shorter hospital stays, and the cost of healthcare have posed a challenge to this staffing issue. Inadequate staffing ratios place patients at greater risk for adverse outcomes such as medical or medication errors, increased hospital-acquired infections, and increased mortality rates (“Nurses,” n.d.). Complications and adverse outcomes associated with inadequate staffing levels come at a cost, representing an even greater financial burden on the healthcare industry relative to the cost of treating infections or lawsuits resulting from wrongful death situations. A nurse's code of ethics requires the principle of beneficence, defined as preventing harm and promoting good (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2007). Above all, nurses are patient advocates. Finding a solution to the problem of safe relationships between nurses and patients is the ultimate example of patient protection. The healthcare industry must maintain patient safety as the number one goal in healthcare. This objective must be achieved efficiently and in terms of quality. Healthcare facilities, administrators and staff must learn to collaborate with each other to acquire a solution to this problem. CornerThis research paper will explore alternative methods to implement nurse-to-patient ratios without decreasing crucial staffing levels and without additional government regulations, while maintaining safe quality healthcare. Providing safe, quality healthcare is expensive. Healthcare facilities are always looking for ways to reduce spending...... middle of paper ......cal Care Nurse, 31(6), 55-65. Retrieved from http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/31/6/55.full.pdf Nursing Staff. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/nursestaffingScott, II, R.D. (2009). The direct medical costs of nosocomial infections in US hospitals and the benefits of prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/hai/scott_costpaper.pdfWarye, K., & Granato, J. (2009, January). Objective: zero infections contracted in hospital [In-depth article]. Healthcare Financial Management, 86-91. Retrieved from http://www.apic.org/Resource_/TinyMceFileManager/Advocacy-PDFs/HFMJan2009WaryeandGranatoTargetZeroHospitalAcquiredInfections.pdfWelton, J.M. (2007, September). Mandatory relationships between hospital nurses and patient staff: It's time for a different approach. Online Journal of Nursing Issues, 12(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol12No03Man01