>Math has never been my strong suite, I thought I'd see if someone could give me the right way to figure this out.
>
>For a given shift, I have to check to see if there are enough people assigned based off a state mandated ratio of patient to staff. So for this example the ratio is 4:1. One staff member for each 4 patients.
>
>Example:
>
>1. I know how many patients are scheduled: 19
>2. I know how many staff members are scheduled: 3
>3) and I know the ratio is 4:1
>
>So do I divide the staff members by the number of patients?:
> 3 / 19 = 0.15
>
>This seems like the right way, but how do I compare the result 0.15 to my ratio and determine if it meets or exceeds the desired ratio?
>
>Thanks
>Kirk

Think about this. One staff member for every 4 patients. Your results show .15 or less than 2 staff members. You know that if there were 8 patients, you would need 2 staff members.

Look up ratios online.

If the ratio is 4:1 then:

should be equal to:

Example:

1/4 = x/8
1*8 = 4x
8 = 4x
x = 2

so:

1/4 = x/19
1*19 = 4*x
19= 4x
x = 4.75