I have been a registered nurse (diploma graduate)for 31 years, having worked in dialysis, obstetrics and currently, the OR.  A facet of the nursing shortage that is often never considered is how it impacts students in the clinical area.  For most of my career, I have had student nurses at my side during patient care, with no instructor in sight.  The experience for these students is invaluable. As nurses become more stretched in their duties, do you think they will have the time and patience to impart their wisdom as the baton passes to the next generation?

Beverly Wilson

READER RESPONSE TO NURSING SUPPLIES EDITORIAL:

When I read the article in the Richmond Times Dispatch I found it very informative with very specific facts, findings, and opinions.  Although informative, I felt this article did not represent the mainstream of bedside nurses and their concerns.  The response I have to the nursing shortage is quite different than the original article.  My response appeared in the Letters to the Editor section and was the "correspondent of the day" on March 10, 2007.  The article reads as follows.    "Nursing is a passion as well as a profession.  Why else would we embark upon a career in which we are exposed to blood-borne pathogens, sprayed with bodily fluids, an earn a salary that is less than average by today's standards?  Yes, nursing is a passion- and those of us who love it want to to it well.   This is virtually impossible for the bedside nurse who is expected to function as social worker, respiratory therapist, lab technician grief counselor and housekeeper- just to name a few.  And we can't forget to complete our computer training and update it at least monthly.  No more hard copies of charts, which is great for hospitals but bad for those of us who want to provide quality care on a part-time basis and can't keep  up with the computer classes.  Nursing is a passion for dedicated bedside nurses who want to care for your mother as they would their own mother, care for your child as they would their own child.  Unfortunately, the passion these nurses have for their profession is more often than not replaced by frustration and a feeling that we have put a Band-Aid on everything but healed nothing.  There is not enough time, not enough staff, too high a patiient to nurse ratio.  I am one of those bedside nurses- still passionate-but no longer at the bedside.

Melanie Chapoton