The Critical Relationship Between Nursing Staffing and Hospital-Acquired Infections The field of nursing is an “in-demand” profession that strives for excellence in patient care and positive outcomes. Nursing care is always patient-centered with the goal of helping the patient achieve maximum medical improvement. The job of a nurse can be physically, mentally and emotionally demanding at times. This can lead to professional burnout that has been linked to suboptimal medical care (Cimiotti, Aiken, Sloane, & Wu, 2012). The impact of poor healthcare results in more hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and poor patient outcomes. Implementation of infection control practices and HAI prevention programs are two of the most important aspects of nursing care used to improve patient outcomes. The effect of nursing staff configurations and nurse-patient ratios has also been shown to play a significant role in the relationship between nurses and ICA. The summary article by Cimiotti et al. (2012) used data from nursing surveys and annual reports. on Pennsylvania IOS to detail the relationship between nurse burnout, case/patient load, and infection rate. As a result, “if the percentage of nurses with high burnout could be reduced by 10% from an average of 30%, approximately 4,160 infections could be prevented in Pennsylvania hospitals, with an estimated cost savings of $41 million” ( Cimiotti et al., 2012). Nurse burnout, patient load, and number of HAIs have all been found to be interrelated factors in patient infection rates. “Our findings confirm an association between nurse staffing and healthcare-associated infection rates, with fewer infections observed in hospitals where nurses…half of paper…gain advanced knowledge of nursing practices infection control and are able to identify the main risk factors in the prevention of HAIs. Conclusion HAI rates, nursing staffing, patient length of stay and patient outcomes need to be evaluated collaboratively they play a vital role within the healthcare system and the effects of nurse staffing on patient stays, outcomes and HAIs represent a critical element of healthcare that requires immediate attention, also adding one more nurse per shift will reduce HAIs, length of stay and patient mortality. Stronger educational programs within hospitals regarding infection control are also needed. A more informed and trained nursing staff will likely result in a more educated patient. Overall, nursing staff prove to be a critical link between patients and HAI rates.