Staffing levels play into these situations as well. Shortages mean everyone is stretched thin and errors are made, errors that may hurt nurses and patients. The IOM recommends that part of the solution rests in developing safe health care systems that address work hours, work loads, sufficient staffing and personnel support, shift assignments as well as the impact on patient care when nurses work beyond their ability to provide safe and quality services. The real solution to the nursing shortage lies in making the nursing work environment rewarding, safe and professional, so that nurses can offer quality care to patients. Nurses' advocacy on behalf of their patients is a professional responsibility.
Consumers have much to fear if their advocate is absent from their bedside.
ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. Constituent Member Associations will receive 10 free copies and then must purchase at the member rate.