Has anyone ever gone to the hospital and called for a nurse and the nurse didn't arrive? in time? Many patients or their family members face this situation, due to the low nursing care ratio. Over the years, nurses have argued that providing safe, quality care depends on the number of patients they care for each day. Additionally, bedside nurses believe that having an appropriate nurse-to-patient ratio can increase a patient's chances of having a positive outcome in the hospital. An inappropriate nurse-to-patient ratio can lead to medication errors, nurse overwork, and affect the care patients receive in the hospital. The most common type of medication error involves administering the wrong medication or administering the wrong doses. A medication error is any mistake that happens to patients, whether or not they experience adverse outcomes. An inappropriate nurse-to-patient ratio should be considered as it can lead to medication errors. A new study shows that each year, approximately 210,000 to 400,000 people admitted to hospital die because of a medication error; it also shows that it is “the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer” (MacDonald). For example, an interview was conducted with Nurse Carol, a retired nurse; she said she made a medication error when administering medication to one of her patients. She said she rushed and accidentally gave one of her patients Cozaar instead of Colace. Cozaar is often used for high blood pressure and Colace for constipation. She said her patient's blood pressure dropped very low after taking the drug; she then realized that she had given the patient the wrong medicine. Nurse Carol also said that if she didn't...... middle of paper ......ucquoy-Dodley, Dominique. "Ohio nurse 'worked to death'" CNN. Cable News Network, November 13, 2013. Web. March 22, 2014. “Hospital Medication Error Lawsuit Reaches $5 Million Verdict.” » About Lawsuitscom. February 10, 2009. The web. March 25, 2014. MacDonald, Ilene. “Hospital medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the United States” FierceHealthcare. Np, September 20, 2013. Web. March 25, 2014.O'Sullivan, Majella. “Staffing crisis means nurses can’t take bathroom breaks.” Independent.ie. Np, December 2, 2012. Web. March 23, 2014. Daily Mail Reporter. “Mother of four dies after clumsy nurse administers drug overdose ten times.” Online mail. Associated Journals, nd Web. March 25, 201Vahey, Doris C., Linda H. Aiken, Douglas M. Sloane, Sean P. Clarke, and Delfino Vargas. “Nurse burnout and patient satisfaction.” Medical care 42. Suppl (2004): II-57-II-66. Print.