What Physicians Should Know about the Nursing Shortage

  1. Eli Ginzberg, PhD
  1. Conservation of Human Resources Columbia University
    New York, NY 10027

    Excerpt

    The nation has a shortage of nurses and we need a consensus on strategies to correct it. Vacancies are found in all settings that employ nurses, for all types of nursing. Acute care hospitals, in particular urban public hospitals, are the most severely strained, and their staffing levels are compromising their ability to provide safe, effective patient care. As the pool of new nursing students declines, hospital care will deteriorate unless long-term remedies can be found.

    In February 1988, the American Medical Association (AMA) proposed a new type of patient care provider, the registered care technologist (RCT). This proposal has

    Acknowledgments

    Acknowledgments: The principal authors of A Commonwealth Fund Paper: What to do about the Nursing Shortage are Marc J. Roberts, PhD (Harvard University), Ann M. Minnick, RN, PhD (Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago), Eli Ginzberg, PhD (Columbia University), Constance Curran, RN, EdD (former Vice President, American Hospital Association). The analysis of nursing education and the new nurse supply was done by Miriam Ostow, MA (Columbia University) and Peri Rosenfeld, PhD (National League for Nursing).

    Article and Author Information

    • Requests for Reprints: Eli Ginzberg, PhD, 525 Uris Hall, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.

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    1. Ann Intern Med March 1, 1990 vol. 112 no. 5 319-320
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