But nurses can only work so much overtime. Hospitals that can't find enough of their own nurses turn to temporary employment agencies that specialize in medical professionals. Local hospitals sometimes close off beds when they lack the nurses to cover them. Doctors delay surgeries. Patients sometimes spend the night in the emergency room because beds aren't available on regular floors upstairs.
Most nurses say they willingly stay late to handle emergencies.
These days, however, they find little time to tend to less urgent needs, said Brenda Nichols, chair of the School of Nursing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Nichols, a registered nurse, got a glimpse of what it's like to be a patient recently when she was hospitalized for reconstructive surgery relating to a mastectomy performed several years ago. What I got was really good care. Nichols said she had to ask nurses three times to add moisture to her oxygen supply, which left her lips dried and cracked. Her request was finally met, almost 15 hours later.