What is a "nurse-patient ratio"?

A nurse-patient ratio can be defined as how many patients one nurse provides care for at one time. The nurse-patient ratio depends on many factors. One of those factors is the severity of the patients that the nurse is providing care for. e.g. if a nurse works in an ICU the nurse-patient ratio may be 1 nurse to 1 or 2 patients. If a nurse works in another unit where the patients are not as sick the nurse-patient ratio may be 1 nurse caring for up to 4 or 5 patients. Many hospital units have criteria that dictates the amount of patients one nurse can care for at one time.