Marion E. Broome, Dean and Ruby Wilson Professor of Nursing, Duke University School of Nursing; Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs, Duke University; Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for Nursing, Duke University Health System; recently co-authored an Op-Ed entitled "OPINION: Without nurses, who will care?" in the Fayetteville Observer. Co-authors include Mollie E. Aleshire, Sharona Johnson and Peggy Wilmoth.

"Looming nursing shortage is a national crisis; NC will be hard hit.

Florence Nightingale is often depicted as “the angel with the light” as she cared for the wounded during the Crimean War. This portrayal of nurses as “angels of mercy” persists as nurses offer comfort during many of life’s most difficult moments. Everyone is familiar with how nurses care for individuals with complex chronic and acute illnesses in hospitals and the communities in which they live.

Nightingale also led change by creating professional nursing, which improved the survival of British soldiers and developed a statistical method to track their morbidity and mortality rates. Nurses today are likewise guided by data and science, lead innovations in care delivery, head up professional organizations and propose changes to local, state and national policy to improve the health for all.

That is why the looming shortage of nurses should be a concern to all. The United States will experience a shortage of 1.1 million registered nurses (RNs) by 2022."

Read the full article here.