A study in The Lancet found that patients are more likely to die after common surgical procedures when they are cared for in hospitals with heavier nurse workloads and fewer nurses with bachelor’s degrees. The retrospective study was based on 422,730 patients aged 50 years or older in 300 hospitals across nine European countries. An increase in a nurse’s workload by one patient increased the likelihood of a patient dying within 30 days of admission by 7%, and every 10% increase in bachelor’s degree nurses was associated with a decrease in this likelihood by 7%. Read more and access the study abstract.