Enter the total patient acuity and the number of nurses into the calculator to determine the average acuity per nurse.

Acuity Based Staffing Calculator

Build staffing needs from patient acuity, HPPD, or a patient-to-nurse ratio.
Acuity Planner
HPPD Planner
Staffing Ratio
Round recommended staff counts up to the next whole person.
Use your own facility’s daily workload targets for each acuity level. The default hours are editable starting points, not universal staffing standards.
Patients by Acuity Level
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Coverage Settings
Use this to account for PTO, education, sick time, and backfill assumptions.

Related Calculators

Acuity Based Staffing Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the average acuity per nurse for a given total patient acuity and number of nurses. 

A = T / N

Variables:

  • A is the average acuity per nurse
  • T is the total patient acuity
  • N is the number of nurses

To calculate the average acuity per nurse, divide the total patient acuity by the number of nurses. This can help estimate workload distribution among the nursing staff when used with a facility’s acuity scoring tool and staffing policy.

What is Acuity Based Staffing?

Acuity based staffing is a method used in healthcare to allocate nursing resources based on the severity of patients' conditions. This approach is often used to help align nursing resources with patient needs, which may support care quality and help reduce workload imbalance when implemented with validated tools and local policy. This method can take into account factors such as patient needs, nurse skills, and the overall workload to create a balanced and effective staffing plan.

How to Calculate Acuity Based Staffing?

The following steps outline how to calculate the Acuity Based Staffing.

  1. First, determine the total patient acuity (T).
  2. Next, determine the number of nurses (N).
  3. Finally, calculate the average acuity per nurse using the formula A = T / N.
  4. After inserting the values and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.

Example Problem : 

Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.

Total patient acuity (T) = 150

Number of nurses (N) = 10