AACN Standards for Appropriate Staffing in Adult Progressive Care

“AACN Standards for Appropriate Staffing in Adult Progressive Care” establishes seven standards to improve some of the many processes that affect appropriate progressive care nurse staffing.

These new standards are designed to apply to adult progressive care settings and offer specific actions that help nurses and units improve patient assignments, prevent nurse burnout and address the nursing shortage as a whole.

The standards offer foundational guidance to operationalize AACN’s Appropriate Staffing standard. Each of the seven staffing standards provides actions, exemplars, tools and resources to implement, evaluate and improve progressive care nurse staffing practices. Leveraging the other five AACN Healthy Work Environment standards, the associated actions and exemplars demonstrate real-world tactics to implement the staffing standards.

The staffing standards — together with a deep commitment to collaboration and change from healthcare leaders, nurses and teams — provide the opportunity for evidence-based and transformational progress that can profoundly improve the healthcare system’s ability to meet patients’ needs and enhance healthy work environments.